I finally saw "Burlesque" and I have questions

Posted: 1/2/13 at 10:57am

Yes, I know it's been out for ages but I passed on seeing it in the theater and on DVD or HBO or Showtime. Last might it made it's basic cable premiere on ABC Family so I watched. And I have questions:

ABC Family? I assume it's the Manson or Addams Family?

Alan Cumming?

What the hell kind of club was that?

In what year was Cher replaced by an animatronic figure?

How much did Cher owe the bank and how much did she sell the "Air Rights" for?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 11:08am

1) ABC Family will show anything they can edit down to make look family oriented.

2) Yep. That was fun.

3) A mix of a gay bar, burlesque club, opium den & Botox clinic.

4) 1996, after FAITHFUL was released.

5) It's never really said but air is expensive so I'm guessing a couplet million dollars.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 11:19am

Stanley Tucci makes all things passable.

Posted: 1/2/13 at 11:29am

No really, Alan Cumming? I counted two or three lines and then, inexplicably, he was performing the "Two Ladies" choreography. Was there more that got cut out?

Updated On: 1/2/13 at 11:29 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 11:37am

I've heard him talk about working on the film and how much he enjoyed it, but never heard him mention his stuff being cut. Maybe he just wanted to meet Cher. I mean, he IS gay.

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:24pm

The movie REALLY bewildered me but that was the oddest thing- he had nothing to do- NOTHING- and then, bizarrely, he turns up onstage in a dance number.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:32pm

Actually, Jordon, the animatronic figure appeared just before FAITHFUL. If you notice, in the "love scene", her lips don't even budge when she kisses Chaz Palminteri. (On a related note: When one Googles "Chaz" to see how to spell his last name, Bono is the one you get first.)

Cher tried everything she could to get out of Burlesque. She added demands. She asked for more money. She asked for a crazy work schedule. No matter what she did, they complied. She could not get out of the contract.

Could her solo have felt more out of place? It was weird.

Oh, and I assume the club was much like the one in Flashdance. The kind that doesn't really exist anywhere.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:39pm

but never heard him mention his stuff being cut.

Alan Cumming is uncut.
http://intactamerica.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/guest-blogger-alan-cumming/

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:45pm

He's a Scot. Of course he is uncut.

Updated On: 1/2/13 at 12:45 PM

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:53pm

Do you think the creatives innovated in Burlesque (as misapplied as that word is here) meant their film as an homage to Cabaret, Moulin Rouge and Flashdance or a remake?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:55pm

Honestly, in what way was what they did different from a modern burlesque show? I haven't seen many, but they mostly dance around lip sync while trying to look sexy, don't they? They don't strip.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 12:57pm

BURLESQUE was worth it just for this:
Wagon Wheel Watusi

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:09pm

I just watched that for at least three minutes.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:10pm

I'm going to watch the entire movie now.

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:26pm

Are there modern Burlesque shows any more? I've seen strip clubs where girls (or boys) strip to per-recorded music and Chicago has had "Burlesque nights" that featured the occasional stripped wedged into a variety show type entertainment. I don't know of any club that presented what I saw in Burlesque- which was mostly lip sync dance routines in semi-revealing clothes- all of which seemed to have huge set and costume budgets.

And why did they have that live band if everyone lip-syncs?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:29pm

There are! There's quite a few in NYC. I've been a couple of times and they're a lot of fun!

[tazber]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:31pm

Do the bartenders look like Cam Gigandet?

Posted: 1/2/13 at 1:43pm

Is that his name? He was yummy but I thought he was trying to be Alex deLarge. All that eyeliner!

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:00pm

JG2,

I tried to do all 10 minutes. I just couldn't make it...but it becomes amazingly zen after a while.

I know a couple of burlesque gals here in NYC...but I don't think I've encountered anything as 'produced' as what's in the movie. But would we say that Pussycat Dolls are what they're going for? I don't know because I won't let the Pussycat Dolls in.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:05pm

The shows that I've seen are all in nice little clubs with small stages. Absolutely NOTHING like the fantasyland musical.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:20pm

Burlesque acts are really gaining popularity, or at least they were a few years ago. My brother was very into event production for fundraising and such and people were always requesting burlesque acts to perform between bands and speakers. It's more for an adult crowd, but not so adult that it's considered too risque. I think this sort of production would be the dream. The reality is not as sharp.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:27pm

I think Dita von Teese has really engineered the comeback of burlesque. I mean, has there been a really internationally famous burlesque star since the days of Gypsy Rose Lee? There are the others, of course - Dirty Martini, Inga Ingenue, etc, but they all owe their success to Dita's repopulization of the art.

[Master Bates]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:29pm

Follow This You Bitches

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 2:54pm

Hilarious that a movie entitled BURLESQUE airs on ABC FAMILY.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/2/13 at 3:47pm

ABC Family is not as wholesome you may think. They air stuff like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which is about teen pregnancy, and Greek about a fraternity that includes casual sex and underage drinking. These programs have gotten criticism for being too racy and not family friendly.

Updated On: 1/2/13 at 03:47 PM