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Movies & TV

Burlesque

BURLESQUE (Sony, 2010) D: Steve ­Antin, w/ Christina Aguilera, Cher. ­Rating: N DVD package: NNN Rating: N


Russ Meyer could have made a great movie out of Burlesque. First-time director Steve Antin has made a bland time-waster with a sanitized approach to mild titillation.

Christina Aguilera plays Ali, who ditches her dead-end life in Iowa, moves to L.A. and gets a waitering job in a club where the customers pay to watch lip-synching dancers. But Ali can really sing, which helps the club, but not enough to save it from imminent foreclosure.

There’s no shortage of sex-themed song-and-dance numbers, but they’re chopped up and cut short. Shots go by too fast for any erotic, sensual or emotional impact to register, leaving only the impression of mechanically wiggling bodies. You can get a better look at the action in the extras’ performances feature.

Aguilera shows flashes of charm, but there’s no spark between her and love interest Cam Gigandet. Only club owner Cher and Stanley Tucci (who plays the club manager and gets all the best lines) show any warmth.

On the commentary, Antin’s gushing sounds more heartfelt when he goes on about the lighting and mirrors, less so when the topic is cast and characters.

EXTRAS Commentary, performances, bloopers. Widescreen. English, French audio. English, French, Spanish subtitles.

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