Courtesy of The CW
Another empty episode wastes an otherwise useful evening. Oh, and the models go to Las Vegas.
Let’s bitch it out …
This won’t be a lengthy review…I’m running out of f#cks to give. As a long-time fan of ANTM I’m finding it difficult to enjoy the farce that is masquerading as the current cycle. Let’s start with Devin’s continuing presence on the show after being in the bottom two multiple times, and then rising to 2nd best performance for the week (based on WHAT?). This is a man unable to comprehend reality who is being complimented and rewarded for his superhuman ability to annoy. Likewise Mikey is rewarded with the top spot this week for doing the same thing he does every week: being an aggressive ass-hole. Other weeks this same act lands him on the bottom, but apparently not in Las Vegas.
Beyond the disappointing success of inherently unlikable contestants, this week’s episode is marred by an uninspiring photoshoot challenge and an embarrassingly outdated music video shoot. The challenge this week is an obvious advertisement for the hotel fronting the accommodations costs for this year’s miserable (running out of negative adjectives and synonyms for disappointing) attempt at an exciting destination. Honestly, if this isn’t rock bottom, I don’t know what is! Tyra brings in another douchebag contestant from a previous cycle, who seems to have found some kind of unearned celebrity as a private-party DJ (just make it STOP). The premise: the models each get one shot to front their skills as they leap into the hotel pool. I hate these useless challenges that don’t actually offer the models an opportunity to develop modelling skills.
The main shoot this week is also incredibly disappointing. Last year Tyra developed a make up line, and this year she is “empowering” women to buy it. She hired some one-hit wonder HipHop diva to do up a “theme song” to sell cosmetics, and now she is using her models to help make a sales video for the jingle. I could barely make it through this segment; watching Tyra and Yu Tsai encourage/disparage the models as they struggle is painful. The saving grace is that it is also occasionally hilarious … cue Hadassah walking into the wall and Dustin unable to keep a beat. The only saving grace this cycle is Nyle, but unfortunately the show is so far off track, I don’t know if his winning can save it. Even worse, I get the horrible feeling that either Mikey or Devin is going to take the title.
Courtesy of The CW
Other Observations:
- I was sad to see Justin leave, as was Mamé, but her pity party confessional is laughable. How am I supposed to feel empathy for these ridiculous characters?
- What is with the focus on Hadassah this week? I feel like her constant complaining about Dustin occupied half of the episode.
- It hasn’t gone unnoticed that there have been no real runway challenges this cycle. Looks like Tyra’s backers are backing out.
Best Lines:
- Mamé (in tears because she’s lost Justin, seriously): “I’m so alone. I’m always getting people ripped away from me all the time.”
- Nyle (about participating in the video shoot): “I think Tyra was very impressed by my performance, my energy. And also I’m thinking, why can’t Dustin do this?”
- Miss J (about Devin’s heavy makeup at judging): “Baby, your face is BEAT!”
Your turn: What do you think of Las Vegas as the exotic location this year, budget saving sell-out or genius marketing move to appeal to xenophobic American audience? What are your thoughts on this cycle’s lack of genuine photo opportunities for the models? We’re coming down to the final episodes, who do you think is going to win?
Sound off below …
ANTM airs Fridays at 9pm EST on The CW