Burlesque
Review
by Anthony Morris
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Burlesque
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There's a big difference between "bad" and "so-bad-it's-good", and
just because you're a over-the-top camp musical doesn't mean the rules
don't apply. So while Burlesque
gets off to a fairly laughable start as our small-town waitress heroine
Alice grabs enough money from the till to hit L.A. and start living out
her dream of being some kind of professional dancer.
It doesn't take long to realise that while parts of this are laughable, just as much seems to be more crap than camp. Alice
soon finds work at L.A.'s most dingy yet impossibly glamorous burlesque
club, where neutered lines like "Who does a girl have to flirt with
to..." prove that wherever this film might be heading, any real sense
of sex or sleaze isn't going to be found there. Once the musical numbers kick in though, things get even more complex. Where the acting is wooden, the dialogue limp even when it's going for camp and the plot is both confused and stupid :
- The
club's on its last financial legs and an evil developer wants to buy
the building - good thing owner Cher flat out refuses to do anything at
all to save the club apart from constantly saying "I won't lose my club"
- Each
and every one of the increasingly non-burlesque musical numbers is fun
for both the eyes and ears (with the possible exception of a bizarre
act performed by a gratuitous Alan Cumming).
Turns out the between-music moments aren't meant to be camp or trash : the film just doesn't care about them.
Approach
this as a collection of glamorously staged musical numbers with toilet
breaks inbetween and you'll have a great time; expect anything else -
even quality stupidity - and you'll be setting yourself up for a fall. 2 out
of 5
Burlesque
Australian release: 13th January,
2011
Official
Site: Burlesque
Cast: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Houghton, Peter Gallagher
Director: Steve Antin
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