Burlesque was the only actual musical nominated for Best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes this year. While it certainly wasn’t the worst movie nominated in that category (except for The Kids Are All Right, they were all pretty bad), it is hard to imagine it being the “best” of any category. But this movie, directed by Steve Antin, who before now was best known as David Geffen’s ex-boyfriend, is so darn gay.
Screaming diva Christina Aguilera plays Ali, who takes a bus from Iowa to L.A. to make it as a dancer and a singer, and Cher – Cher! – plays Tess, who owns the burlesque club where Ali ends up working. The club is styled to look like the Kit Kat Club, and somehow Alan Cumming was persuaded to wander around and do an imitation of the emcee role he won a Tony for more than a decade ago.
There’s a lot of glass-shattering singing, some tame cat fights and uncountable shots of Cam Gigandet shirtless. And Cher has one number, in which she belts “You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me,” that is as over-the-top as her plastic surgery. The one actual gay character is played by Stanley Tucci, and in almost all ways it’s the same role he played in The Devil Wears Prada. Because Cher is so believable and Aguilera’s voice so good, the movie is worth watching.
