Burlesque (2010) Dir: Steve Antin

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I have very mixed feelings about this 2010 musical romance. I really wanted to like this, after all, I've enjoyed other musicals - but there was just a lot that I simply could not get behind.

The decent musical choreography is annoyingly hidden by constant cuts and poor lighting. I understand that burlesque is often about mystique and teasing, but cutting in and out constantly means you can hardly see the actual dancing.

Furthermore, music icon Cher has a musical number that seems to last forever, it's as though she had it written into her contract to have so many minutes of singing. Disappointingly, the majority of the cast provided pretty poor acting performances.

Christina Aguilera was okay, her real strength was undeniably in her singing and dancing, but her acting wasn't that bad either.

The aforementioned Cher gives a better performance than I expected, but still not a good one. She just over and under-acted at the wrong moments.

Stanley Tucci was the only one who gave a consistently good performance, but then, that is hardly a surprise. He is a very reliable actor in that sense.

Cam Gigandet, however, is just plain poor. It seemed like every scene exposed him more and more in a negative light. He was just distinctly unlikeable. Finally, both Kristen Bell and Eric Dane give average performances in their respective supporting roles.

Overall, I must say I'm disappointed in what I saw here, director Steve Antin could have done so much more, but instead produced a very mediocre musical that wishes it could be the next 'Chicago' or 'Caberet'.