HDTGM Classics vol 1 Burlesque

[Cam Bert 8145]

Sorry my baby was an ass

Your baby had more sense than any of us.

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

Sorry my baby was an ass

 

He was only looking out for our collective mental well being

[grudlian. 4725]

I wish I had a baby to get me out of watching large segments of the movie. The closest I got was a cat walking in front of the monitor.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I wish I had a baby to get me out of watching large segments of the movie. The closest I got was a cat walking in front of the monitor.

Ha I had the same! Oliver kept jumping up and looking at me like, "Bro, look at your life, look at your choices!"

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Now that we know Kbell can sing (because of Frozen) I'm a little disappointed she never had a solo in this, ever. She kept sounding like she wanted to sing but Cher told her no

I kept yelling in the little chat box that it was a travesty that Kbell wasn't singing in this. Now her voice is no Christina or Cher but holy shit she sounds beautiful!

 

I'm just like really surprised by how little a lot of the supporting characters really did, though. What was the point of Julianne Hough? Or Gallagher?

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

I gotta say, it was a delight to watch the movie with a group who were united in their disdain for this thing. If we were watching a MM film that one or two people were defending, it might be a slightly less cathartic experience. I'm going to look for a 10 foot HDMI cable today so I'm ready for the next time...

 

I just listened to the first half of the podcast episode again, and I have to say that it really holds up. I thought it might be equivalent to watching the first season of Survivor where Jeff Probst and the producers aren't really sure how things work yet. But no, first episode (aside from some long-abandoned initial segments) is slick and the tone is exactly the same as it is seven years later. That's incredibly reassuring.

 

I'd be totally in support of doing this every two weeks, guys. Super fun.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

I kept yelling in the little chat box that it was a travesty that Kbell wasn't singing in this. Now her voice is no Christina or Cher but holy shit she sounds beautiful!

 

When i saw Frozen I had no idea Bell could sing. I only knew her from Heroes and from the things she did with Dax Shepherd. But after Frozen she made it clear that she has a university degree in musical theatre, so it's not a new skill. My guess would be that it makes no sense for the story for Xtina's predecessor to be able to sing: she needs to be the old-school version. Really, does any of the showgirls sing except Xtina? Maybe they do, but none featured really. If Bell is shown to have the same skillset as Xtina, then they're competing again, whereas the story depends on Bell being out of her depth in this new world, kind of like a silent movie actress suddenly realizing she can't speak on film, a la Singing in the Rain...

[Cameron H. 23786]

I had a great time, too! Although, I feel bad that the primary conversation moved over to Rabb.it, but maybe that's just the way of things. We do the immediate stuff over there and the in-depth stuff here.

 

Is there anything else we can do to improve this? I wouldn't mind it being an hour earlier, but again, that would make it like 6PM over on the West Coast, so I don't know if that's good for them. However, I'm not sure how many people out there are even participating...

 

But yeah, what can we do to make this better. If you want to do this more often, we can discuss that too. Also, maybe we should rotate who is hosting. I don't want poor Tom to be forever coming out of pocket. (BTW - Thanks again Tom for doing that! That was super cool of you! I'm sorry i didn't thank you last night, but with the screaming baby and all...)

[grudlian. 4725]

Echoing all the love for KBell singing.

 

They give Cher a basically a musical soliloquy even though she's not actually in the burlesque show. Am I to believe the drug addict watching her maybe boyfriend date the woman who also has her job can't get a song? The one who suggested live singing in the first place?

 

Ha I had the same! Oliver kept jumping up and looking at me like, "Bro, look at your life, look at your choices!"

You are diverting attention from me? For THIS? There's no way you love Burlesque more than me?

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

But yeah, what can we do to make this better. If you want to do this more often, we can discuss that too. Also, maybe we should rotate who is hosting. I don't want poor Tom to be forever coming out of pocket. (BTW - Thanks again Tome for doing that! That was super cool of you! I'm sorry i didn't thank you last night, but with the screaming baby and all...)

