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Synopsis

In Burlesque Ali Rose (Christina Aguilera) is working in a diner and frustrated by her boss' refusal to pay her wages she takes it from the cash register at the diner, packs and leaves her small town whilst performing "Something's Got a Hold on Me" to move to Los Angeles. Once in Los Angeles she searches for auditions, failing all of them and whilst walking downtown she follows the sound of music into a building unknowingly entering a burlesque club. She enters to find Tess (Cher) and the club dancers performing "Welcome to Burlesque" and after meeting bartender Jack (Cam Gigandet) she enquires into becoming a performer in the club. After Jack refers her to Tess she is dismissed quickly and before leaving she insists on taking a waitress' job and before a decision is made she starts working as a club waitress to the delight of Jack who then asks Tess and Sean (Stanley Tucci) to give her a chance as a waitress. Returning to her apartment Ali finds it in disarray and her money has been stolen. She unexpectedly shows up at Jack's apartment upset, and he offers to let stay in his apartment until she is ready to move back. Back at the burlesque club Ali attempts to tell Tess that the performers lip-synching was limiting their capability but her idea is dismissed immediately. After club performer Georgia (Julianne Hough) confesses to Tess she is pregnant, auditions to find her replacement are held and after the official audition finishes Ali performs "Wagon Wheel Watusi" in an attempt to impress Tess into letting her perform at the club which she reluctantly agrees to.

Backstage at the club a conflict between Tess and Marcus (Eric Dane) escalates after he notifies her of their debt and an offer which has been placed on the club that he wishes to accept. As time passes Ali becomes a regular fixture at the club and one night after Nikki fails to show, Ali takes her place in a performance of "Tough Lover". After seeing this an upset Nikki tells the sound technician that Tess wishes to speak with him and once he leaves she cuts the sound from the performance they were lip-synching to. Just as the curtain lowers to abort the performance Ali performs "Tough Lover" a capella and live and the curtain is raised again. After impressing the cast, Sean and Tess, Tess announces a new show would be created with Ali as the main feature. Believing that Jack loves Ali he tells him to make a move before she becomes too famed. During this time Tess' financial struggles grow and worried with the economic prospects of the club one night she performs "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". That night Nikki shows up intoxicated and confronts Tess about her displacement within the club and Tess becomes increasingly frustrated with her lack of gratitude. After Nikki falsely claims to have slept with Tess' ex-husband whilst they were married Tess retaliates by attacking Nikki's car window with a crowbar.

Tensions between Ali and Jack grow as Marcus, a regular at the club intercepts taking Ali out on a date leaving Jack who at the time was engaged upset with her actions. Following this at the wedding of club performer Georgia Jack claims to have called of his engagement whilst drunk, and that night he and Ali sleep together for the first time. The following morning, unexpectedly Jack's fiancée returns and clarifies the engagement is still intact and Jack states he has no romantic attraction to Ali, and feeling betrayed Ali leaves the apartment. Spending time with Marcus Ali discovers air rights and after he tells Ali of his plans to build high rise apartments in the space of the burlesque club she leaves him and tells Tess of his plans after he purchases the club. Together they devise a plan to reveal Marcus' plans to a building contractor opposite the club, of which would compromise the builders ocean views and commercial prospects of the upcoming buildings. The contractor purchases the air rights for his luxury condos to maintain their ocean view and with the money Tess buys out her partner Vincent (Peter Gallagher) and to refashion the club. After making up with Nikki the club performs "Show Me How You Burlesque", a song that Jack wrote as the films' finale.

Development

Cher at the premiere of Burlesque in Empire, Leicester Square in London.

After production company Screen Gems confirmed they were preparing to start work on an upcoming film titled Burlesque reports surfaced that Christina Aguilera was interested in the role which at that time was readying for a start in January the following year [2010]. It was then announced that Aguilera would in-fact take the lead role in the film, Burlesque is Aguilera's debut movie although in previous years she had lent her voice to the animated film Shark Tale in addition to featuring in the Martin Scorcese documentary Shine a Light about The Rolling Stones. When the casting was announced it was confirmed that she would portray "an ambitious, small-town girl with a big voice" who aspires to stardom and finds work at a neo-burlesque club in Los Angeles which was inspired by the Bob Fosse film Cabaret. When she had acquired the role she told USA Today that the role appealed to her because the film was "sexy" and "sensual", she explained "The whole idea of burlesque has always intrigued me. The art of the tease, the dance, beautiful women — need I say more?". She found that another aspect that interested her in the role was that her character "wasn't just a girl who comes to L.A. and makes it big. It was a girl who had suffered and felt pain, been in seven foster homes. She doesn't let her past make her a victim. And that to me was so appealing."

