I remember hearing Tina Fey say something along the lines that the reason she didn't stand on camera side-by-side with Sarah Palin when the esteemed former governor appeared on Saturday Night Live was that she knew that one photo — Tina as Palin, with Palin as Palin — would be the one they'd use for her obituary. But in the nearly five years since she was trotting out the impersonation on the regs, the Tina/Sarah connection has died down to the point where, when James Lipton asked her on Inside the Actors Studio to revive the ol' gal, Fey was actually down. Lipton interviewed Fey in character for a few minutes, and almost got aggy a couple of times. (Let it be known that James Lipton does not abide Sarah Palin-via-Tina Fey's political opinions!) Meanwhile, Fey played ball superbly, improv-ing perfectly daffy answers. On gun control: "I believe that if everybody had guns, then there would be fewer guns in the stores." On same-sex marriage: "Well, the Bible says it's gross." Yeah, Tina Fey probably just opened herself up to six more months of people coming up to her at parties and asking for a "You betcha!" But it was worth it.
Every new Madonna album comes with a new Madonna persona, and the MDNA Madonna is seemingly into rave culture, partial nudity, and mind-blowing cultural tone-deafness. The first two may as well be put-ons, but the third is turning out to be pretty genuine: The New York Times reports that Ms. Ciccone is now defending her use of Nazi imagery during a performance in her current world tour after coming under fire by the conservative French National Front leader Marine Le Pen. Apparently it doesn't go over so well when you slap a swastika on the forehead of a political leader and juxtapose it with Hitler's head shot, in what sounds like the worst PowerPoint ever. (No protestations yet from Hu Jintao, Pope Benedict XVI, and Sarah Palin, who are similarly branded in the clip.)
Every week, television documentaries present us with so many unusual people, with so many strange and/or disturbing problems, you might find it hard to keep up with all of them. That's where I come in! Here's an unflinching look back at TV's Week in Freak Shows.
Pregnant in Heels (Bravo)
Who Is This Now? Aimee and Seth. Why Are We Watching Them? They've asked maternity concierge Rosie Pope to help them to make sure the baby they're about to have (their first) is "flexible." How Did They Get Here? I guess they decided to have a baby first, and then thought through the changes said baby's existence would necessarily cause in their carefree yuppie lives afterward. And the solution they came up with is that the baby could learn to be chill! What's the Grossest Thing We See? Pope enlists the robot baby to give Seth and Aimee a taste of what it might be like to take their flexible future baby on a visit to a vineyard, where Seth reveals the kind of father he's going to be: the kind who fobs all child care onto his wife. "Aimee, pleeeeeeeeease, you gotta make that stop," he whines in the car on the way to the winery. "Let it cry," he orders when the robot starts screeching on the tour. "Why don't you wheel it out into the hall," he demands, through gritted teeth, when it needs a diaper change just as the wine tasting has begun. I know it's only a robot, but still. What Have We Learned? Aimee's going to have a pretty crappy time as a single parent.
Every week, television documentaries present us with so many unusual people, with so many strange and/or disturbing problems, you might find it hard to keep up with all of them. That's where I come in! Here's an unflinching look back at TV's Week in Freak Shows.
Pregnant in Heels (Bravo)
Who Is This Now? Patrice and Thomas. Why Are We Watching Them? Patrice, who is expecting their first baby, has contacted maternity concierge Rosie Pope to deal with her and Thomas's separate issues. How Did They Get Here? Patrice, a former fashion writer, is opposed to maternity clothing, despite the fact that she's in her third trimester and none of her pre-pregnancy clothes fit. Meanwhile, Thomas has developed a sympathetic pregnancy, and is experiencing more pregnancy symptoms (weight gain, tender breasts, constipation) than his wife is. What's the Grossest Thing We See? When Patrice tries on clothes that actually fit her and complains that they all make her look fat, one fears for the daughter she's about to have, and to whom she may pass on her hatred of her body and its completely natural changes. (The episode also features an unrelated cold open in which Pope and two of her employees investigate pubic wigs for women, a.k.a. merkins, the contemporary commercial availability of which I was happier not knowing about.) What Have We Learned? If your husband is competing with your pregnancy for attention, you might have married the wrong man.
Kanye & Kim K: "They were acting like a couple of kids" as they hung out on the floor piano in FAO Schwartz famous from Big. "It had been West's idea to have the store clear out customers so they could visit a few in-store boutiques — like the Angry Birds shop — undisturbed. As Kim playfully tried on costumes for West's amusement, more and more fans realized the superstars were in their midst, and began chanting her name. West, as famous for his ego as his talent — 'really dug it.' For him it's great to hang with someone who's an equal." Equally down with furs and fame-whoring, yes. "The new romance is the result of months of hot pursuit by West, sparing no expense to win the woman who calls herself 'the ultimate doll.' Conveniently, the knight in mink-lined armor arrived just as the damsel, 31, has been feeling like the dating equivalent of 'a leper,' with guys too freaked out to approach her." Kanye is smitten. "He thinks she's his Beyoncé!" They went to see The Hunger Games. "Not wanting the evening to end — or perhaps trying to woo her into a sleepover — West played to Kim's famous sweet tooth," buying her ice cream, which apparently worked; "she spent the night at his place" and emerged with a visible hickey. They lunched the next day, "where West downplayed his self-centered image over truffle pizza. He's actually a really good listener." They went clothes shopping and each paid. "Kim can pay her own way and she's not riding his coattails. He loves that she's a powerful business lady." HE FUCKING LOVES IT. "She was with cowardly guys like Reggie Bush, who was obsessed with what his teammates thought, and Kris, who didn't want her to act too strong. But Kanye loves her Kimness. She's great the way she is and if people hate on them, he'll only like her more."
Winona Ryder has signed up for The Iceman as the wife of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a mafia assassin who managed to keep his gruesome day job from his family. This is unrelated, but it just dawned on me that Winona Ryder should have gotten name-checked in way more rap lyrics over the years, via the "rider like Winona" construction. What is going on here? Is the hip-hop community not a fan of Mermaids? Grade: B [Deadline]
