Burlesque(2010)

Plot Summary

• Ali Rose (Christina Aguilera) is a young waitress from Iowa who dreams of becoming a professional dancer ever since losing her mother in her childhood. After her selfish boss refuses to pay her salary, she takes what he owes her from the register and moves to LA. Ali has a tremendous voice that she practices when she is alone.Once in L.A., she tries and fails at every audition she does until one night, she finds herself unknowingly in a burlesque club when she hears the music on the street. Ali has to pay the $20 gate fee to enter the club, which she believes at first to be a strip club. She is corrected as there is not even a single pole on stage.Ali finds Tess (Cher) and the dancers performing "Welcome to Burlesque" and decides to pursue a career on stage once she meets bartender Jack (Cam Gigandet). Tess is the lead singer and the senior most member of the group, also part owner of the club. Jack refers her to Tess for an audition but is rejected instantly and ushered out by Sean (Stanley Tucci). Instead of leaving, upon seeing their waitress shortage, Ali picks up a tray and begins serving. As a result, she manages to get a job waiting tables at the club. Tess and Sean observe with Jack asking Tess to give Ali a chance.When Ali's apartment is burgled, she asks for Jack's help thinking he is gay. She tries to move out when she learns he is engaged but has nowhere to go and is overwhelmed by Jack's generosity in giving her shelter. When Georgia (Julianne Hough) becomes pregnant, auditions are held to replace her. Ali begins her audition when everyone leaves, and after performing "Wagon Wheel Watusi", persuades Tess to allow her to become one of the club's dancers, much to the annoyance of Nikki (Kristen Bell), a performer who is always late and caught drinking before numbers. When Nikki appears drunk, Tess orders Ali to take her place. Behind the stage, Tess and her ex-husband/co-owner Vince (Peter Gallagher) argue with Marcus (Eric Dane), who wants to buy the club to save it from foreclosure. Tess refuses Marcus's generous offer, much to the annoyance of Vince.Nikki is mad that Ali took her place, so in the middle of her performance, she cuts off the sound. Sean immediately tries to lower the curtain, but Ali begins to sing the song without the music, a Capella, and the curtain is again raised. Everyone is impressed by her beautiful, strong voice and Tess excitedly announces that she will create a new show around the new lead singer and dancer, Ali. Sean, impressed by Ali, tells Jack that he should make a move on Ali before it's too late, even though Jack is already engaged. Despite the club's growing popularity, Tess struggles with a bank loan and a lien on her ownership rights of the building.Meanwhile, Ali and Jack become romantically attracted. However, he is already engaged to Natalie, an actress working in NYC. Sean encourages Jack to end the engagement, as Ali is a better person than his shallow fiance.Wealthy club-goer Marcus & Nikki are dating, but Marcus is now fully infatuated with Ali & takes her to dinner. Ali is impressed with the smooth-talking Marcus & soon strikes a relationship with him & goes out with him frequently. Jack tries to warn her, but Ali ignores him. With Ali's rising popularity, Tess increases the gate ticket price from $ 20 to $ 50, but even that is not enough to generate the money for bank's payment.One night after the club closes, Tess, worried with the club's economic prospects, sings "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". A very jealous Nikki shows up drunk and picks a fight with Tess, calling Ali a "S**T with mutant lungs". Tess, who has grown frustrated with Nikki, questions her gratitude for the help she has received. Angered, Nikki quits on the spot (before falsely confessing that she slept with Vince after his and Tess' honeymoon), and the altercation ends when Tess angrily retaliates by smashing the passenger side window on Nikki's convertible with a crowbar.Tensions arise between Ali and Jack as Marcus grows increasingly infatuated with Ali, making Jack jealous. The group later attends Georgia's lavish wedding to Damon, funded by his wealthy father who is delighted he is settling down and with the impending arrival of his grandchild. Jack appears to call off his engagement and gets drunk. That night, Ali and Jack sleep together, but the following morning Jack's fiance, Natalie (Dianna Agron), returns unexpectedly from her play in New York and tells Ali that the engagement is still on. Jack denies this, and while trying to fix things, he asks Ali to leave his apartment. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support and learns that he is gay, who prompts her to go with Marcus after his phone call.While spending time with Marcus, Ali finds out about "air rights", which refers to the empty space above a building and what can be done with it. Ali breaks things off with Marcus after she sees his plans to build a skyscraper on the property the club is on. Ali tells Tess, and together they inform the owner of the new million-dollar condos across the street. Fearing the loss of business that would result from the obstruction of his prospective tenants' view, he purchases the air rights to the club's property.The resulting money is enough for Tess to buy out Vince's share, pay off the bank, and re-fashion the club to her own vision.Later, a sobered Nikki admits that she lied about sleeping with Vince out of anger. They reconcile, and Tess rehires her. Ali rekindles her relationship with Jack after he tells her that he broke up with Natalie because she cared more about her job than their relationship. Nikki finally accepts Ali, who then performs "Show Me How You Burlesque", a song written by Jack, with all of the dancers on stage, delighting the crowd.

Storyline

• The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess, a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali, a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue. — Bobby_John