Burlesque

Burlesque is a 2010 American backstage musical film written and directed by Steven Antin and starring Cher and Christina Aguilera along with Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Dianna Agron, and Tyne Stecklein. The film was released on November 24, 2010, in North America.

Cher and Aguilera contributed to the soundtrack album, with Aguilera contributing eight out of the 10 songs and Cher taking the remaining two. The album was released in the United States on November 22, 2010, and received two nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards. The song "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", penned by Diane Warren and sung by Cher, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 2011, while the film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category. The film has grossed about $90 million worldwide, and an additional $42 million in domestic video sales (DVD and Blu-ray).

Plot
Ali Rose (Aguilera) moves to Los Angeles after she quits her bar job when her boss refuses to pay her. 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. She finds Tess (Cher) and the dancers performing “Welcome to Burlesque” and decides to pursue a career on stage once she meets Jack (Gigandet) at the club's bar. Jack refers her to Tess for an audition, but she is instantly rejected and ushered out by Sean (Tucci). Instead of leaving, Ali begins serving customers at the club as a waitress.

When Georgia (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 (Bell), the lead performer and a drunk. One day Ali has to replace Nikki on stage because Nikki is too drunk to perform. Nikki sabotages the performance by turning off the music that the dancers usually lip sync to, but before the curtain is dropped down, Ali impresses everyone with her amazing singing skills. Tess immediately decides to have Ali become the main star of a whole new show at the club. It becomes increasingly popular and Ali enjoys her newfound stardom while Nikki fumes in the background. Despite the club's growing success, Tess is still unable to pay the bank the money that she owes.

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 her. She feels that Tess has rejected their long-term friendship for Ali. Tess, who has grown frustrated with Nikki, defends Ali and questions her gratitude for the help she has received from her during her many drunken binges. Angered, Nikki quits on the spot (before falsely claiming that she slept with Vince after his and Tess's honeymoon), and the altercation ends when Tess angrily retaliates by smashing the passenger side window on Nikki's convertible with a crowbar.

Meanwhile, Ali and Jack become romantically attracted to each other. However, Jack is unable to act on his growing feelings for Ali due to his engagement to his girlfriend, who is away in New York City for work as an actress; Jack is encouraged by Sean to end the engagement as Ali is a better person than his shallow fiancée. Marcus begins to become increasingly infatuated with Ali, who begins to spend time with him, making Jack jealous. At Georgia's wedding, Jack appears to call off his engagement and becomes drunk. That night, Ali and Jack sleep together, but the following morning Jack's fiancé, Natalie (Agron), unexpectedly returns from her play and finds the two in bed together, angrily insisting that she and Jack never broke up. Jack denies this, and while trying to fix things, he asks Ali to leave. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support, and learns that Sean is gay, due to his having spent the night with Georgia's wedding DJ the night before. While making coffee, Ali receives a call from Marcus, and Sean prompts her to go with Marcus after his phone call, while Sean and Mark (the DJ) go on a date.

While spending time with Marcus, Ali learns 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; Marcus protests this, asking why this suddenly makes him "the bad guy", to which Ali replies, "It doesn't, Marcus. It just makes you the wrong guy". Ali tells Tess about the predicament, 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 (as they are divorced and he wanted out of the club), pay off the bank, and re-fashion the club to her own vision. She also makes up with Nikki, who tells Tess that she claimed she slept with Vince just to hurt her, and rehires her at the club after Nikki tells her she wants to "come home".

Ali reunites with Jack after he tells her that it's over with Natalie for good; Natalie was in denial, having cared more about her job than her relationship with Jack. After she finally earns Nikki's respect, Ali performs "Show Me How You Burlesque", written by Jack (who refused to allow Ali to listen or see his music throughout the movie due to it not being "ready") with all of the dancers on stage, much to the crowds' delight.

Cast

 * Christina Aguilera as Alice Marilyn "Ali" Rose
 * Cher as Tess Scali
 * Cam Gigandet as John "Jack" Miller
 * Kristen Bell as Nikki
 * Stanley Tucci as Sean
 * Eric Dane as Marcus Gerber
 * Alan Cumming as Alexis
 * Julianne Hough as Georgia
 * Peter Gallagher as Vincent "Vince" Scali
 * Dianna Agron as Natalie
 * Glynn Turman as Harold Saint
 * David Walton as Mark the DJ
 * Terrence J as Dave
 * Chelsea Traille as Coco
 * Tyne Stecklein as Jesse
 * Michael Landes as Greg
 * Tanee McCall as Scarlett
 * Blair Redford as James/Bumper Band Member
 * James Brolin as Mr. Anderson
 * Stephen Lee as Dwight