I already have this month's guilty pleasure all planned out. Popcorn, a yummy bottle of wine and some gal pals around at my place to watch Burlesque, which was released on DVD last month.
Ok, so the reviews weren't entirely favourable, but when I saw Burlesque at the cinema in Melbourne I loved it!
The plot isn't original. Small town girl Ali (Christina Aguilera) seeks fame and fortune in LA, becomes a waitress in a burlesque club and, after exercising those phenomenal vocal chords, wins over club owner – careworn former diva Tess (Cher), becoming a star against all the odds.
Full tilt cheese with a side-order of bling, it's everything you could ask for in a girly DVD, and the over the top costuming, show-stopping tunes and full-on hair and makeup all do their bit to bring the familiar storyline to life.
Burlesque is packed with fabulously quotable one-liners, many of them uttered rapid-fire by Tess' friend and confidante Sean (Stanley Tucci, who also starred in The Devil Wears Prada).
If I had any say, Cher's face would get separate billing in the credits. One minute she's screaming at a guy and in the next scene she is deliriously happy and I swear there isn't an iota of difference in her facial expressions from one scene to the next. I LOVE HER!
With more eye candy than the much-lamented Woolworth's pick-n-mix counter, Burlesque boasts a dazzling array of scantily clad male dancers and Grey's Anatomy's McSteamy (Eric Dane) playing Ali's wannabe suitor. And ladies, the scene featuring Ali's love interest Jack (Cam Gigandet), a box of cookies, and not much else, is not to be missed!
I'm off to call the girls but before I do I'll leave you with this showbiz truism from Cher's character Tess: 'if you fall off the stage, legs extended, boots up'. There's a woman after my own heart.
Our Contributing Editor and her not-so-secret guilty pleasure! Photo courtesy of Dannii Minogue