My Review: Burlesque

So... I went against my better judgment and saw Burlesque. I thought, I needed to see how bad this Showgirls mash-up would be.

Well, I say this... It wasn't superbad, but it wasn't supergood. To be real, it's a little cute, but truly forgettable. Here's my review Pro and Con style.

Pros

• Cher was Cher. She looked good.
• Christina can sang. The songs in this movie are better than the ones in her latest CD.
• Some of the songs were pretty good. I think I liked about 3 songs.
• Costumes were on point.

Cons

• The story has been overdone. This was Flashdance, Mahogany, Showgirls and All about Eve. Funny thing, this was written by a gay man, so he used every gayisms on Earth. That's the worst form of writing by the way (USC Cinema School taught me that).
• It didn't feel like a Burlesque show, it felt like I was watching the Behind the Music of the Pussycat Dolls. In fact, it was the story of the Pussycat Dolls.
• One of the girls found out she was pregnant in the 1st 30 minutes of the movie. Months passed in the film, however she was still dancing and still looking thin.
• The script was off in some places and needed a few explanations.
• This was marketed to us (the Gays), but only had 2 gay characters in it. Their scene? A one night stand. 
• REAL TALK Moment: I don't like when movies that are marketed to us, are only selling the gay stereotypes versus real gay content. It's like when they market the Friday sequels or movies like Soul Plane to Black people... It's only selling the Black stereotype and not real Black social content.
• Stanley Tucci basically plays the same character from The Devil Wears Prada, the gay assistant to the Diva. In fact, this could have his early days before he left Cher and moved to New York to work for Miranda Priestly.
• The romance between Christina and Cam felt rushed, not organic.
• Very predicable and very boring half way into the movie.
• It's campy, but not a good campy like Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. It's bad campy, like Glitter and Honey.

I wish it could have been at Dreamgirls level, but it wasn't even close. Actually, I can't believe this movie was made. It cost over 55 million to put together. And this was Screen Gems' biggest budget ever. So why did they take a risk?

Well, here's the scoop from Deadline

Why anybody bothered to make Burlesque or give it such a wide release might be a mystery. Until it's revealed that Screen Gems chief Clint Culpepper greenlighted his boyfriend's $55+ million passion project. (Their on-set strife over budget, schedule, and creative decisions resulted in the most expensive film in Screen Gems history, and word is they're now broken up after 20 years. Awkward).

Yes very awkward and possibly poor choice making. Now if my partner was chief of a studio and my script or idea was garbage, I hope he would be real with me and say "No, dear."

Perhaps, Clint should have done the same thing. Maybe their relationship and credibility could have been saved.

So, wait for it to come out on DVD.