Plot

A small-town girl ventures to Los Angeles and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer.

The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess, a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali, a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue.—Bobby_John

Ali Rose (Christina 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 bartender Jack (Cam Gigandet). Jack refers her to Tess for an audition but is rejected instantly and ushered out by Sean (Stanley Tucci). Instead of leaving, Ali begins serving customers at the club as a waitress, while Tess and Sean observe with Jack asking Tess to give Ali a chance.

When Ali's apartment is burgled, she asks for Jack's help thinking he is gay. She tries to move out when she learns he is engaged but has nowhere to go and is overwhelmed by Jack's generosity in giving her shelter. When Georgia (Julianne 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 (Kristen Bell), a performer who is always late and caught drinking before numbers. When Nikki appears drunk, Tess orders Ali to take her place. Behind the stage, Tess and her ex-husband/co-owner Vince (Peter Gallagher) argue with Marcus (Eric Dane), who wants to buy the club to save it from foreclosure. Tess refuses Marcus's generous offer, much to the annoyance of Vince.

Nikki is mad that Ali took her place, so in the middle of her performance, she cuts off the sound. Sean immediately tries to lower the curtain, but Ali begins to sing the song without the music, a Capella, and the curtain is again raised. Everyone is impressed by her beautiful, strong voice and Tess excitedly announces that she will create a new show around the new lead singer and dancer, Ali. Sean, impressed by Ali, tells Jack that he should make a move on Ali before it's too late, even though Jack is already engaged. Despite the club's growing success, Tess is still unable to pay the bank.

Marcus & Nikki are dating, but Marcus is not fully infatuated with Ali & takes her to dinner. Ali is impressed with the smooth-talking Marcus & soon strikes a relationship with him & goes out with him frequently. Jack tries to warn her, but Ali ignores him. With Ali's rising popularity, Tess increases the gate ticket price from $ 20 to $ 50, but even that is not enough to generate the money for bank's payment.

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 Tess, calling Ali a "slut with mutant lungs". Tess, who has grown frustrated with Nikki, questions her gratitude for the help she has received. Angered, Nikki quits on the spot (before falsely confessing that she slept with Vince after his and Tess' honeymoon), and the altercation ends when Tess angrily retaliates by smashing the passenger side window on Nikki's convertible with a crowbar.

Tensions arise between Ali and Jack as Marcus grows increasingly infatuated with Ali, making Jack jealous. At Georgia's wedding, Jack appears to call off his engagement, getting drunk. That night, Ali and Jack sleep together, but the following morning Jack's fiance, Natalie (Dianna Agron), returns unexpectedly from her play in New York and tells Ali that the engagement is still on. Jack denies this, and while trying to fix things, he asks Ali to leave his apartment. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support, who prompts her to go with Marcus after his phone call.

While spending time with Marcus, Ali finds out 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. Ali tells Tess, 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, pay off the bank, and re-fashion the club to her own vision. She also makes up with Nikki and rehires her at the club. In the end Ali, having reunited with Jack and earned Nikki's respect, performs "Show Me How You Burlesque" with all of the dancers, a song which Jack wrote and finally finished.