Burlesque – A Sony Pictures’ Release

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/burlesque/

DVD Release Date: March 1st, 2010

Rated PG for coarse language and sexual content

Running time: 119 minutes

 

Steve Antin (dir.)

 

Steve Antin (writer)

 

Christophe Beck (music)

 

Cher as Tess

Christina Aguilera as Ali

Cam Gigandet as Jack

Kristen Bell as Nikki

 

Our reviews below:

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Burlesque DVD Review By John C.

** (out of 4)

Bored of her job working at a diner in Iowa, Ali (Christina Aguilera) packs her bags and heads to Los Angeles, only to find herself working at Burlesque – a retro-style nightclub owned by Tess (Cher) and Sean (Stanley Tucci).  When they discover that Ali can both dance and carry a tune, she becomes the headlining act that the club may just need to bring them out of bankruptcy.

 

The performances here are mostly wooden, but the actors can’t entirely be blamed as the script they’re working with gets more laughable and ridiculous as it goes on.  In terms of quality, Burlesque is actually pretty terrible, but I’ll be darned if the flashy and expertly choreographed musical numbers don’t make it entertaining.

 

The Blu-ray includes 6 bonus song performances, several featurettes, an alternate opening, blooper reel, and commentary with writer/director Steve Antin.

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Burlesque DVD Review By Erin V.

** (out of 4)

Burlesque is a musical about Ali (Christina Aguilera), a small town singing hopeful who moves to L.A. to try to break into the music world, and finds herself in a nightclub called ‘Burlesque,’ where dancers perform and sing.  The owner of the club (Cher) at first ignores her, but eventually predictably needs a new performer and Ali gets her shot…

 

In terms of filmmaking – this could be considered a bad piece of work.  The script is cheesy, the acting is at times laughable, and some of the shots are ridiculous.  But, on the other hand, it’s pretty entertaining, and the songs are fun to listen to and watch performed.  I’d say rent it if you’re into musicals, it’s fine for what it is – just a fun, ‘don’t need to think about it’ kinda film.

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Burlesque DVD Review By Nicole

** (out of 4)

Burlesque provides a modern-day revisiting of the risqué variety clubs of the 1920’s.  Christina Aguilera stars as Ali, a country girl in need of a job.  She moves to the city to discover her dream career.  She wants to be a dancer and singer at Burlesque, a retro nightclub owned by Tess (Cher).  Trouble is, the club is running out of money and is in danger of closing.  Can Ali’s presence save the club?

 

This is by no means a brilliant film.  Both the acting and script are terribly cheesy, and the story is predictable and contrived.  The camera shots are equally bad.  Technically, this is a 1-star film.  But the entertainment value is great.  The songs are fun, the story is mindlessly entertaining, and the dialogue is really funny.  So enjoyment wise, this is a 3-star film – hence the mid-level rating.  Burlesque is a must see for any fans of musicals, and watch for a cameo appearance by Glee’s Dianna Agron.

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Burlesque DVD Review By Maureen

**1/2 (out of 4)

Traditional Burlesque was all about the risqué costumes and dance numbers.  The movie, Burlesque has it all in terms of the costumes and sizzling song and dance numbers.  What the movie lacks is much of a storyline, interesting dialogue or characters.  If it weren’t for the many song and dance numbers, there would be nothing to watch.

 

The story is about Ali (Christina Aguilera), a singer from Iowa who longs to make it big in the song and dance world.  Ali moves to L.A. and takes a job as a waitress in a modern-day burlesque nightclub owned by Tess (Cher).  The club is on the brink of financial collapse and it turns out Ali is just what the club needs to turn things around.

 

Christina Aguilera really does light up the stage as Ali with her powerful song and dance routines.  The entire dance ensemble is a lot of fun to watch.  Cher proves she still has a powerful voice with her Golden Globe nominated song “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.”  It’s too bad Burlesque doesn’t allow Cher’s Oscar-winning acting skills (Moonstruck, 1987) to show through.  Stanley Tucci offers some light humour as the club’s manager, Sean.

 

Overall, Burlesque offers an entertaining two hours in terms of Burlesque-style song and dance.  So long as your expectations remain low for the rest of the movie the musical numbers won’t disappoint.  Burlesque is light musical entertainment, and worth checking out if you like that type of movie.

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Burlesque DVD Review By Tony

** (out of 4)

Burlesque is pretty much a formula musical. Small town Iowa waitress Ali (Christina Aguilera), in Los Angeles seeking work as a dancer, serves drinks at the Burlesque club with its tightly choreographed floor show headlined by Tess (Cher). Having studied all the routines, Ali steps in to replace the pregnant Georgia (Julianne Hough), stirring resentment from dissolute rival Nikki (Kristen Bell), who tries to ruin the show by cutting off the lipsync track. Nikki had no idea that Ali can sing as well as dance, and business gets better than ever. Nature eventually takes its course with the bartender (and as yet unsuccessful songwriter) Jack (Cam Gigandet) whose apartment Ali shares. The club is under imminent threat of foreclosure or worse with slick developer Marcus (Eric Dane) offering to take it off Tess’s hands and sweep Ali off her feet into the bargain. Things get resolved cleverly and quickly in the last few minutes as in most musicals, with a closing production number, written of course by Jack.

 

Burlesque has a generous helping of numbers in the kitschy cabaret style seen in Nine, to which both Cher and Aguilera are ideally suited. The cast is good enough, with Stanley Tucci standing out as the floor director, slightly less flamboyant than his The Devil Wears Prada persona, and Kristen Bell in a very different role (with dark hair) than her recent romantic leads. I would like to have seen more of Alan Cumming, who only appears briefly in a role reminiscent of his Cabaret emcee, arguably the best since Joel Grey. Unfortunately, the film suffers from a script that is often laughable, with dialogue that does the actors no favours.

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Consensus: Although the acting in Burlesque is mostly wooden, and the script is often laughable, the film is kept entertaining by the flashy and well choreographed musical numbers. ** (Out of 4)