Sometimes, having a DVR can be a real drag. Wait, that’s not true…I love my DVR!
Except I didn’t love it so much last night after Nancy Grace’s revealing quickstep. I wondered why the show cut to a shot of a stoic, silent audience while we could all HEAR the crowd applauding following her performance. We saw a quick shot of Nancy Grace before a quick cut back to the zombie crowd.
As a journalist, I HAD to rewind to see what was going on. Thankfully/unfortunately, my DVR was able to confirm. It wasn’t so much a nipple slip as much as it was an areola-slip. (Although I think I did detect a hint of nipple.)
Anyway, I’ve spent way too much time on this topic. Let’s break down last night’s jives and quicksteps, in order of appearance.
Hope Solo and Maksim: The big issue this week was how Hope didn’t have enough time to rehearse because of her busy soccer schedule. (Although I did like the shot of Maks at the soccer match looking impatient.) Hope’s performance quality (usually an issue for non-entertainers) was much better, she was still way to stiff and doing the professional athlete thing where the body is too tightly coiled, especially around the shoulders. At least now we know that she can shake her ass really well.
Kristin Cavallari and Mark: Kristin DID look great as Marilyn Monroe during her quickstep, but I think she actually danced a little better than Len gave her credit for. I hate to keep beating the guy up, but is anyone out there surprised that Mark broke hold during the quickstep…and basically admitted that he didn’t give a damn? Sorry, but I honestly thought this would be the week that I didn’t have to talk about how much of a tool that guy is.
David Arquette and Kym Johnson: I didn’t really think David’s waltz he was subdued last week during his waltz, so I didn’t get the contrast the judges were talking about after his wild jive last night. Even though Kym uncharacteristically kicked his butt during rehearsal, David continues to be a compete charmer about wanting to “blow people’s minds” with his dancing. It remains unclear whether our minds will be blown in a good or bad way. David and J.R. remain neck-and-neck for the title of Mr. Congeniality.
Elisabetta Canalis and Val: I thought Elisabetta and Val started their quickstep on incredibly shaky ground, but ended pretty solidly. Unfortunately, she and Val clearly can’t stand each other. So far, Val appears to be just as abrasive as his brother Maksim only with none of the charm that we eventually discovered Maksim has after a few seasons.
Rob Kardashian and Cheryl: Can it be? Do I actually find a member of the Kardashian crew kinda/sorta likable? (Oh wait, I forgot that I already kinda/sorta like Khloe.) This week, Rob revealed that he’s reserved and self-conscious about his man-boobs. (Kudos to the costume person who forced him to wear a wife beater underneath his Hawaiian shirt to help him get over it.) More importantly, his dancing was more fluid and much improved during his jive, though he still has a lot of work to do. Finally, I think axing the move that apparently required Rob to run up a wall (and break through the drywall during rehearsal) turned out to be a good idea.
Carson Kressley and Anna: (Sigh) At least Carson honestly tried to dance well this week, unlike last week when he was just clowning around. The biggest problem is that he’s completely terrible. (Sadly, his phys ed. teacher was right…this child lacks coordination.) Still, it was an improvement and, unlike Hope Solo, he’s going plenty of time to rehearse and get better. (Meaning he’s got nothing else going on.) Still, the judges were right: when he’s dancing, I’m always afraid that he’s either going to fall or drop Anna.
Ricki Lake and Derek: Best pure jive of the night. (And kind of a hot jive, which you don’t usually see.) The Polaroid pics on the big screen (the song was “Hey Ya”) were cute. My only complaint is that I’m already completely over Ricki invoking the name of Kirstie Alley ever week using this show as her own personal weight-loss commercial. It’s great that you’re losing weight, but just let us naturally marvel at how much better you look by the end of this thing instead of constantly bringing it up.
Chaz Bono and Lacey: Poor Chaz. Last week, he talked about how out of shape he is and how bad his knees are. This week, he talked about how much he was dreading the quickstep, which is a perfect storm of awfulness for what ails Chad. Chaz is doing his best (and Lacey took out some of the flashier moves) but it was painful to watch him dance. (Almost as painful as it must’ve been for Chaz’s knees to do the quickstep.)
Chynna Phillips and Tony: After an impressive debut last week, it seemed to me like Tony inexplicably scaled things down for his jive with Chynna. That boring, tentative routine seemed more appropriate for Susan Lucci than for someone who can actually dance. Hopefully, they’ll set things right again this week because I really enjoy this couple, particularly Chynna’s willingness to curse during rehearsal. (How long until Cee-Lo Green records “Fudge You”?)
Nancy Grace and Tristan (pictured, left): I mean, honestly…out of all the female celebrities and Pros on this show, I had to rewind to catch Nancy Grace’s nipple?! Ok, I’m done, I promise. Nancy and Tristan had a tough time during rehearsal with Nancy shutting down after some seemingly not-that-tough love from Tristan. Watching this duo pick itself up was actually pretty charming. That, combined with the buzz from Nancy’s wardrobe malfunction will probably be enough to keep her around another week. There’s also the matter of her surprisingly solid score of 21 for a quickstep that I thought was still too slow and basic for my taste, but a definite upgrade from last time.
J.R. Martinez and Karina: For the second week in a row J.R. and Karina delivered the best performance of the night…unfortunately, their jive really WAS a Lindy hop. (Then again, I love the Lindy hop.) Oh well. Come on, Pros! After a dozen seasons, you’re not going to slip something like this past the judges. On the other hand, I don’t really care that they did a side-flip at the start of the routine (much to the chagrin of Lift Police Officer Carrie Ann) so I’m not a complete stickler.
So what’d you think of this episode? Does Len seem (even) crankier than usual this season? Is it a bad sign that I agree with some of his gripes? Does anyone besides Carrie Ann really care when there are lifts? Who do you think is going home? (I think Chaz’s supporters carry him another week, so I’m just going to keep picking Elisabetta until it happens. Should be sooner rather than later, right?)
No comments:
Post a Comment