Burlesque (Rhoades)

“Burlesque” Will Definitely Entertain You
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Here in Key West we have a sexy burlesque troupe led by Marky Pierson that includes such glitzy performers as Cheeky Derriere, Moana Amour, Lola Lafleur, and the fabulous Tatah Dujour. They sing, they dance, they jiggle a few tassels.

Yes, they’re very entertaining.

That’s why I was eager to see “Burlesque,” the new movie musical that’s putting on a performance at the Tropic Cinema. I wondered just how far Cher and Christina Aguilera would go to entertain us.

Well, pretty far. These gals sure know how to belt out a song. The two popular singers deliver such numbers as “Welcome to Burlesque,” “Something’s Got a Hold on Me,” and “Bound to You.” Cher does a prophetic rendition of “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” while Christina reprises her record hit, “Express.”
Don’t look for twirling tassels, but the film’s production numbers are well choreographed with plenty of shimmies and shakes.

The familiar story of a nice small-town girl lured by the siren call of show biz provides a comfortable backdrop for this Cabaret-inspired musical. It’s Cinderella with glitter.
Stanley Tucci is steal-the-show perfect as the Los Angeles neo-burlesque club’s manager. Cam Gigandet appears as Christina’s love interest. You’ll also find Alan Cummin, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough, Eric Dane, and Peter Gallagher standing in the wings.

Christina Aguilera made her real-life debut at 10, appearing on TV’s “Star Search.” That led to a two-year gig on “The Mickey Mouse Club” alongside such up-and-comers as Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Justin Timberlake. After recording a song for Disney’s “Mulan,” she signed a record deal with RCA. According to Billboard, she’s the biggest selling singles artist of the decade, second only to Madonna.
“Burlesque” is Christina’s first feature film. “Once I found the script for my first movie, given the fact that burlesque is straight up my alley, it all happened pretty fast,” says the curvy blonde singer. “I was also told that the script was originally written by Diablo Cody, a writer that knows very well the subject matter since she too quit her day job and became a stripper.”

The racy theme may elicit another phone call from Christina’s grandmother, who upon seeing one of her music videos exclaimed, “I nearly died when I saw she was wearing so little. I rang her mom and said, ‘Oh my God, what is Christina doing?’”

Returning to the big screen for the first time in a decade, 64-year-old Cher looks pretty hot. But Christina, 34 years her junior, carries the show – singing, dancing, strutting, even emoting. As Cher tells it, “I went up to her and said, ‘Christina, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for all your life. Not your character’s life, but yours. It’s now or never.’ Moments later I watched her pull years of tears out of those baby blue eyes. Yeah! I know this beautiful child can go as far, and as deep, as she wants to go. I’m proud of her and I am proud to be in this film with her.”

Cher herself led a life not unlike the heroine of “Burlesque.” She tells about leaving home at 16 and breaking into show business. “One day I just said to my mom, ‘This is it! I’m finished with all this crap. I don’t want to go to school anymore. I don’t really feel like being told what to do anymore. I want to get out on my own.’ I just walked out. I’d had it. I left home and moved in with my girlfriend.” Then she met Sonny Bono.

“Sonny had been trying to do a whole bunch of things in show business before he met me,” says Cher. “When he saw me, everything kind of clicked into place for him. I was like raw, aimless, untamed energy, and he saw a way to give it direction. He molded me. His dream was to push me into being a huge star.” The rest is, as they say, show biz history.

Christina Aguilera is on her way to making history too. Of her starring role in “Burlesque” she says. “It was the best experience ever. I got to work with Cher.”

srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]