During the same period it was announced that Aguilera was cast as the films lead it was also announced that Cher would star as the second lead in the film. When talking to MTV Cher described her part explaining her character was the owner of a club that was "not doing well" because of the economy and after Aguilera's character arrives and pesters Cher, she leads her to become the star of the show. Cher enjoyed working alongside Aguilera explaining "The scenes that she and I had together, I really enjoyed, and I really believe that she's got definite chops, We worked well together. I enjoyed all of it, and she was toe-to-toe with me the whole time. But everybody's good. Stanley Tucci's in it and Peter Gallagher and Kristen Bell and Julianne Hough, and so everyone's really good in it."

When production had started director Steven Antin expressed surprise at Aguilera's ability to work with the film-set as she had not been featured in any films before, calling her "a little bit of a freak of nature and a perfectionist" he said "She figured out how it works within weeks" and said "this girl is a movie star". Similarly Antin's sister Robin Antin positively discussed her performance on the Burlesque set calling her "very talented", she stated that due to her brother's skills he managed to shape Aguilera into an actress despite her never acting before the film. Robin Antin talked to MTV News about Aguilera stating "It's a great opportunity for her, and she's really talented, obviously. She came and was a guest in the Pussycat Dolls, and that's how that really happened; that's how my brother met Christina. ... I think the movie's going to be very cool." Steven Antin's sister is the Pussycat Dolls founder, a band based upon burlesque. The make-up and costumes for the film were described as featuring "elaborate bustiers and stockings", whereas costume for the male lead with actor Cam Gigandet saw him wear pajamas and during the same scene just holding cookie box over his "nether regions" which Aguilera referenced saying "You didn't have to do any push-up bras, any high heels, any fishnet stockings". Gigandet also wore eyeliner for the film who found the experience something different but enjoyed the process noting "I gotta say, it made my job easier to kind of, you know, step into a different character, into a different world."

Music

Main article: Burlesque (soundtrack)

"I knew going into 'Burlesque' that it would intertwine with Bionic, but I also knew that I'd get to a point where regardless of what was happening with my record I'd have to turn my attention to the movie. I've basically put everything in my life on hold for the movie."

— Aguilera discussing Burlesque interfering with the release of her studio album Bionic.

Director of Burlesque Steve Antin wrote a synopsis of what the songs would be before production on the film had started and Antin stated "that's how I sold the movie". Once production on the film had began Antin and music supervisor Buck Damon started gathering "some really, really impressive people" to contribute to the film's soundtrack and Aguilera asked if she could contribute to the soundtrack also to which Antin agreed stating in the end "the best song wins". When she was making the music for the film Aguilera stated she wished to combine a vibe of her 2006 Back to Basics with a modern-day twist with Aguilera saying "Big bottom-end bass in the beat, then old-school horn pops -- things like that. After working with Aguilera on her 2010 studio album Bionic producer Tricky Stewart was invited to collaborate with her for the soundtrack to the film which he called a "crazy opportunity different from anything I've ever done before". Stewart had given songs to films such as Sex and the City 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and with the Burlesque soundtrack he co-wrote tracks "Show Me How You Burelsque" and "Express" in addition to producing three remakes that are featured on the soundtrack, two of which are Etta James tracks. Other producers on the album include Linda Perry and Matt Serletic and amongst other songwriters; Diane Warren, Claude Kelly and Sia wrote tracks for the record. After completion of the soundtrack Aguilera singled out track "Bound to You" written with Sia who had also contributed to her album Bionic as her favorite from the soundtrack. The track features ten songs featuring eight performance from Aguilera with two covers of Etta James songs Aguilera said she "grew up singing all alone in my bedroom with the door closed" to her tracks, and the record features two new Cher performances which director Steve Antin referred to saying "To get a new song from someone like Cher that's as fresh as 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' -- that's like Christmas morning to her fans". The album was released on November 19, 2010 and peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 and went onto gain a Gold certification indicating sales of over 500,000 copies.

