Burlesque (I) (2010)

A small-town girl ventures to Los Angeles and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer.

Director:

Steve Antin

Writer:

Steve Antin

Stars:

Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cher	...	Tess
Christina Aguilera	...	Ali
Eric Dane	...	Marcus
Cam Gigandet	...	Jack
Julianne Hough	...	Georgia
Alan Cumming	...	Alexis
Peter Gallagher	...	Vince
Kristen Bell	...	Nikki
Stanley Tucci	...	Sean
Dianna Agron	...	Natalie
Glynn Turman	...	Harold Saint
David Walton	...	Mark the DJ
Terrence Jenkins	...	Dave
Chelsea Traille	...	Coco
Tanee McCall-Short	...	Scarlett (as Tanee McCall)

Storyline

The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess, a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali, a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue.

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Plot Keywords:

burlesque | small town girl | dancer | iowa | stage | 

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Taglines:

It takes a LEGEND... to make a STAR

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content including several suggestive dance routines, partial nudity, language and some thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burleska

Filming Locations:

Sony Pictures Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£425,931 (UK) (17 December 2010)

Gross:

$39,440,655 (USA) (4 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, De Line Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patrick Dempsey, Sam Worthington, Casey Affleck and Jamie Foxx were considered to play Marcus.

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Goofs

When Jack is frantically trying to find a towel, and all he can find are Ali's undergarments, when the camera pans to Jack he is wearing dry boxers in the shower.

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Quotes

Tess: They'll come to hear HER sing.

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Connections

Edited into 5 Second Movies: Burlesque (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Ray of Light"
Written by Madonna, David Curtiss, Christine Leach, Clive Maldoon and William Orbit
Performed by Madonna

User Reviews

Let Me Entertain You

Burlesque may have started out as a dazzling, lip-sync singing French twist sensation but when a talented girl from a small town takes center stage belching out loud piercing notes screaming with soul, "You know something got a hold of you and won't let go."

The director starts out with scenes in dingy, crusty locations, overshadowed with filtered sunlight to create an outdated, old fashion look. These scenes failed to capture a unique cinematic vision, instead the views were dark and dull. His blend of melodrama and music worked better than Chicago because singing was sung only on stage. No phantom of the opera to bring tears, just a busting out movie that went straight to the point--I want to sing!

Ms small town girl named Ali, played by Christina Aguilera, changed cities but couldn't quite change her waitress uniform. She worked her way to that familiar job, when charmed by neon lights, she opened the door to a new world, Welcome to Burlesque. As she looked around, she watched the bickering and cat fights among the dancers and how shamefully patrons weren't getting their drinks. So, she took charge by befriending Jack the bartender played by Cam Gigandet, then moved from the unemployment line to waiting on tables and serving drinks. Tess, the club owner played by Cher, told her she has great enthusiasm and terrible timing. However, in the midst of all this tension whiplash, Tess told Ali to take off her coat and get to work.

Ali studied hard by reading every burlesque book ever written. She demonstrated a fierce determination that she could do every dance, every scene, step by step better than the other girls at the audition . She was impressive and landed the job. Now here's the catch 22, people pay to see the dancers lip sync to the great stars like Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend." There is no live singing at Burlesque. What is a girl to do with all that vocal talent? Well, she could be lucky to have a vengeful enemy like Nikki who turns off the pre-recorded music during her lip sync stage performance. Surely for Nikki that has to be the biggest mistake, huge mistake, right? Right. So the rest, as they say, is history! Tess rewrites the whole show around Ali's voice and the small town girl is now center stage on Hollywood Sunset Stripe.

Cher's performance was better than great, it was awesome. She delivers a warm touchy feeling convincing me she owned the club, she loved the club and she wasn't selling her club. Hard set and beautiful, standing tall and confident, singing " You Haven't Seen the Last of Me;" Cher is a true goddess, definitive of stage and production. I needed to see more and more of her . You can't get enough of Cher and her makeup, her hair and her famous, I know everything attitude.

Christina is the sweetest part of the movie. She worked Burlesque from the beginning to the end with an Eminem's 8 mile state of mind, you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. Without a doubt, she definitely lost herself in the music, the moment, and the dancing. When you know you got it, you go get it. She wore skimpy cultured pearls, juicy bareback couture glittering with diamonds, and holding ostrich feathers only, as she paraded the stage singing slow songs, old songs and hip hop songs. Her roommate Jack, black eyeliner by night, is the movie's secret eye candy. Well built, nice teeth, and shy, he gives us a little touch of burlesque with his steamy and lusty private moves. And of course we need to mention Sean played by Stanley Tucci. He held the movie together or should I say he held Tess together.

Burlesque is an eye-popping never boring cinematic experience that will entertain you with grandeur songs from the present and the past. As you experience this razzle dazzle movie, you can actually feel the music. To me, Burlesque mirrors Purple Rain's electrifying energy that generated from a club of talented, struggling performers and a sidekick love affair. Christina and Cher in Burlesque will be remembered like Prince in Purple Rain. You have to see it again and again, because true talent never ages, its ageless. I just loved every mind- blowing performance and I'm sure you will too, so GO see it!!