Ali (Christina Aguilera) has had enough of life in the slow lane. She buys a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, and once there stumbles upon a burlesque club run by Tess, a no-nonsense woman played by Cher. Ali immediately falls in love with the style of burlesque, and begs Tess to let her try out to be a dancer... and is promptly rejected.
As Ali vies for a chance to take the stage, she becomes close with the unfortunately engaged Jack (Cam Gigandet), and Tess struggles to keep the club running due to bad finances. Ali's talent is undeniable, but once it is released, will it serve to help Tess save the club, or will it be too late?
Although all of the characters are well-developed and well-acted, Ali lacked likability. Without ever facing any significant problems for an extended period of time, she continually makes selfish decisions while maintaining a façade of innocence. She fortunately redeems herself in the end, but it seems that Aguilera focused on her musical numbers and didn't develop Ali's character beyond the words written for her. Even if Aguilera had chosen to focus on it, Ali's relationship with Jack would have been unsalvageable for either actor as it was entirely unrealistic and unbelievable.
Burlesque's true strength lies in its music. The dance numbers were fun and entertaining, and Aguilera's voice was absolutely stunning. Although the movie will appeal to many teenage girls, if you can't catch a showing, I'd recommend listening to the album instead. Ten tracks long, my favorites are Aguilera's "Show Me How You Burlesque" and Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me".
