Burlesque Information

Burlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America. This film was the debut of pop singer Aguilera as an actress, and also starred Cher, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci and Dianna Agron.

Cher and Aguilera contributed to the soundtrack album, with Aguilera contributing eight out of the ten songs with Cher taking the remaining two. The album was released in the USA on November 22, 2010 and received two nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards. The song "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", penned by Diane Warren and sung by Cher, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 2011, while the movie was nominated for the Golden Globe Award in the Best Motion Picture " Musical or Comedy category. The film has grossed $90 million worldwide. The film is rated PG-13.

Plot

Ali Rose (Aguilera) moves to Los Angeles after she quits her bar job when her boss refuses to pay her. Once in L.A., she tries and fails at every audition she does until one night, she finds herself unknowingly in a burlesque club when she hears the music on the street. She finds Tess (Cher) and the dancers performing "Welcome to Burlesque" and decides to pursue a career on stage once she meets Jack (Gigandet). Jack refers her to Tess for an audition, but is rejected instantly and ushered out by Sean (Tucci). Instead of leaving, Ali begins serving customers at the club as a waitress, while Tess and Sean observe with Jack asking Tess to give Ali a chance.

When Georgia (Hough) becomes pregnant, auditions are held to replace her. Ali begins her audition when everyone leaves, and after performing "Wagon Wheel Watusi", persuades Tess to allow her to become one of the club's dancers, much to the annoyance of Nikki (Bell), a performer who is always late and caught drinking before numbers. Despite the club's growing success, Tess is still unable to pay the bank.

One night after the club closes, Tess, worried with the club's economic prospects, sings "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". A very jealous Nikki shows up drunk and picks a fight with Tess, calling Ali a "slut with mutant lungs". Tess, who has grown frustrated with Nikki, questions her gratitude for the help she has received. Angered, Nikki quits on the spot (before falsely confessing that she slept with Vince after his and Tess' honeymoon), and the altercation ends when Tess angrily retaliates by smashing the passenger side window on Nikki's convertible with a crowbar.

Tensions arise between Ali and Jack as Marcus grows increasingly infatuated with Ali, making Jack jealous. At Georgia's wedding, Jack appears to call off his engagement, getting drunk. That night, Ali and Jack sleep together, but the following morning Jack's fiancé, Natalie (Agron), returns unexpectedly from her play in New York and tells Ali that the engagement is still on. Jack denies this, and while trying to fix things, he asks Ali to leave. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support, who prompts her to go with Marcus after his phone call.

While spending time with Marcus, Ali finds out about "air rights", which refers to the empty space above a building and what can be done with it. Ali breaks things off with Marcus after she sees his plans to build a skyscraper on the property the club is on. Ali tells Tess, and together they inform the owner of the new million-dollar condos across the street; fearing the loss of business that would result from the obstruction of his prospective tenants' view, he purchases the air rights to the club's property. The resulting money is enough for Tess to buy out Vince's share, pay off the bank, and re-fashion the club to her own vision. She also makes up with Nikki and rehires her at the club. In the end Ali, having reunited with Jack and earned Nikki's respect, performs "Show Me How You Burlesque" with all of the dancers, a song which Jack wrote and finally finished.

Cast

• Cher as Tess
• Christina Aguilera as Alice Marilyn "Ali" Rose
• Eric Dane as Marcus Gerber
• Cam Gigandet as Jack Miller
• Kristen Bell as Nikki
• Julianne Hough as Georgia
• Alan Cumming as Alexis
• Peter Gallagher as Vincent "Vince" Scali
• Stanley Tucci as Sean
• Dianna Agron as Natalie
• Glynn Turman as Harold Saint
• David Walton as Mark the DJ
• Terrence J as Dave
• Chelsea Traille as Coco
• Tyne Stecklein as Jessie
• Michael Landes as Greg
• Tanee McCall as Scarlett
• Blair Redford as James / Bumper Band Member
• James Brolin as Mr. Anderson
• Stephen Lee as Dwight

Production

Aguilera made her theatrical film and musical debut as the lead character, a "small-town girl with a big voice," who finds work at a Los Angeles Neo-Burlesque club, inspired by Bob Fosse's Cabaret and European Burlesque entertainment. Burlesque started shooting on November 9, 2009 and ended on March 3, 2010. Cher co-stars in her first film role since a cameo in 2003's Stuck on You and first musical film. She plays Tess, a former dancer who struggles to keep the nightclub open and serves as a mentor to Aguilera's character, Ali. Aguilera's love interest is played by Cam Gigandet, Stanley Tucci is the nightclub's manager, and Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell, Eric Dane, and Julianne Hough round off the cast. Dianna Agron makes a cameo as Jack's fiancee, Natalie. Antin wrote the script, and Diablo Cody (Juno) revised it, which was later revised and edited by Susannah Grant. Burlesque is one of Screen Gems' most expensive movies, with the exception of the Resident Evil films, with costs of $55 million.