Release and promotion

Aguilera's performance of "But I am a Good Girl" for the film was compared to that of her performance style with single "Dirrty".

In an effort to start the promotional campaign for Burlesque exclusive pictures were given to USA Today which saw images of Aguilera in a "leg-revealing [...] gold bodysuit" surrounded by dancers whilst other pictures saw Aguilera with "blonde locks" in a kitchen. The theatrical trailer for the film premiered on August 5, 2010 and shows Aguilera booking a one-way bus ticket out of her "small town" and towards Los Angeles. After entering a nightclub run by Cher's character Aguilera "fights her way onto the stage and in front of an audience as a burlesque performer" and sees Cher say "When you are putting on your makeup, it's like you're an artist, but instead of painting a canvas, you're painting a face". As the trailer continued Aguilera desperately tries to convince Cher to let her perform, in addition to seeing the foundations of a relationship with Gigandet's character and her rivalry with Kristen Bell's character.

A promotional video was then released which saw Aguilera's performance of the Etta James track "Something Got a Hold on Me" which is featured on the film's soundtrack. The music videos starts with Aguilera kicking off her shoes in a deserted saloon bar before putting a quarter into a jukebox readying herself to perform. She then performs the song's first line "Sometimes I get a good feeling" whilst stood atop a wooden chair but following this after performing the song with a microphone her performance was compared to that of films; Grease and Flashdance. As sun shines through the "musty" windows Aguilera "shakes and shimmies" around the room all the time with nobody watching and finally falls to the floor in exhaustion. Another promotional video was released, this time it showed Aguilera's performance of the track "But I am a Good Girl" from the Burlesque soundtrack, the video sees Aguilera perform in a silver corset and fluffy tutu and sees her dance upon a bar which was compared to her performance style with single "Dirrty".

Several musical performances on television shows across the US were produced in an effort to promote the film, the performances saw Aguilera perform on the The Jay Leno Show to perform a song from the film titled "Bound to You". Her performance was well received with Billboard positively describing her "vocal superiority". During the same time a third promotional video was released seeing Cher's performance of the track "Welcome to Burlesque" which is featured in the film. Aguilera also gave an interview to television show Conan where she and host Conan O'Brien performed burlesque dance moves. Further promotion saw Cher appear on the Late Show with David Letterman on November 11, 2010 and Aguilera performed ten days later at the American Music Awards as well as performing on Dancing with the Stars on November 23, 2010.

Reception

"The movie is frivolous fun, but not, as I had sort of hoped, as sinfully awful as Showgirls, Mariah Carey's Glitter or Britney Spears' Crossroads. Lacking the snap of Chicago or the insane creativity of Moulin Rouge, it's a middle-of-the-road musical. While it took my eyes an hour to recover from the chronic soft focus required to make the naturally vampy Aguilera look like an angelic Breck girl, Burlesque doesn't have the kind of stunning bad taste that calls for the immediate invention of a drinking game built around it. Aguilera, making her dramatic debut, is far from a great actress, but compared to Elizabeth Berkley or Spears, she is a veritable Nicole Kidman."

—Mary Pols a writer for Time discussing Aguilera's performance in Burlesque.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, on the aggregator site Metacritic the film scored 47 out of 100 indicating "mixed or average reviews but on the separate aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes Burlesque scored 36% with an average rating of 4.8. Mick LaSelle from the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a positive review saying ""Burlesque" is irresistible from its first minutes, and over time it creates a whole atmosphere, not only onscreen but within the audience. It's big, perfectly cast and entertaining in every way, but more than that it feels like a generous public event", LaSelle found that the film ended "two minutes before it might have started to sag". Rene Rodriguez from The Miami Herald positively compared the film to that of Showgirls without the "sex, nudity, sleaze, bad acting and horrible dancing, Burlesque is a typical A Star is Born story" and Rodriquez found that although she was unclear whether "Aguilera is quite ready to carry a dramatic role, she more than excels as the hugely talented singer and dancer who helps put the fading cabaret back on the map" and stated the film is "exceedingly well shot and edited". Mary Pols from Time gave the film a positive review but did find a flaw in the film comparing it to the Mariah Carey film Glitter which is the problem of "trying to convince an audience that the adult heroine — Aguilera is about to turn 30 — famous to all of us, really could be an undiscovered novice" but found Aguilera "impressive" in terms of vocal power saying "If Ali were real, she'd have already been discovered on American Idol". Ann Hornaday a writer for The Washington Post gave the film three and a half stars saying "As a musical, a backstage coming-of-age drama and an ingenue's burstingly assured star turn, "Burlesque" proves a worthy addition to those canons, landing on the respectable side of the "42nd Street"-"Showgirls" spectrum". Hornaday found Antin did not create breaking-ground material with Burlesque but found that Cher's acting performance delivered the "most poignant and funny moments" and stated that Aguilera is a more "unsteady" actress saying "it remains to be seen whether Aguilera can become the multi-hyphenate on par with her co-star".

