Movie Review: Burlesque

Just to get the disclaimers out of the way, it's here I need to come out as a huge fan of Cher. Naturally, I was delighted she's made a new film and I saw its first showing in London's West End.

The story of Burlesque is very simple. A smalltown girl in a dead-end job jumps on the bus to LA to make it in show business. She happens on a burlesque club and befriends the barman. After some cocktail waitressing, a shaky start with Tess, the owner of the club, and attempted sabotage that forces her to show just how talented she really is, she becomes a big star and manages to help Tess save the club from certain foreclosure. And of course, she gets the barman too.

However, the film is fun and good-natured and so the lack of originality is forgiveable. Tess is played by Cher, who is pretty much playing herself anyway, but that's what people pay to see. Christina Aguilera, as the wide-eyed ingenue, is pretty good as an actress, although it's her dancing and vocal talents that are showcased here. Cam Gigandet, as the barman, has a particularly attractive set of arms, although his eyeliner leaves a lot to be desired. Stanley Tucci plays Tess's gay right-hand man who, unusually for a mainstream film, is depicted as having a sexual/romantic life, rather than being a movie gay whose only purposes are to spout one-liners and not be attracted to women.

A friend asked me what part Alan Cumming plays in the proceedings. Basically, he's reprising his role as the emceein Cabaret and isn't in the film much – he has a couple of short scenes and one musical number. I actually rather like him as a performer, and so I think he's a little bit wasted. I suspect he only took the role because, like a lot of guys who like guys, he's a big fan of Cher.

The film has a 12A certificate in the UK, and so a lot of the action is quite toned down. I'm sure real burlesque clubs have significantly more swearing, fornication and substance abuse. As some critics have mentioned, the film could certainly have been grittier. But, judged on its own terms, it's a campy romp with lots of rousing musical numbers, a happy ending and of course Cher bestriding the proceedings like a Colossus. If that's not worth £13.50 (the price of a ticket in London's West End), I don't know what is.

Film Review: I Love You, Phillip Morris

This film was quite different from what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be the story of the straight man who gets sent to prison and falls in love with another man for the first time. In fact, although our hero is married, he's gay and he knows it. After a car accident, he decides it's time for him to live a more authentic life as an out gay man. Learning that living the gay highlife is very expensive, he turns to insurance fraud to keep him and his boyfriend in the manner to which they've become accustomed. Eventually, he gets caught and sent to prison.

In prison, he meets and falls in love with the Phillip Morris of the title and concocts evermore elaborate schemes to get his lover out of prison so that they can be together.

Both Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor give great performances, as the conman and his beloved respectively. The film is a blend of thriller, comedy and love story and all through these elements are deftly woven together. But what really made this film for me, is that this is a film about gay men without being a film about gayness. None of the gay characters agonise over their gayness, it's just taken as a given, and the story is just about what happens to them. As has been noted by other commentators, most gay films, at least mainstream Hollywood ones, are films about gayness and its struggles. "I Love You, Phillip Morris" doesn't fit this mould and is all the better for it.

I found this film funny and touching and rate it a solid 4 stars out of 5.