Burlesque is a 2010 American backstage musical film written and directed by Steven Antin. It stars Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Cam Gigandet, Stanley Tucci, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, and Peter Gallagher, and features cameos from Dianna Agron, and James Brolin. The film tells the story of Ali (Aguilera), an aspiring singer who leaves her small hometown for Los Angeles, where she becomes a dancer at a struggling burlesque lounge owned by Tess (Cher). After a performance is sabotaged by her rival, Nikki (Bell), Ali sings the song herself, impressing Tess and leading to her becoming the main attraction of the lounge. Burlesque marks Aguilera's first leading role, as well as Cher's first musical performance on screen.
Alice "Ali" Marilyn Rose is a young waitress from Iowa who has dreams of becoming a professional dancer ever since losing her mother in her childhood. After her selfish boss refuses to pay her salary, she takes what he owes her from the register and moves to LA, where she attends many auditions with little success.
One night, Ali comes across a burlesque club where its owner Tess Scali and an entourage of dancers perform an opening number. She also meets songwriter-bartender Jack Miller at the club's bar. He refers Ali to Tess for an audition, but she tells her to return another time and her assistant Sean ushers her out. Upon seeing the waitress shortage, Ali picks up a tray and begins serving. As a result, she manages to get a job as a waitress at the club.
When Georgia, one of the leading dancers, becomes pregnant, her boyfriend Damon later proposes to her off screen, auditions are held in search of a replacement to fill her role. Ali performs a difficult dance routine and eventually persuades Tess to hire her. This infuriates Nikki, a lead performer struggling with alcoholism.
Ali replaces Nikki one night to host a performance after the latter is too intoxicated to perform. In a fit of rage, Nikki tries to sabotage the performance by turning off the music that the dancers usually lip sync to until Ali impresses everyone with her singing skills. Her performance is an instant success to which Tess casts her in an upcoming show. Despite the club's growing popularity, Tess struggles with a bank loan having a lien on her ownership rights of the building.
One night after the club closes, Tess grows increasingly worried about her finances before a drunken Nikki shows up, accusing Tess of rejecting their long friendship. In defense of Ali, Tess questions Nikki's gratitude for the help she has received during her binges. In retaliation, the furious dancer quits after she reveals to have slept with Tess' ex-husband Vince. Tess leaves, angrily smashing the passenger-side window on Nikki's convertible.
Meanwhile, Ali and Jack become romantically attracted. However, he is already engaged to Natalie, an actress working in NYC. Sean encourages Jack to end the engagement, as Ali is a better person than his shallow fiancée. Marcus, a wealthy clubgoer, becomes infatuated with Ali, who begins spending time with him, making Jack jealous.
The group later attends Georgia's lavish wedding to Damon, funded by Damon wealthy father who is delighted with Damon settling down and the impending arrival of his grandchild. Jack appears to call off his engagement and becomes drunk. That night, he and Ali sleep together, beginning an affair. In the morning, Natalie unexpectedly returns from New York and finds them in bed together. Natalie angrily insists she and Jack never broke up though the latter denies this yet asks Ali to leave. Heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support and learns that Sean is gay. Marcus calls Ali, and Sean prompts her to go out with him.
Ali learns that Marcus is interested in the "air rights" above the club; he hopes to build a skyscraper on the property. Distraught, she abruptly leaves. She later tells Tess about his plan, so they inform the owner of new million-dollar condos being sold across the street. Fearing the obstruction of his prospective purchasers' view, he buys the air rights to the club's property from Tess. She then uses the money to buy out Vince's share, pay off the bank, and redecorate the club in her own vision. Later, a sobered Nikki admits that she lied about sleeping with Vince out of anger, and Tess rehires her.
Ali rekindles her relationship with Jack after he tells her that he broke up with Natalie because she cared more about her job than about their relationship. Having earned Nikki's respect, Ali performs "Show Me How You Burlesque", a song written by Jack, with all of the dancers on stage, delighting the crowd.