Aguilera (pictured) gained favorable reviews for her acting debut from which Ann Hornoday of The Washington Post saying "with pipes and well-honed showmanship like hers, it's no surprise that Aguilera completely nails the movie's production numbers."

Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe found that Aguilera has a "natural screen presence" more so than other singers turned actors listing examples such as; Tim McGraw, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna. Morris concluded her review wondering if "[Aguilera] really aches to impress you the way a Beyoncé does" stating "Beyoncé isn’t a natural actor. She is, however, an insatiable one. Aguilera conducts herself here like a woman who knows from where her next meal is coming (expensive record producers)." Helen O'Hara from Empire gave the film three out of five stars indicating the film was "good", O'Hara found that the film's strength derived from the "cast's commitment" instead of the actual plot. The writer found that the film was amongst the few which can "only be enjoyed ironically" and stated "whether you’re laughing with this or at it, Burlesque has enough energy and pizzazz to keep you laughing throughout." Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times positively commented on the glamour of the film saying "It's a visual feast of feathers and rhinestones and pearls that makes you want to use words like razzle-dazzle amazing when talking about costume designer Michael Kaplan", Sharkey found the plot to be predictable but found that one issue with Aguilera's performance was her constant "volume blasting" during singing performances. Scott Bowles a writer from USA Today found that Burlesque "bristles with exuberant numbers that strain beneath the weight of cliché", he noted that Steve Antin "has his stars sashaying between dance numbers with little narrative thread" and concluded his review saying "But even with those seasoned voices, Burlesque remains slightly off-key." A writer for New York Post Lou Lumenick gave the film two out of four stars and noted "the plot is skimpier than the costumes" despite running for nearly two hours, Lumenick found that Burlesque belonged to Cher and said "Aguilera can dance like nobody’s business, but her acting debut isn’t going to keep Anne Hathaway awake at night."

Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly gave Burlesque a C- rating, Schwarzbaum found the relationship between Ali and her "bartender beau" as "old-fashioned as that of virginal teens sharing an ice cream cone", she found that unlike film Showgirls "eroticism is safely off the table" and complimented Stanley Tucci's performance stating he "brightens the screen every time he shows up as the theater’s witty, gay stage manager". The New York Times writer Manohla Dargis found Aguilera's performance enjoyable saying "in what is essentially a succession of music videos linked with backstage filler, Ms. Aguilera doesn’t have much time to embarrass herself. She’s a serviceable screen presence who has a voice and an occasional song (Etta James’s “Tough Lover”) big enough to keep her from sliding off screen". Dargis compared the film to the Bob Fosse film Cabaret but found the results are "strictly Sally Bowdlerized". Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a predominantly negative review rating it one and a half stars but positively described the comedic scripting saying "The choicest dialogue in "Burlesque" provokes the sort of laughter that other, intentionally funny films only dream of generating" and Phillips concluded his review noting "The film's inadvertent laughs start petering out around the two-thirds point, which is sad. But at its worst/best "Burlesque" is a camp hoot the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time." Peter Travers from Rolling Stone gave the film one star out of four and called the film "dishwater dull", Travers thought the film could be the "21st-century Showgirls" but instead he found "Cher and Christina Aguilera playing drag queen versions of themselves with all the vitality of Madame Tussauds wax dolls, is a bust that lacks the pizzaz and bugfuck nuttiness of Paul Verhoeven's 1995 trash epic". Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review and found it to be a "theme-park version of a tawdry tradition", he compared the film to film Cabaret but stated that Burlesque failed to deliver any "politics, context, sophistication, nuance and irony".