Sizzle, Seduce & Destroy: The Burlesque Assassins
The Burlesque Assassins, an independent Canadian production directed by Jonathan Joffe, is the story of Johnny Valentine (Armitage Shanks) and his three protégées, Koko La Douce (Missy Starlight), Bombshell Belle (Rosalind Porter) and the new, initially hesitant, addition to the team, Bourbon Sue (RoxiD’Lite). Koko La Douce, a very sophisticated German spy and the English Bombshell Belle are both more experienced agents having worked alongside Johnny Valentine for years, whereas Bourbon Sue, although new with no proper training or mission experience, sensually surprises the audience very much with her confidence, traits and immense talent as the story unfolds.
The Burlesque Assassins, an independent Canadian production directed by Jonathan Joffe, is the story of Johnny Valentine (Armitage Shanks) and his three protégées, Koko La Douce (Missy Starlight), Bombshell Belle (Rosalind Porter) and the new, initially hesitant, addition to the team, Bourbon Sue (RoxiD’Lite). Koko La Douce, a very sophisticated German spy and the English Bombshell Belle are both more experienced agents having worked alongside Johnny Valentine for years, whereas Bourbon Sue, although new with no proper training or mission experience, sensually surprises the audience very much with her confidence, traits and immense talent as the story unfolds.
In the film, the notion of the burlesque assassins is shown to be founded in 1941 by Johnny Valentine and his fair love Katarina Molotov (Carrie Schiffler) as part of a top secret joint operation and powerful defence strategy to bring to justice those that threatened the general freedom, especially during the Nazi regime. It was believed that packaging the burlesque assassins with the proven irresistible charms of femininity would help The Agency and The Soviet alliance to spy on and gain access to those in powerful positions in order to help the break down and eventual abolition of the Nazi regime and any others that had gained too much power.
The film is set in the 1950’s, with occasional flashbacks of years past, attempt to connect the tale of an evil world domination plan that may now come to fruition. Through the use of tactful espionage and armed with the sultry goodness of beauty, intelligence, talent and a whole lot of cleavage, the burlesque assassins go on the sole mission to seduce and destroy the communist villains who are assumed to have acquired a deadlier-than-ever weapon that could cause destruction on a massively grand scale. This weapon of mass destruction that had until now been lying dormant was constructed using Leonardo Da-Vinci’s paintings shortly after WW2, when the Nazis’ teamed up with the Italians. It has now come to Johnny Valentine’s knowledge that the codes to arm and launch the deadly weapon may have been acquired by the Nazis’. Ergo, Johnny Valentine, along with the help of his remarkably dazzling trio of deadly enchantresses embarks on this undertaking of finding and killing the two main targets, the first being the Italian dictator’s son Mussolini Jr. and the other being the clone of Hitler himself.
Without giving away the rest of the story, which at this point I’m burning to get more into, I’ll just state now that the story is consistently full of intensity and intrigue, keeping you interested, involved and always wanting more! The comedy-action-dance has a very Charlie’s Angels less Tarantino-esque feel to it and even goes above and beyond to add more through the use of strong backstories on each of the main characters, along with the use of amazing musical instruments and the visual aspects make you live, feel and believe you are in that era . No amount of praise would be enough for the absolutely marvelous performances by the artists on stage!
Working under a modest budget and shot completely in Calgary last year in 2011, the film was spectacularly well done; everything from the background score, the choreography, the action, to the costumes, props and set. Having only been recently introduced to this sort of art form used in film, The Burlesque Assassins has completely won me over, wanting to explore other such presentations. Heck, I even want to get a hoola-hoop and try some of those Bourbon Sue moves!
In recent years, Burlesque, a sassy form of art, has been garnering a lot attention and the film’s successful incorporation of this art technique has a lot to say. Besides, there is no deficiency of beauties wearing just pasties and fighting crime! It surely doesn’t get more entertaining than that. The film is currently touring Canada and has generated a lot of buzz as of late in the social media world and elsewhere, and rightfully so! After its Canadian tour, the film will makes its international screening abroad in Sydney, Australia. Be sure to check out the Gala Screening of The Burlesque Assassins as part of the 5th Annual Toronto Burlesque Festival at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on July 20th. I highly recommend this film as one you do not want to miss! The screening will also have a pre-show burlesque event featuring performances by international artists. To purchase tickets to the pre-party at the Gladstone and for the Toronto Premiere visit: http://torontoburlesquefestival2012.eventbrite.com/ and follow them on Twitter: @BA_Film
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