Steven Antin directs Christina Aguilera, Cher and Kristen Bell in this showbiz musical where a singer with a dream works her way up from waitress to lead at a L.A. neo-cabaret bar.

I must be getting soft in my old age but I really enjoyed this. It files off all the angst from All About Eve, Moulin Rouge and even Coyote Ugly to present a gaudy, sexy package. For a film with zero nudity, it is undeniably horny as fuck. Cleavage and six packs glimmers and escape their soft fabrics frequently. The songs wallop along with a slick energy. Aquilera ain’t a half bad lead… Beautiful, talented… she always steals focus and has a nice mix of naivety and raunch. This is the rare pop star vehicle that makes you wonder why its stunt lead didn’t move into acting? She’s no Jodie Foster but she’s miles better than Cher. The top billed relic is the trouble in paradise here, but at least her laughable acting suits the slightly parodic tones of the rest of the supporting cast. The whole plot is a shopping list of cliché but the mood is just right to get away with hashing them out one last time. And you have to remember this would have been a generation of ten year old girls first shot at seeing the A Star Is Born / “Hey! Let’s Put The Show On Right Here…” cogs whirr and grind.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Crossroads (2002)

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/