Christina Aguilera in "Burlesque."

Credit: Sony Pictures

There have been many conflicting reports about the seemingly bizarre concoction that is "Burlesque."  Featuring a cast campier than anything John Waters could imagine including Cher, Stanley Tucci, Christina Aguilera (in her big screen debut), Cam Gigandent, Kristen Bell, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher and Julianne Hough, the musical has had buzz ranging from "amazing" to "a mess."  For Aguilera in particular, anything closer to the former is absolutely necessary (the less said about "Bionic" the better).

The directorial debut of Hollywood lifer Steven Antin, "Burlesque" centers on Ali (Aguilera), a young singer who comes to LA with dreams of becoming a star only to find her big break on the stage of a neo-burlesque club. But does she really have the passion and talent to make it in this tough town?  And can Cher and Tucci save the club from being bought out by a real estate mogul all within the span of two hours? And who will Ali fall for: said rich real estate mogul or the overly attractive bartender (Gigandent)? (Something tells me you really don't want any more plot details).

After a few stills found their way to the public last month, Screen Gems has finally debuted a trailer for the new movie (no doubt tagged to "Step UP 3D").  Needless to say, we won't be expecting an Oscar campaign for this one.  Hiding the fact the movie is supposed to be a musical, we're treated to Aguilera's attempt to seem like a dowdy small town girl, Cher's increasingly bizarre plastic surgery, Gigandent in eyeliner and a bowler hat and Tucci throwing out the one-liners he's become all too known for (although usually with Meryl Streep in the room).  It's unclear if the horrible box office performance of "Nine" caused Screen Gems to pull any notion the film may be a musical or whether those numbers have been dropped in the editing room.  One thing is clear though, they are pushing Aguilera's "Moulin Rouge" connection hard with the movie's imagery.

Here's hoping the final product is more entertaining than this yawner of a preview though. 

(On second thought, there isn't a lot of competition in the Golden Globe category for Best Musical or Comedy this year...)

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