Steven Antin's sister Robin was a member of the girl band the Pussycat Dolls.[9] Circa 2002, the group performed at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, with many artists—among them Christina Aguilera—and Steven Antin directed some of these shows.[9] The first outline of the screenplay was written by Antin and Clint Culpepper, the Screen Gems' president. It was about "a girl escaping her life", showing up in a neo-burlesque club and launching a career as a performer.[9]
Cher accepted the supporting role of Tess Scali because she wanted to sing in a movie and thought this would be her last opportunity to do so.[10] While on the film set, she went on to praise co-star Christina Aguilera's acting abilities, revealing to Entertainment Tonight: "She was keeping up, and she was hot. I mean, it was, like, she was really up there. Her game is good."[10] Canadian actor Shawn Roberts, who was previously cast in another Screen Gems production Resident Evil: Afterlife, was briefly considered for the role of Jack Miller.[11]
Burlesque started shooting on November 9, 2009[3] and ended on March 3, 2010. Although director Steven Antin wrote the original screenplay, Diablo Cody (Juno) revised it uncredited.[12] It was later further revised by Susannah Grant, also uncredited.[13]Burlesque is Screen Gems' most expensive film, with the exception of the Resident Evil films, with costs of $55 million.[14]
"My Drag" – The Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by Deva Dragon & Squirrel Nut Zippers)
"Welcome to Burlesque Tango" – The Band
"Welcome to Burlesque" – Tess and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (performed by Cher)
"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (Swing Cats Remix)" –written by Leo Robin and Nikki, Georgia and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by Leo Robin and Jules Styne for the musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes])
"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" – Ali (outro by Christina Aguilera)
The soundtrack album features ten tracks: eight performed by Aguilera including "Express"; and two performed by Cher which are her first original recordings in 7 years. The soundtrack includes a mix of original and cover songs. Both the ballads from the soundtrack – "Bound to You" performed by Aguilera and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" performed by Cher – were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", which was written by Diane Warren, won the award.[17][18] In the United States, the soundtrack was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies in October 2011.[19]
The DVD and Blu-ray were released in North America on March 1, 2011.[21] A Blu-ray/DVD combo has been released as well. The DVD and Blu-ray sales exceed one million units and have grossed $20,563,918 in the United States alone;[22] and, as of May 19, 2011[update], it is the 19th highest selling movie of the year.[23] In all, the DVD has sold over 1.4 million units in the United States.[22] Overall, it has grossed over $30,053,366 on video sales (DVD and Blu-ray sales) in United States alone.[24]
Reception
Critical reception
Burlesque received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 37% based on 178 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Campy and clichéd, Burlesque wastes its talented cast (including a better-than-expected Christina Aguilera) on a movie that wavers uncertainly between 'bad' and 'so bad it's good.'"[25] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26]
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune said, "The choicest dialogue in Burlesque provokes the sort of laughter that other, intentionally funny films only dream of generating."[27][28]Mick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle gave the movie a full score and praised Aguilera's acting, calling her "jaw-droppingly good in several numbers" and said, "Aguilera knows how to listen to her fellow actors, to react and be spontaneous, and it makes all the difference".[29] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter called Burlesque "a refreshing throwback to movie musicals that celebrates its stars while indulging in sexy fun" and also praised Aguilera's acting and singing.[30] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said, "Aguilera can dance like nobody's business, but her acting debut isn't going to keep Anne Hathaway awake at night."[31]Stanley Tucci's performance received praise from Entertainment Weekly[32] and Empire thought the dance numbers were thrilling.[33]Time Out labelled the drama "perfunctory"[34] while Roger Ebert said that "Burlesque shows Cher and Christina Aguilera being all that they can be, and that's more than enough."[35]Variety observed that the film "wants to be Cabaret, but lacks the edge and historical context to pull it off."[36]The New York Times said that the story line "had already gathered dust by the time [of] the 1933 musical 42nd Street".[37]
Aguilera's portrayal of the main character received positive reviews,[29][38][39][40][41][25] and has been ranked among the hundred best acting performances by musicians by the Billboard magazine.[42] Sarah Carty of RTÉ.ie opined that the singer "manages to bring an unforced charm to her first starring role."[39]Urban Cinefile's Louise Keller praised the film for the "knock out performances by the sizzling hot Christina Aguilera and the legendary Cher."[43]
Box office
Burlesque was released on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, the day before Thanksgiving in the United States; on its opening day, it came in third to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Tangled. On Thursday, November 25, 2010, it dropped down to fourth place in the box office behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Tangled and Unstoppable and went down to fifth on Friday, November 26, 2010. On Sunday, November 28, 2010, it went back up to third place behind Tangled and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It stayed in the top five until December 10, 2010, when it fell to sixth behind The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Tourist, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Unstoppable. By the Christmas weekend, it was number 15 at the box office.[44]
The week after Thanksgiving, Burlesque experienced a substantial decrease on ticket sales, earning $9.65 million ($6.1 million for the weekend), for a total of $26.98 million for its first twelve days.[45] As of February 6, 2011[update], it had grossed $39.4 million in North America, and, as of May 15, 2011[update], $51.1 million in foreign countries, for a total of $91 million worldwide,[1] and an additional $42 million in domestic video sales (DVD and Blu-ray).[46]
According to Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly, since its release the movie "inspired everything, from drag queen revues to viral internet moments".[9] Nolfi applauded Burlesque as "a campy, niche classic".[9] In 2019, a full-length Burlesque tour, based on the movie, embarked, including at British venues. It starred Farrah Moan as Ali Rose and Chad Michaels as Tess Scali.[54] The Burlesque stage musical was supposed to open at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey, in autumn 2020, followed by a Broadway theatre adaptation, but the plans were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[55] The movie was also referenced in the third season of the VH1 reality show RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[56] In a 2020 interview Antin revealed a "hybrid television event/series", based on the movie, was under development.[9]
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