Burlesque

(source: Burlesque Trailer)

When I heard back in 2010 that Cher was going to be in a movie I immediately got excited. I have loved her music now for some time, her voice is just so unique and powerful! Then when I heard she was going to be starring alongside Christina Aguilera I knew we were in for a show. Now although I'm not a big fan of Christina, I know she is talented when it comes to singing so I thought I'd give the movie a chance. 

I actually only got round to watching it a few weeks ago because I like to wait until DVDs go down in price before I buy them - minus a few that I just cannot wait for. When I eventually watched Burlesque for the first time I was pleasantly surprised. I could kind of predict the story before I even watched it, but for some reason I thought it would be exactly like Nine which to be honest was dry and uninspiring; I mean what a waste of all those talented actors! Anyway, back onto Burlesque; it really did surprise me and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite predictable but then again what film isn't nowadays.

So the story basically follows a girl, Ali (Aguilera), who moves to LA looking for her big break. She finds the club 'Burlesque' but is dismissed by the owner Tess (Cher) and her assistant Shaun played by Stanley Tucci. She decides to try her hand at waitressing instead, after being hired by one of the bar staff Jack (Cam Gigandet). Ali eventually gets her break at the club and takes over from the previous lead in the show Nicki, played by Kristen Bell.

The club then finds itself in a downward spiral and is on the brink of being repossessed when a retail mogul Marcus (Eric Dane) offers to buy the club - with the intentions of building homes and corporate buildings. Cher's character and her ex-husband (Peter Gallagher) argue but eventually decline the offer and find themselves with 48 hours before the club is taken away. To end, a solution is found to save the club and business continues to improve (I told you it was quite predictable!).

Burlesque has a brilliant cast in my opinion with others including Julianne Hough, Dianna Agron, Alan Cumming and James Brolin.
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This morning I watched Burlesque again for the second time and all I can say is I could quite happily watch it a million more times. It didn't get dull at all, I found myself engaged in it all the way through and I even noticed some things I didn't the first time around. For starters, I didn't even notice that Dianna Agron was in the movie; her role was very very minor but I still cannot believe I didn't realise it was her.

Also I decided this time to watch some of the special features and deleted scenes and couldn't believe it when I saw that a number performed by Alan Cumming was deleted - when it was in fact really good in my opinion - and instead they kept in a number by him which quite frankly wasn't great to say the least.

This is 'That's Life' which they cut:

And this is 'Jungle Berlin' which they didn't cut:



Some may disagree with me and say his 'Jungle Berlin' number was better and deserved to be left in, but for me it just didn't work at all. I preferred 'That's Life' which really showcased him as an actor and gave his minor part a slight boost.

Another thing that really disappointed me was that I noticed a part of the movie where Cher missed her point in a song. Now I understand that most songs are pre-recorded to sound better and usually the actors' mime, but for someone like Cher to miss her part just really annoyed me, and for the crew to miss it as well. I mean it wasn't really that noticeable and most people wouldn't have even seen it (sorry if you didn't, you'll now be looking out for it I'm sure!). Here's a video of 'Welcome To Burlesque', see if you notice it;

It really isn't noticeable at this size, but watching on a television screen it really is, honestly! Despite the mishap with the miming, this song still remains in my top two songs from the movie with the other being 'You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me' - also sung by Cher.

The way Cher performed this song was with so much conviction and the words came with such a powerful blow.

Christina Aguilera being the star of the movie obviously had some great moments with songs like, 'Express' which really showcased her range, and 'Bound To You' which stepped away from the theme of the other songs and showed a new side to her character. 

Overall I would say this is a film that has taken two talented and world-renowned singers and turned them into actresses. The mix of Cher's timeless voice and Christina's powerful pop voice has worked wondered in making this a film of epic proportions. Although the main character was Ali (Aguilera), I do think Cher was wasted slightly and should have had more scenes that showcased her voice, rather than just her acting skills! The whole cast excelled themselves and made this a film not your average musical drama. 

(all videos taken from YouTube, click through to go to each channel)