Burlesque

So I had wanted to see this particular movie ever since I saw those four little letters in that perfect sequence; C-H-E-R. I'm a self admitted huge Cher fan - heck I was there at her farewell tour back in 2003! I'm also a pretty big musical fan and needless to say was super excited for this movie. It opened up in the number four spot it's opening weekend, and wasn't even close to knocking out the Potter phenomenon. The movie to date has grossed over $28 million worldwide and is on it's way to surpassing it's $55 million budget.

The movie stars the highly talented musical sensations, Cher and Christina Aguilera. Christina is a small town waitress who moves to LA and ends up working in a burlesque club ran by Cher.

The plot wasn't anything fancy or anything we haven't seen before, think Coyote Ugly. All of the musical numbers were mostly believable and done on stage, so it wasn't one of those movies where people randomly break into song. The characters were pretty one-dimensional and the story was predictable. But what do you really expect from a musical besides entertainment? With out all the jazz added by the musical and choreography, the plot wouldn't have held any weight on it's own.

The musical numbers in this movie were quite amazing and man can Christina sing. I love Cher and she totally owned the stage during her solo near the end, but as Kristen Bell's character summed it up, that girl (Christina) has 'mutant lungs'. Her voice is crazy powerful and she is crazy tiny and pretty. The choreography was great and comical at the same time. It's amazing, but there was really only about 5 or 6 different sets in the entire movie. Most of the effort, and budget, went towards the club scenes, and rightly so. I really enjoyed the songs. Most were pretty whimsical, but I did download a few. And as previously mentioned, Cher does an amazing job with her heartfelt slower solo piece near the end. She actually did that whole performance live and it just shows how amazing she can be.

If Christina and Cher weren't in the movie, it would've been pretty bland. Christina was the perfect person for this role and I really don't think anyone else could've pulled it off. She had a great acting debut and was genuine throughout. Cher was amazing as always. Stanley Tucci really added a lot of value and humor to the film. Cam Gigandet and Mcsteamy were oh so pleasing to look at and did their jobs well.

So, overall I really enjoyed it. I think anyone who enjoys musicals, such as Chicago, would enjoy this as well. Definitely not as surreal as Moulin Rouge but more believable than Chicago. "It takes a legend to make a star" -- Burleque