"Burlesque" is another film not getting a lot of love with the critics. A lot of the complaints stem from the mediocre plot line and the performance of Christina Aguilera. While I agree that the plot line is a bit lacking, it doesn't mean that the film isn't anything less than a whole lot of fun.
The film revolves around Ali (Christina Aguilera), a small town girl with big time dreams, who leaves behind her crappy life to make a go of it in Los Angeles. There, she stumbles upon a burlesque club, owned by Tess (Cher), who is soooooo not interested in hiring her for anything. But the bartender, Jack (Cam Gigandet), takes pity on her and hires her as a waitress.
The story is very "Coyote Ugly" from there. One of the girls has to leave the club, so Ali auditions and nabs a spot as a dancer. Of course, there's the headliner, Nikki (Kristen Bell), whose arrogant and an alcoholic who eventually tries to foul up a performance of Ali's by knocking out the sound system. Because the girls don't actually sing at the club; they just lip sync. But when Ali starts belting out the song from memory, everyone goes ballistic, and Tess decides to revolve the whole lineup around Ali.
There's a subplot where Tess is behind on her bank payments, and Marcus (Eric Dane, playing the ever-present slimeball) wants to buy the club and blah blah blah.
Stanley Tucci is also in this film, and let's face it, he is the most fabulous thing about it. He plays Tess's go-to gay guy who handles everything from costuming to shepherding the performers.
You don't go to see this film for the plot. You go and watch it to see the singing and the dancing and the pretty costumes that only .0001% of women can wear. And apparently that's enough to garner a Golden Globe nomination!
So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 6. It's frothy, fun, and light, and the characters' problems aren't so much problems as they are cracks in the sidewalk. And amidst the award season offering of films with heavier fare, I found this to be more refreshing than I expected.
Showing posts with label Stanley Tucci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stanley Tucci. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
"Easy A" - in theaters
This movie rocked. Hardcore.
It was funny, touching, sarcastic, romantic, and overall, extraordinarily sex-positive.
The story revolves around Olive Pendergast (Emma Stone), your average high school virgin. That all changes when she accidentally starts a rumor about herself losing her V-card. It spreads around the school like wildfire, and before she knows it, she goes from being invisible to being labeled a slut. It is because of this that her friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) pays her to pretend that they had sex. You see, Brandon's gay and is positively tormented at school, so an imaginary fling would do him good.
And before she knows it, Olive is open for business. Nerds from all corners of the school pay her with gift cards just to say that she fooled around with them. Unfortunately, the Christian group at the school (headed by Amanda Bynes) has decided to ostracize Olive, calling her all sorts of names, and comparing her to Hester Prynn, the heroine of "The Scarlet Letter". So Olive decides to live up to the part. She buys about 2 dozen bustiers and embroiders the letter A onto all of them.
Meanwhile, her best friend Rhi (Aly Michalka) sort of turns on her because she thinks Olive is lying and that she's really having all of this sex. There's also Todd (Penn Badgely) the guy who Olive genuinely cares for and whose affections he returns. Todd is the guy that every girl wants, but actually doesn't really exist. I'm sorry, but NO ONE in high school is that sincere and unconcerned with what other people think.
The best part of this movie are Olive's parents, played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. They have a fantastic relationship with their children, including their daughter, who actually speaks to them about important matters (a rare occurrence nowadays). They're also very funny, and you find yourself thinking that if you were in high school, you wouldn't mind having parents like them.
So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 9. I know it's advertised as a teen comedy, but frankly, I think everyone would find something to like about this movie. The acting is sharp and the dialogue witty. Plus you get to see Thomas Hayden Church rap. Total bonus.
It was funny, touching, sarcastic, romantic, and overall, extraordinarily sex-positive.
The story revolves around Olive Pendergast (Emma Stone), your average high school virgin. That all changes when she accidentally starts a rumor about herself losing her V-card. It spreads around the school like wildfire, and before she knows it, she goes from being invisible to being labeled a slut. It is because of this that her friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) pays her to pretend that they had sex. You see, Brandon's gay and is positively tormented at school, so an imaginary fling would do him good.
And before she knows it, Olive is open for business. Nerds from all corners of the school pay her with gift cards just to say that she fooled around with them. Unfortunately, the Christian group at the school (headed by Amanda Bynes) has decided to ostracize Olive, calling her all sorts of names, and comparing her to Hester Prynn, the heroine of "The Scarlet Letter". So Olive decides to live up to the part. She buys about 2 dozen bustiers and embroiders the letter A onto all of them.
Meanwhile, her best friend Rhi (Aly Michalka) sort of turns on her because she thinks Olive is lying and that she's really having all of this sex. There's also Todd (Penn Badgely) the guy who Olive genuinely cares for and whose affections he returns. Todd is the guy that every girl wants, but actually doesn't really exist. I'm sorry, but NO ONE in high school is that sincere and unconcerned with what other people think.
The best part of this movie are Olive's parents, played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. They have a fantastic relationship with their children, including their daughter, who actually speaks to them about important matters (a rare occurrence nowadays). They're also very funny, and you find yourself thinking that if you were in high school, you wouldn't mind having parents like them.
So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 9. I know it's advertised as a teen comedy, but frankly, I think everyone would find something to like about this movie. The acting is sharp and the dialogue witty. Plus you get to see Thomas Hayden Church rap. Total bonus.
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