HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — In writer/director Steven Antin’s finger-snapping, eye-popping and atmospheric musical Burlesque, a time-honored tale of showbiz aspirations fulfilled – and the hallmarks of a classic form of live entertainment – get a dazzling, fun movie makeover.
For Ali (Christina Aguilera), a small-town girl with a big voice, there had to be somewhere her dreams could be fulfilled, rather than remain an empty goal.
Enter the world of burlesque.
Leaving behind hardship and an uncertain future for the entertainment capital Los Angeles, Ali stumbles upon The Burlesque Lounge, a majestic but ailing theater that is home to an inspired musical revue. Talking herself into a cocktail waitress job from Tess (Cher), the club’s glamorous and forthright proprietor, headliner and starmaker, Ali becomes a wide-eyed sponge to The Burlesque’s captivating acts. The outrageous costumes and bold choreography hold the young ingénue enraptured.
Gallery: Burlesque Premiere Red Carpet Photos
That stage is where Ali was meant to be, so she vows to herself she’ll be on it someday. But first she has to navigate the theater’s many interpersonal relationships, for better or for worse. She builds a friendship with a featured dancer (Julianne Hough), finds an enemy in a troubled, jealous performer (Kristen Bell), and wins the affection of Jack (Cam Gigandet), a handsome bartender and musician who takes Ali in as a temporary roommate to help her get her financial footing. Eventually, with the help of a sharp-witted yet sensitive stage manager (Stanley Tucci) and the club’s gender-bending host (Alan Cumming), Ali makes her way from the bar to the stage. Her spectacular voice and showmanship returns The Burlesque Lounge to its former glory, giving hope to Tess that she won’t have to entertain the demands of her ex-husband (Peter Gallagher) that she sell the place to a charismatic entrepreneur (Eric Dane) with an enticing proposal. As Ali’s star rises, it becomes thrillingly clear that the Burlesque Lounge lives to titillate, fascinate and make dreams come true. But are its days – and colorful, sexy, music-filled nights — numbered?
To give Burlesque the marquee pizzazz they envisioned, the filmmakers knew that only a megastar would do. It meant that they pursued Cher tirelessly before the Oscar winner agreed to end a seven-year hiatus and return to the big screen (they even paid a surprise personal plea to Cher when she was on the Sony lot doing an ADR session for MGM’s animated The Zookeeper). The filmmakers believed that Cher would respond to the role of Tess because the character is both familiar and contemporary, somebody with a lot to give who’s in danger of having her dream taken away.
"Tess is one of a zillion people losing their shirt," says Antin. "That’s a very real thing happening right now and I thought it was an interesting thing for this character to be experiencing. Cher said, ‘I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.’ "
"She’s been up and she’s been down and she’s had good times and bad times," he continues. "I knew that she would relate to this character and this world. She’s the embodiment of female empowerment, you know? And that’s what Burlesque is about: female empowerment."
When it came to the role of Ali, the filmmakers had their eyes on Aguilera, who Antin had long been friends with. But what cinched it for him was her appearance on Saturday Night Live, which made him certain that she had the chops to portray Ali.
"I had this instinct about her," Antin notes. "I had seen her on Saturday Night Live doing something very difficult. I don’t think people realize how tough it is to be funny in a live element like that. I knew she could do this based on her instincts in those seemingly simple, but really incredibly difficult comedy skits. I knew she could do any of the comedy in the movie and all of the drama."
From Aguilera’s standpoint, her enthusiasm for the project began when she connected to what Ali goes through. "I could relate to Ali as a whole: having this dream, being denied, getting a chance, and getting people to take you seriously, because it took a few times before someone bit and I got my big break," she says.
