Burlesque (2010 American film)

Burlesque is a 2010 American

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

The group later attends Georgia's lavish wedding to Damon, funded by Damon's 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.

Cast

Clockwise, from the top left: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Kristen Bell, and Stanley Tucci.

Production

Development

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]

Filming

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]

Filming locations included the exterior and adjacent parking as the "Burlesque Lounge" of the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood,^[15][16] as well as the interior of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana.^[16]

Music

Musical numbers

Soundtrack

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]

Release

Marketing

The

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

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.^[25]

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.^[26] 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).^[27]

Critical response

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.'"^[28] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.^[30]

Michael Phillips of the

Aguilera's portrayal of the main character received positive reviews,[33]^{[41][42][43][44][28]} and has been ranked among the hundred best acting performances by musicians by the Billboard magazine.^[45] Sarah Carty of RTÉ.ie opined that the singer "manages to bring an unforced charm to her first starring role."^[42] Urban Cinefile's Louise Keller praised the film for the "knock out performances by the sizzling hot Christina Aguilera and the legendary Cher."^[46]

Awards

Legacy

According to Joey Nolfi of

In January 2021, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue won the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. During the 2020–21 season they danced to a medley of Aguilera's Burlesque songs, which included "Express".^[57][58]

Stage musical adaptation

Main article: Burlesque (stage musical)

A stage musical adaptation of the film is schedule to open in West End, after completing tryouts at the Manchester Opera House in Manchester, and at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow from June to November 2024.^[59]

Jess Folley. Antin and Aguilera also produce the adaptation.^[60]

References

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External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Burlesque (2010 American film).

• Official website
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• Burlesque at Box Office Mojo
• Burlesque at Rotten Tomatoes