bostonblonde

First off, I LOVE movie musicals. They may be my favorite kind of movie, so naturally, I was dying to see Burlesque from the moment I saw the first ad back in September. When I finally saw it, it was beyond disappointing. I figured, "Well, if the movie sucks, at least there'll be some fun, Moulin Rouge costumes." Wrong again! The costumes were largely uncreative- too much like a Victoria's Secret catalogue.

But on to the worst part- the acting. This film drags everyone down.Christina Aguilera is horrid in the main role. I've always been a fan of hers and was excited to see her act. She can't. At all. Her character's overly dramatic back-story would be hard to play well even for a talented veteran, but Aguilera makes it seem like a bad made for TV movie. She's a fabulous singer, but she ain't no actress. Despite being "a real actress," Kristen Bell failed utterly as bad girl Nikki. She's gorgeous and plays "the bitch" well, but when she was supposed to be drunk, the only tip-off was that Cher wouldn't let her drive. Cher is one of the few in this film who did a quality performance, when the terrible writing didn't drag her down. Cam Gigandet was also commendable, but again, the lines his character was given were cringe-worthy. Example: while on the phone with his fiancé, Gigandet looks at Auilera's character across the room and says "My future? I'm looking at it." I vomited Sour Patch Kids into my drink. Even Stanley Tucci flubbed this film, although his performance in the second half is better.

On a positive note, Alan Cumming's character was a cute nod to Cabaret.

This film is very mixed. Robert Downey Jr. is beyond fabulous. Having watched someone very close to me go through addiction, I can say that Downey's Julian is the most accurate addict I've ever seen portrayed on film. His hopeless optimism, random outburst of rage, and constant sweating all ring true. But everyone knows RDJ is brilliant. Andrew McCarthy does well with the character created by the screenwriters, but that character lacks depth. If you've read Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name and are expecting the apathetic, drug-addled, jerk narrator, step back 'cause you won't be getting it here. It's no surprise the author was only happy with RDJ and James Spader, their characters are the only ones who even vaguely resemble those of the novel. The novel is shocking to the point of being nauseating and down right disturbing. The film is not. It's a beautiful, vapid montage of 80s that sometimes drags. The soundtrack is killer, especially LLCoolJ's Going' Back to Cali and the Bangles cover of Hazy Shade of Winter. But back to the acting- a few times in the film, Jamie Gertz hits on something real and heart-wrenching, but it's fleeting and before you can sigh with relief, it's gone. Much of her performance is pretty wooden and her performance in the last scene is positively painful. The sex scenes are very realistic, though. Probably the best acting Gertz and McCarthy do in this film. If you're into costumes, check this film out- they're pure 80s perfection.