Burlesque: A Review

Went to see Burlesque on Friday night. It was well worth it - but then, I am a sucker for musicals. A lot like Chicago, and Moulin Rouge except without ever leaving the showbiz side, or involving any murder, death,  or actual crime. It was a predictable, feel-good movie, in which every wins (they even use the words 'win-win' near the end, which made me cringe... but then, I guess I like seeing someone lose in a good vs. bad guy type plot!) that is carried - amazingly - by the characters.

The cover of the soundtrack is interesting - the theme of two faces, as well as Cher's lips, and expecially the curve of black to white reminds me a lot of the cover of Wicked (and I predict much femslash based on that alone).

And the songs. LOVED them. The only one I didn't really enjoy as much was the finale - Jack's amazing 'specially written for Ally' song. There didn't seem to be much actual song, and they just threw all the special effects at it - more than I would have thought could fit into the club! Some of the songs were lip-synced (in order for Ally to come in and be a 'unique singer'), but those were classics, so also enjoyable.

'You Haven't Seen The Last of Me' was a quiet, plot-relevant song from Cher that I really enjoyed - looking it up afterwards, it turned out to be the one that won the Golden Globe 'Best Original Song', and the first that she'd sung in seven years!.



I'm currently listening to "I See the Light" because of all the complaints I saw about it losing to Burlesque and ... geez. Original? That's the "A Whole New World" tune! They even have some of the same words! The bit that really triggered it for me was

But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in / a whole new world with you

If she's here it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go
And at last I see the light

Listening to the chorus lines, it definitely fits (same number of beats and everything, with a tweaked tune)
"A whole new woooorld" = "And at last I see the light"
A new fantastic point of view = And it's like the fog has lifted
 Yeah,  "I See the Light" is slower, sappier and Mandy Moore has a lower voice than whoever sang Jasmine, but they are very similar. I KNEW something was bugging me about it.

Well, THAT completely side-tracked my review!

Hmmph. Anyway. "Welcome To Burlesque" from Cher was fantastic, and "But I am A Good Girl" very funny.  Cher was amazing and I loved her voice - and I really enjoyed the dynamic she had with Sean (not John, this is important to note, even if they sound similar ;D ). Especially the tragicomic "...he bats for the other team" line!   And his comment about his wig in the beginning of this clip...

Show a little more,
Show a little less,
Add a little smoke,
Welcome to Burlesque

Luckily(?) I don't really know much about Christine Aguilera, so I was able to watch without awareness of her as a professional singer intruding. Except for the bits where she sang, which were pretty incredible and very professional sounding!

The happy ending was a bit TOO pat, with them overdoing the 'all's well, family and forgiveness' bits (seriously, taking Nikki back was just stupid. She wasn't just a horrible person, she was a really crappy employee! Obviously there was supposed to be 'depth' and 'history' but that wasn't very believable).

  Lots of eye candy - the majority of the cast being professional burlesque dancers meant that they were all pretty. The relationship with Jack was surprisingly enjoyable - two pretty people hit it off and actually have a normal friendship before inevitably falling into bed with each other.

 And I now have a newfound interest in the art of burlesque dancing (or at least, films about it!). I am also sulking because Amazon won't let me download the online soundtrack from NZ (AAARGH. Why do they care where my money comes from?). But I suspect I'll be buying the DVD of Burlesque when it comes out here.