Burlesque (2010 American film)

Development

Steven Antin's sister Robin was a member of the girl band the Pussycat Dolls.^[9] Circa 2002, the group performed at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, with many artists—among them Christina Aguilera—and Steven Antin directed some of these shows.^[9] The first outline of the screenplay was written by Antin and Clint Culpepper, the Screen Gems' president. It was about "a girl escaping her life", showing up in a neo-burlesque club and launching a career as a performer.^[9]

Cher accepted the supporting role of Tess Scali because she wanted to sing in a movie and thought this would be her last opportunity to do so.^[10] While on the film set, she went on to praise co-star Christina Aguilera's acting abilities, revealing to Entertainment Tonight: "She was keeping up, and she was hot. I mean, it was, like, she was really up there. Her game is good."^[10] Canadian actor Shawn Roberts, who was previously cast in another Screen Gems production Resident Evil: Afterlife, was briefly considered for the role of Jack Miller.^[11]

Filming

Burlesque started shooting on November 9, 2009^[3] and ended on March 3, 2010. Although director Steven Antin wrote the original screenplay, Diablo Cody (Juno) revised it uncredited.^[12] It was later further revised by Susannah Grant, also uncredited.^[13] Burlesque is Screen Gems' most expensive film, with the exception of the Resident Evil films, with costs of $55 million.^[14]

Filming locations included the exterior and adjacent parking as the "Burlesque Lounge" of the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood,^[15][16] as well as the interior of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana.^[16]

Musical numbers

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album features ten tracks: eight performed by Aguilera including "Express"; and two performed by Cher which are her first original recordings in 7 years. The soundtrack includes a mix of original and cover songs. Both the ballads from the soundtrack – "Bound to You" performed by Aguilera and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" performed by Cher – were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", which was written by Diane Warren, won the award.^[17][18] In the United States, the soundtrack was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies in October 2011.^[19]

Marketing

The theatrical trailer was attached to screenings of Step Up 3D and Easy A. The first TV spot premiered during the season 2 premiere of Fox's Glee on September 21, 2010. A third TV spot also aired the following day during Dancing with the Stars, later followed by another during MTV's Jersey Shore. Several teasers have been released for promotional purposes including the Etta James's "Something's Got a Hold on Me". This was then followed by the track "But I Am a Good Girl" which was released in November 2010.

Aguilera performed "Bound to You" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and gave an interview and performance on Conan. Aguilera also gave an interview to show host Chelsea Handler to discuss the film and other subjects. On November 19, 2010, Aguilera also gave a television interview to Ellen DeGeneres. She then performed a track from the soundtrack, the Etta James track "Something's Got a Hold on Me". Aguilera performed "Express" at the American Music Awards of 2010 and "Show Me How You Burlesque" at the Dancing with the Stars finale. She also performed "Express" on the final of the seventh series of The X Factor which received criticism and complaints for the raunchy content.^[20]

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray were released in North America on March 1, 2011.^[21] A Blu-ray/DVD combo has been released as well. The DVD and Blu-ray sales exceed one million units and have grossed $20,563,918 in the United States alone;^[22] and, as of May 19, 2011^[update], it is the 19th highest selling movie of the year.^[23] In all, the DVD has sold over 1.4 million units in the United States.^[22] Overall, it has grossed over $30,053,366 on video sales (DVD and Blu-ray sales) in United States alone.^[24]

Box office

Burlesque was released on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, the day before Thanksgiving in the United States; on its opening day, it came in third to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Tangled. On Thursday, November 25, 2010, it dropped down to fourth place in the box office behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Tangled and Unstoppable and went down to fifth on Friday, November 26, 2010. On Sunday, November 28, 2010, it went back up to third place behind Tangled and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It stayed in the top five until December 10, 2010, when it fell to sixth behind The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Tourist, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Unstoppable. By the Christmas weekend, it was number 15 at the box office.^[25]

The week after Thanksgiving, Burlesque experienced a substantial decrease on ticket sales, earning $9.65 million ($6.1 million for the weekend), for a total of $26.98 million for its first twelve days.^[26] As of February 6, 2011^[update], it had grossed $39.4 million in North America, and, as of May 15, 2011^[update], $51.1 million in foreign countries, for a total of $91 million worldwide,^[1] and an additional $42 million in domestic video sales (DVD and Blu-ray).^[27]

Critical response

Burlesque received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 37% based on 178 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Campy and clichéd, Burlesque wastes its talented cast (including a better-than-expected Christina Aguilera) on a movie that wavers uncertainly between 'bad' and 'so bad it's good.'"^[28] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.^[30]

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune said, "The choicest dialogue in Burlesque provokes the sort of laughter that other, intentionally funny films only dream of generating."^[31][32] Mick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle gave the movie a full score and praised Aguilera's acting, calling her "jaw-droppingly good in several numbers" and said, "Aguilera knows how to listen to her fellow actors, to react and be spontaneous, and it makes all the difference".^[33] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter called Burlesque "a refreshing throwback to movie musicals that celebrates its stars while indulging in sexy fun" and also praised Aguilera's acting and singing.^[34] Stanley Tucci's performance received praise from Entertainment Weekly^[35] and Empire thought the dance numbers were thrilling.^[36] Time Out labelled the drama "perfunctory"^[37] while Roger Ebert said that "Burlesque shows Cher and Christina Aguilera being all that they can be, and that's more than enough."^[38] Variety observed that the film "wants to be Cabaret, but lacks the edge and historical context to pull it off."^[39] The New York Times said that the story line "had already gathered dust by the time [of] the 1933 musical 42nd Street".^[40]

Aguilera's portrayal of the main character received positive reviews,^{[33][41][42][43][44][28]} and has been ranked among the hundred best acting performances by musicians by the Billboard magazine.^[45] Sarah Carty of RTÉ.ie opined that the singer "manages to bring an unforced charm to her first starring role."^[42] Urban Cinefile's Louise Keller praised the film for the "knock out performances by the sizzling hot Christina Aguilera and the legendary Cher."^[46]