With castmember Maya Rudolph returning this weekend to host Saturday Night Live, many predicted she'd bring back her Whitney Houston impression for one last hurrah. Fortunately for everyone, she didn't (seriously, too soon) although Rudolph did dust off her versions of Maya Angelou and Michelle Obama.
But her most hilarious celebrity impression of the night was Beyoncé.
Rudolph's Bey and Jay Pharoah as Jay-Z (a reminder that an impression can be accurate and also boring) have a white butler they call "white butler," let Blue Ivy sleep in a crib lined with "one of Diana Ross's finest wigs" and in Beyoncé's case, at least, always have on a fringed, sequined silver dress under a robe. (I guess Sasha Fierce gets dressed first.)
While a wavy blonde wig and a sparkly dress are the basics for any Beyoncé, Rudolph mostly played the foil for the other weird characters parading through their home: Taylor Swift making her surprised face, Prince giving Blue Ivy "a smirk," Angelina Jolie trying to take the baby home and Justin Timberlake as Bon Iver putting himself to sleep with a lullaby.
Actually, Justin Timberlake's appearance reminded me of the last time Beyoncé made an SNL appearance: The super-viral sketch where Timberlake and two other guys act as (the real) Beyoncé's back-up dancers in the "Single Ladies" video.
Does Maya's version measure up, or do you think Beyoncé is funnier when she's playing herself?
A variety of actors have had the good fortune of having career resurgences thanks to someone giving them a chance after they passed their prime, including John Travolta after Pulp Fiction, Keanu Reeves after John Wick, and Brendan Fraser after The Whale. Pamela Anderson is the latest actor hoping to be reclaimed thanks to her starring role in The Last Showgirl.
In the meta-story, the 57-year-old Anderson plays Shelly, an aging showgirl at a third tier Las Vegas casino. The show itself, called Le Razzle Dazzle, is on its last legs, and Shelly finds herself at a crossroads, with no other skills or financial means on which to fall back.
While younger showgirls like Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) are willing to move on to more sexually-suggestive shows, Shelly is only comfortable with the tried-and-true showgirl way. Three other people in her life — estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), and stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) — seem to help and hurt her in equal measure.
The effectiveness of the film, directed by Gia Coppola and written by Kate Gersten, depends heavily on whether the viewer is willing to accept Anderson, who’s still best known for her role on Baywatch, as a serious actor. If Coppola and Gersten are trying to show a different side of Anderson, they fail; having her play a character with little-to-no makeup and a dramatic arc does not make up for her poor acting skills and a high voice that borders on shrill.
And because the story is so dependent on Anderson — she appears in literally every scene — it never has a chance of becoming interesting or involving. Her character has personal issues that are objectively sad, but any weight that might have resulted from those storylines are lost along the way. She’s not helped by an over-the-top performance by Curtis, who seems to be milking her Oscar from Everything Everywhere All at Oncefor all it’s worth.
Coppola seems to be going for an old-school feel for the film to match the storyline. The film has a weird, unfocused look to it at times, giving the audience visuals that are definitely not high-definition. Whether she’s actually using an old film stock or manipulating the image to make it look like an old film, the effect is the same, with imperfections appearing on the screen often.
Anderson — who earned a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Female Actor for her role — and Curtis seem to take up most of the oxygen of the film, leaving little to remember from anyone else. Shipka had a breakout movie year thanks to appearances in Twisters and Longlegs, but her role here gives her little to do. The same goes for Bautista, although at least he gets to put on a grey wig and act in a way that doesn’t emphasize his bulky physique.
While actors should never be shunted aside simply because they’ve aged out of an accepted age range, you also have to have the ability to prove you still belong. Anderson can’t get out of her own way in The Last Showgirl, and consequently the film itself never has any dramatic depth, either.
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The Last Showgirl opens in theaters on January 10.
