BURLESQUE Review
By
Vandy Price
This is no 'Chicago'. That is clear within the first musical number. And this is sad, seeing as we haven't had a great of a movie musical in a while. What was the deal with 'Nine"? Why wasn't that great? The same can be asked this year. Even though the acting caliber is nowhere near as high as last years hopeful, the musical background behind this throwback is strong enough to blow any other current musical out of the water. The story is clearly not the focus here as it follows any small town girl follows her dreams to the big city plot line. What does seem to be the focus though is the fact the makers were able to wrangle a legend like Cher and a current talent with one of the most amazing voices ever to star in the same film...about the art of musical performance no less! How exciting! First and foremost I must say this isn't as flamboyantly gay as it might first appear to be, but never the less some of the musical numbers could have used a little sprucing up. Only one in which Christina and the girls perform a more modern version of a song titled "Express" rises above the rest and presents itself as something worth paying strong attention to. And again, this is a shame seeing as so much talent is involved. It is slightly chilling when Christina is given the opportunity to sing live for the first time, but besides these two moments of inspiration, the film is rather dull and conventional. It is corny, especially when Mr. Cam Gigandet is on screen, its almost as if they told the poor guy to do a campy impression of an actor of old. This is about as bad as it gets while the presence of Cher is wasted on only two musical numbers and only one truly hits the spot. Also seemingly wasted even more than the lovely Cher is Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher and somewhat of Eric Dane, though I never warmed up to his character which I guess you weren't supposed to. He's the guy trying to buy out everyone and build the new skyscraper that will destroy the club everyone's life lines come from, you know the one. As for the women, Julianne Hough is able to show off her dancing skills in a more broad styled dance and Kristen Bell gets to play the bad b-word who has a vendetta against the new girl. Bell never sings and she hardly dances, but the real problem is that we never buy her as the bad girl, the same way we never buy Aguilera as a small town girl who's looked at as anything but a superstar. Though her acting isn't as terrible as one might imagine, and she's never looked better, and this may have been the best choice in her career at the moment. It is a glamorous movie musical that hearkens back to the days of old, but what it never captures is the essence, the magic of what made them feel alive and thriving with a strong heartbeat. It is a fun movie that has a few catchy songs, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good one. It is a nice attempt, in the right context it may even be the best thing to put on, but if this is the movie you choose for your Thanksgiving night, you will no doubt be a little disappointed given how much promise this movie held.This is no 'Chicago'. That is clear within the first musical number. And this is sad, seeing as we haven't had that great of a movie musical in a while. What was the deal with 'Nine"? Why wasn't that great and the same can be said this year. Even though the acting caliber is nowhere near as high as last years hopeful, the musical background behind this throwback is strong enough to blow any other current musical out of the water. The story is clearly not the focus here as it follows any small town girl follows her dreams to the big city plot line. What does seem to be the focus though is the fact the makers were able to wrangle a legend like Cher and a current talent with one of the most amazing voices ever to star in the same film...about the art of musical performance no less! How exciting! First and foremost I must say this isn't as flamboyantly gay as it might first appear to be, but never the less some of the musical numbers could have used a little sprucing up. Only one in which Christina and the girls perform a more modern version of a song titled "Express" rises above the rest and presents itself as something worth paying strong attention to. And again, this is a shame seeing as so much talent is involved. It is slightly chilling when Christina is given the opportunity to sing live for the first time, but besides these two moments of inspiration, the film is rather dull and conventional. It is corny, especially when Mr. Cam Gigandet is on screen, its almost as if they told the poor guy to do a campy impression of an actor of old. This is about as bad as it gets while the presence of Cher is wasted on only two musical numbers and only one truly hits the spot. Also seemingly wasted even more than the lovely Cher is Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher and somewhat of Eric Dane, though I never warmed up to his character which I guess you weren't supposed to. He's the guy trying to buy out everyone and build the new skyscraper that will destroy the club everyone's life lines come from, you know the one. As for the women, Julianne Hough is able to show off her dancing skills in a more broad styled dance and Kristen Bell gets to play the bad b-word who has a vendetta against the new girl. Bell never sings and she hardly dances, but the real problem is that we never buy her as the bad girl, the same way we never buy Aguilera as a small town girl who's looked at as anything but a superstar. Though her acting isn't as terrible as one might imagine, and she's never looked better, and this may have been the best choice in her career at the moment. It is a glamorous movie musical that hearkens back to the days of old, but what it never captures is the essence, the magic of what made them feel alive and thriving with a strong heartbeat. It is a fun movie that has a few catchy songs, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good one. It is a nice attempt, in the right context it may even be the best thing to put on, but if this is the movie you choose for your Thanksgiving night, you will no doubt be a little disappointed given how much promise this movie held.
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