Time-tested or cliched? You can decide as "Burlesque" introduces:
• An Iowan named Ali (Christina Aguilera) who chucks her waitress job and trailer and takes the bus to Los Angeles with one suitcase, one precious family photo and her big voice, dreams and determination.
- Starring: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet.
- Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, including several suggestive dance routines, partial nudity, language and some thematic material.
• A club owner, singer and steely veteran, Tess (Cher), who refuses to sell her Sunset Boulevard lounge, even though she is impossibly behind in payments to the bank.
• A diva with a drinking problem who is jealous of a newcomer and tries to ruin her big break -- a strategy that backfires in a way she never imagined.
• A seductive and wealthy entrepreneur who might not be a bad guy, just the wrong guy.
• Platonic roomies who eventually realize that maybe -- just maybe -- they belong together, although there is the inevitable misunderstanding and breakup.
And so it goes in "Burlesque," a movie that proves Cher can still sing and act, even if plastic surgery has erased the worry lines that should mar her character's face. Ms. Aguilera roars to life when performing on screen, and those bars where Jennifer Beals performed in "Flashdance" were nothing compared to The Burlesque Lounge.
It's the Hollywood home of a musical revue where women in sexy, sheer costumes adorned with strategically positioned lace, leather, Swarovski crystals, feathers and ropes of pearls or golden chains dance and lip-synch to famous songs such as "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
The exception is Tess, who really can sing, and so can the eager waitress who blusters her way into the audition process for dancers and pleads, "If you just give me a chance!" She gets it but even she may not be enough to save the club.
When the focus is on the burlesque in "Burlesque," the movie breaks free of its recycled story lines and dialogue. Ms. Aguilera, in a procession of costumes and hairstyles that would make a Grammy performer envious, belts out songs she co-wrote along with ones associated with Etta James, one of her idols and key jazz influences.
Cher literally gets her moment in the spotlight with "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," a Diane Warren tune she sings alone on stage. It seems shoehorned in, to make the movie worth her while and wattage.
"Burlesque," written and directed by Steven Antin who once wrote burlesque shows and directed music videos for such acts as the Pussycat Dolls and Girlicious, is at its best when Tess reminds Ali who's boss or the women share a quiet moment. But there aren't enough of those scenes, leaving two hours that seem like two-plus hours.
In addition to the leads, the cast includes Kristen Bell as drunken diva Nikki; Eric Dane from "Grey's Anatomy" as a wealthy club regular; Cam Gigandet as Jack, a sympathetic bartender; Stanley Tucci as the stage manager and Tess' best friend; Peter Gallagher as Tess' ex-husband; and a severely underused Alan Cumming as the doorman who performs in a brief stage number.
Perhaps Rob Marshall forever spoiled us with "Chicago." Some of the staging in "Burlesque," especially for the final "Show Me How You Burlesque" number, is reminiscent of his films.
In the end, "Burlesque" falls short in the originality and depth department but if you're in search of music videos masquerading as a movie, it just might be your ticket. Or soundtrack.
First Published: November 24, 2010, 10:00 a.m.