Music

Musical numbers

1. "Something's Got a Hold on Me (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe
2. "My Drag (Deva Dragon & Squirrel Nut Zippers)" " The Burlesque Lounge Troupe
3. "Welcome to Burlesque Tango" " The Band
4. "Welcome to Burlesque (Cher)" " Tess and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe
5. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (Marilyn Monroe)" " Nikki, Georgia and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe
6. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (outro by Christina Aguilera)" " Ali
7. "Long John Blues (Megan Mullally)" " Nikki
8. "Nasty Naughty Boy (Christina Aguilera/instrumental version)" " Ali
9. "Wagon Wheel Watusi (Elmer Bernstein)" " Ali
10. "Ray of Light (Madonna)" " The Burlesque Lounge Troupe
11. "That's Life (Alan Cumming)" " Alexis (DVD Blu-Ray Special Feature)
12. "Tough Lover (Etta James)" " The Burlesque Lounge Troupe
13. "Tough Lover (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali
14. "I Am a Good Girl (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali
15. "A Guy What Takes His Time (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali
16. "Express (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe
17. "Jungle Berlin (instrumental)" " Alexis and The Contortionists
18. "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me (Cher)" " Tess
19. "Bound To You (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali
20. "Show Me How You Burlesque (Christina Aguilera)" " Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troup

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.

Release

Marketing

The theatrical trailer was attached to screenings of Step Up 3D and Easy A. The first TV spot premiered during the season 2 premiere of Fox's Glee on September 21, 2010. A third TV spot also aired the following day during Dancing with the Stars, later followed by another during MTV's Jersey Shore. Several teasers have been released for promotional purposes including the Etta James's "Something's Got a Hold on Me". This was then followed by the track "But I Am a Good Girl" which was released in November 2010.

Aguilera performed "Bound to You" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and gave an interview and performance on Conan. Aguilera also gave an interview to show host Chelsea Handler to discuss the film and other subjects. On November 19, 2010, Aguilera also gave a television interview to Ellen DeGeneres. She then performed a track from the soundtrack, the Etta James track "Something's Got a Hold on Me". Aguilera performed "Express" at the American Music Awards of 2010 and "Show Me How You Burlesque" at the Dancing with the Stars finale. She also performed "Express" on the final of the seventh series of The X Factor which received criticism and complaints for the raunchy content.

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray were released in North America on March 1, 2011. 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; and, as of May 19, 2011, it is the 19th highest selling movie of the year. In all, the DVD has sold over 1.4 million units in the United States.

Reception

Critical response

Movie review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes labeled Burlesque with a 37% rating based on 143 reviews with the consensus of critics nationwide saying that the film is "Campy and clichéd...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.'" Metacritic, however, said the film received mixed to average reviews, and gave the film a weighted average score of 47%, based on 38 reviews. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune said, "The choicest dialogue in Burlesque provokes the sort of laughter that other, intentionally funny films only dream of generating." Mick LeSalle from SFGate gave the movie a full score and praised Aguilera's acting, calling her "jaw-droppingly good in several numbers" and said, "Aguilera knows how to listen to her fellow actors, to react and be spontaneous, and it makes all the difference". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter called Burlesque "a refreshing throwback to movie musicals that celebrates its stars while indulging in sexy fun" and also praised Aguilera's acting and singing. Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said, "Aguilera can dance like nobody's business, but her acting debut isn't going to keep Anne Hathaway awake at night." Stanley Tucci's performance received praise from Entertainment Weekly and Empire thought the dance numbers were thrilling. Time Out New York labelled the drama "perfunctory" while Roger Ebert said that "Burlesque shows Cher and Christina Aguilera being all that they can be, and that's more than enough." Variety observed that the film "wants to be Cabaret, but lacks the edge and historical context to pull it off." The New York Times said that the story line "had already gathered dust by the time [of] the 1933 musical 42nd Street."

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.

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. As of February 6, 2011, it had grossed $39.4 million in North America, and, as of May 15, 2011, $50.15 million in foreign countries, for a total of $90 million worldwide.

Awards and nominations

Awards
Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
2010	NewNowNext Awards	Best Future Feature
	Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2010	Best Original Song	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
	Satellite Awards	Best Original Song	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Original Song	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards 2010	Best Music
2011	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Song	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture " Musical or Comedy
		Best Original Song	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
		Best Original Song	"Bound to You" Written by Christina Aguilera, Samuel Dixon, Sia Furler, performed by Christina Aguilera.
	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Supporting Actress	Cher
	GALECA Dorian Awards	Campy (Intentional or Not) Film Of The Year
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Excellence In Contemporary Film	Burlesque Michael Kaplan
	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding Film " Wide Release
	ALMA Awards	Favorite Film Leading Actress " Comedy or Musical	Christina Aguilera
	World Soundtrack Awards	Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
2012	Japan Gold Disc Awards 2012	Soundtrack Album of the Year	Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
	Grammy Awards	Best Song Written for Visual Media	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" Written by Diane Warren, performed by Cher.
		Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media	Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

See also

• Burlesque