Burlesque (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 (as Steven Antin)

Writer:

Steve Antin (as Steven Antin)

Stars:

Cher, Christina Aguilera, Alan Cumming

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 18 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	...	Scarlett

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:

male objectification | tank top | man wearing a tank top | small town girl | dancer | 

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Taglines:

It takes a LEGEND... to make a STAR

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Genres:

Drama | Music | 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

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

24 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Burlesque

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,947,744, 28 November 2010, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$39,440,655, 6 February 2011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$89,519,773, 15 May 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

The Golden Globes drew a lot of adverse criticism when they announced their 2010 nominations as two of the year's most critically derided films - Burlesque and The Tourist (2010) - both were nominated for Best Film Musical or Comedy. A press freebie to Las Vegas to watch Cher perform organized by Screen Gems was generally credited with the film's erroneous nomination.

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Goofs

During the "Tough Lover" sequence, a crew member lowers the curtain by pulling on the side of the rope closest to him. When Tess tells him to raise the curtain, he begins to pull up on the same portion of the rope. This would be impossible, due to the way fly systems are weighted. The proper method is to pull down on the other side of the rope.

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Quotes

Vince: Do you know what you could do with that money, Tess?
Tess: Do you know what *you* could do with that money, Vince?
Vince: Not now...
Tess: Don't "not now" me.

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Crazy Credits

The credits play over a background of the stage set from the final scene ("Show Me How to Burlesque" dance number).

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Connections

References Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

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Soundtracks

Poor Boys Blues
Written by Chris Phillips
Performed by Chris Phillips and Squirrel Nut Zippers Orchestra
Produced by Chris Phillips and Christopher Thorn

User Reviews

Almost Bob Fosse

The musical numbers reminded me of "Sweet Charity" and the camera moves around the Kit Kat Klub style room like Fosse's camera did in "Cabaret" The similarities stop there. The film is a brave attempt but the writing walks a very, very thin line. Was Steve Antin trying to be funny? Some of the lines were received with loud guffaws and there is no way to know if that was the intention because, personally, I felt like cringing. Never mind. It was fun. Christina has a powerful voice but not film presence and Cher is a fearless icon but she had so little to show for it. The best performance is, without question, by Stanley Tucci. The songs work at the moment you're watching them being performed but I couldn't hum a tune now, 48 hours later, for the life of me. So, I was entertained and in the big scheme of things, I guess that's enough