Still in opening act mode

On first headlining tour, Nicki Minaj delivers fun show but leaves audiencewanting more

Nicki Minaj salutes the audience.

Photo by Chinh Phan
Minaj emerged onstage to "Roman's Revenge" (just as she did during the "FemmeFatale" tour) in a blond wig and black monk's robe.

Photo by Chinh Phan
Minaj only made three costume changes in a show that lasted about an hour.

Photo by Chinh Phan
Minaj soliticed audience participation as fans gleefully filling in popularlines from her radio hits, squealing feverishly to shoutouts like "Where mywhite people at?"

Photo by Chinh Phan
Unlike her televised performances, Minaj sang and rapped largely without abacking track and acquitted herself well.

Photo by Chinh Phan
The headlining tour didn't feel much more substantial than a RodeoHoustonconcert, but fans ate it up.

Photo by Chinh Phan

After two stints opening for Britney Spears and Lil Wayne, superstar rap popstress Nicki Minaj's first headlining tour should be bigger and better than her supporting sets. Instead her hour-long show at Bayou Music Center was fun but also short, cheap and uninspired, even cribbing from last year's "Femme Fatale" setlist.

And yet if the sell-out crowd was disappointed, it didn't show, with fans gleefully filling in popular lines from Minaj's radio hits, squealing feverishly to shoutouts like "Where my white people at?" and many spending most of the concert standing on their chairs.

One of my favorite things about Nicki Minaj is that she makes a distinction between being sexy and being a sexual object.

Minaj emerged onstage to "Roman's Revenge" (just as she did during the "Femme Fatale" tour) in a blond wig and black monk's robe, which were quickly dropped in favor of a brightly colored, graffiti-inspired hoodie and tights under booty shorts (on Nicki Minaj all shorts are booty shorts) for "Did It On 'Em," another déjà vu moment.

Unlike her televised performances, Minaj sang and rapped largely without a backing track and acquitted herself well.

Flowing quickly into "I Am Your Leader," "Beez in the Trap" and "Stupid Ho," all from Minaj's sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, as well as her verse on Big Sean's hypnotically catchy "Ass," and hits "Right By My Side and "Moment 4 Life," it felt like Minaj was leading a dance party set to a montage of her songs and verses for a solid 15 minutes.

Just when seemed like Minaj was going to blow through her sizeable guest spot and solo catalog in 30 minutes, the rapper/singer made her first costume change as an onstage DJ played "Turn Me On" and tried to pump up the crowd. The breaks were when the shortcuts in staging and presentation really showed.

Instead of leaving some dancers onstage to keep the crowd's attention, all six disappeared with her, and the light screens behind and above the double staircase that made up her set more or less functioned as giant screensavers. When it comes to engaging an audience even when off the stage, Nicki could use some pointers from Beyoncé. For an artist known as much for her theatrical characters and over-the-top outfits as for her singles, it was a huge disappointment.

"Houston is responsible for bringing so much of the culture to hip-hop," she gushed, and while it was a great moment, it also seemed like Minaj was looking for a way to fill out her set.

Returning in see-through white lace that referenced Madonna's "Like A Virgin" look, Minaj fulfilled her pop star potential, singing her Euro-dance megahits "Starships" and "Pound the Alarm" before breaking again to switch to a pink Marilyn Monroe-esque dress for a ballad-heavy interlude featuring "Fire Burns" and "Save Me." (Though surprisingly not "Marilyn Monroe," although the recorded track played as Minaj left the stage for a final costume change.)

Switching to her trademark straight black hair, Minaj also flipped from pop to rap with tracks from her early mixtapes like "Slumber Party" and "Beam Me Up Scotty" plus new track "Come on a Cone."

One of my favorite things about Nicki Minaj is that she makes a distinction between being sexy and being a sexual object. "I don't condone females who depend on men," she told the audience before leading into her verses from Drake's "Make Me Proud." "If you're in school, stay in school, It's not cute to use your cooch. Go out and get what you deserve and then no one can take it away from you." It was almost as great as the feminist rant she spontaneously spun during her 2010 MTV special.

After mixing together her sections of "My Chick Bad" and Bottoms Up" (another Femme Fatale leftover), Minaj opened up the stage to Houston rappers Bun B, Paul Wall and Slim Thug, who each took a turn on the mic performing the songs they are known for. (Somewhere in Houston, Mike Jones wept.)

"Houston is responsible for bringing so much of the culture to hip-hop," she gushed, and while it was a great moment for the audience to see the trio of local greats on the stage, it also seemed like Minaj was looking for a way to fill out her set.

After the Houston interlude, Minaj closed out the show with her 2011 megahit "Superbass" as confetti shot into the air as was off the stage by 10 p.m. with a quick goodbye. With a set that lasted scarcely an hour (no encore here) with no less than three costume changes, this headlining tour didn't feel much more substantial than a RodeoHouston concert, and there wasn't much in the way of interesting lights of sets to distinguish it either.

With tickets selling for up to $100, I'd want my money back. Luckily the high energy crowd didn't seem to agree.

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Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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