 

I think the person with the biggest time difference is Cam Bert - our main regular out west is Kateacola in Arizona, but she didn't make it last night.

 

Agreed with thanks to tom! In terms of future hosting, there are a lot of us who have picked up copies of films with the intention of watching them one day - can you still share viewings of blu-rays you're playing on your computer or an MP4 in Media Player? If so, we can start nominating copies of things that we have. I have a copy of The Last Airbender (along with a stack of other horrible things) that I haven't been able to bring myself to watch alone, but if Rabb.it will let us share the watching, then I'm happy to host one.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Based on this movie, does anyone want to take a stab defining what "burlesque" is and how exactly you do it?

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Based on this movie, does anyone want to take a stab defining what "burlesque" is and how exactly you do it?

Even though Xtina has performed with the original Pussycat Dolls (back when they were a burlesque troupe), I don't think anyone on this film is under any illusions that this is actually burlesque, it's a Hollywood impression of what burlesque might be. There's no way they'd call this movie 'strip club' (a la Demi Moore's 'Striptease') or 'showgirls' (a la 'Showgirls') or 'cabaret' ('Cabaret') but burlesque seems a decent enough catch-all.

 

From the movie, I would define burlesque as non-nude, no-contact titillation in a show-style environment, first as lip-synch but later as live cabaret. And the final song (How Do You Burlesque) seems to suggest that it is whatever you make it. But that's like making a movie called 'baseball' and then showing a sport with tennis nets and ice skates and the golden snitch, and then finishing up by saying 'how do YOU baseball'. Just because you say something is something, doesn't make it so.

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

Or Gallagher?

To smash watermelons and tell bigoted jokes, clearly.

[Cameron H. 23786]

To smash watermelons and tell bigoted jokes, clearly.

 

I hate him, but I honestly think he would have been an improvement.

 

[tomspanks 9039]

Sarak and CameronH, I should've mentioned that there's an app for rabb.it. I downloaded it to try it out and it's actually very user friendly.

 

It was my pleasure to host last night! It was a lot of fun to watch Burlesque with all of you.

 

I don't know how to burlesque share a media player on rabb.it, but I would love to rewatch The Last Airbender. As a fan of the original cartoon, my hatred of this movie runs deep.

[Cameron H. 23786]

What's the next movie that's available (i.e. not behind the paywall)? Old Dogs?

[tomspanks 9039]

It's Old Dogs for me, but we should get confirmation from Sarak's itunes.

[Cameron H. 23786]

It's Old Dogs for me, but we should get confirmation from Sarak's itunes.

 

Cool, cool. Because I want to see that.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Cool, cool. Because I want to see that.

Oh lord, I watched that again a few months ago. Not sure I can cope with watching Seth Green get molested by a gorilla again.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Oh lord, I watched that again a few months ago. Not sure I can cope with watching Seth Green get molested by a gorilla again.

 

SPOILER ALERT!!!

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

My iTunes has Season of the Witch available right now (episode 2) but it looks like nothing's behind the paywall right now.

[tomspanks 9039]

Cakebug, any more notes from your better half?

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I apologise for nothing. With apologies to Benjamin Franklin: 'Old Dogs' is proof that Hollywood hates us and wants us to be miserable.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Cakebug, any more notes from your better half?

There were a lot but they merged into one giant 'THIS IS NOT BURLESQUE' rageball. I'll try to pick out some more specific things from her when we're not heading out the door to take the kids to the beach.

[grudlian. 4725]

Based on this movie, does anyone want to take a stab defining what "burlesque" is and how exactly you do it?

Based on the movie, I couldn't say. Singing while dancing sometimes erotically.

 

I've seen live burlesque once. The only thing I saw in this movie that I would define as burlesque was the part where Christina is dancing with feathers. If you want to see burlesque dancing in a movie, please watch Mrs. Henderson Presents instead of this.