Burlesque (2010)
Directed by Steve Antin
Ali leaves behind a troubled life and follows her dreams to Los Angeles, where she lands a job as a cocktail waitress at the Burlesque Lounge, a once-majestic theater that houses an inspired musical revue. Vowing to perform there, she makes the leap from bar to stage, helping restore the club's former glory.
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He could have at least come up with a nasty old evil rich duke like the bad guy from Moulin Rouge! , from which Antin also tries to steal a little mojo (unsuccessfully).
Antin has no real ideas as to how to shoot this stuff; he mostly tries to copy Moulin Rouge! and Chicago , but comes closer to recalling Mariah Carey's Glitter.
Disguised as an original movie musical, it's in fact an amalgam of "Chicago" and "Cabaret" and "Moulin Rouge!" and "Rock of Ages," musicals and movies that writer/director Steve Antin must have watched dozens of times before making what is one of the most cliché-ridden films in years.
Otherwise, about all that can be said is that Burlesque certainly is energetic as it recycles things it appropriated from other movies like Chicago, Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Cabaret (1972)—improving on none of them.
Lacking the snap of Chicago or the insane creativity of Moulin Rouge, it's a middle-of-the-road musical.
An early lip-syncing song and dance to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" manages to simultaneously plagiarize far superior scenes from 2001's " Moulin Rouge " and 2002's " Chicago ," with waitressing Ali suddenly imagining herself performing on the stage.
Well, Antin did bother with a plot, presumably to give the bewigged star something to do besides sing and prance around in tight outfits, assembling scenes from hundreds of previous idolmaking features, using gummy “Showgirls” tribute/theft (itself a reworking of “All About Eve”) glue to hold it all together.
Which is why, one fateful night, she overcomes the objections of Tess (and the connivances of her own personal “All About Eve” schemer) to belt out a song that wows the audience.
Ali gets an All About Eve-ish rival in Nikki (Kristen Bell), who doesn’t appreciate all the attention the new girl is getting.
Stanley Tucci continues his screen career as male handmaiden to the divas (after The Devil Wears Prada and Julie and Julia), giving a tiresome, rather condescending performance as Tess' gay stage manager.
Since apparently no actual gay actors would take the part, Stanley Tucci assumes the role of Cher's dresser, confidant and world-weary voice of reason, essentially reprising his work in The Devil Wears Prada.
Not that most of the elements of “Burlesque” stand up to much scrutiny – the men are stuck with cardboard roles, with “Twilight” co-star Cam Gigandet as the hunky bartender/frustrated composer, Eric Dane as the not-all-bad real estate mogul with designs on both the club and Ali, and Stanley Tucci reviving his gay-male-Eve-Arden shtick from “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Helping Tess at the club is Sean (Stanley Tucci reprising his fastidious-yet-world-weary major-domo role from "The Devil Wears Prada").
Shades of "The Devil Wears Prada," though in this case we might call it "The Devil Wears Plaster."
In this case, Tucci is back to playing a gay stereotype similar to his character in "The Devil Wears Prada," though the character's sexuality is wisely played down until one unfortunate scene in the last act.