I know this is old news considering the VH1 Divas special was days ago, but after watching Paula Abdul cement her “crazy” status, I couldn’t not comment on it.
In addition to her hosting duties, Paula took to the stage to perform her 1980s anthem, Straight Up – perhaps in an attempt to prove herself still relevant after her departure from American Idol. However, it should be noted that comebacks, performances and things of the sort are much more effective when the musician in question performs music live as opposed to lipsynced - or at least lip-synced well if the vocal stylings of say, a middle-aged former pop star aren’t up to par. And although Paula gets props for adorning sixteen-inch heels and matching words to music, the “holy shit – Paula’s fucking awesome!” aspect of her routine fell flat when she almost did (Ha – wordplay!). Yikes.
The thing is, this video would hardly be comment-worthy if not for Paula’s uncomfortable impersonation of Ellen Degeneres – her replacement on Idol (for all you non-pop culture/non-news aficionados). I mean, impressions are great. They truly are. Good impressions are even better, but even if impressions are bad, we can all usually appreciate the humour behind them.
So why do I feel like Paula’s impersonation is a) obviously not funny and b) done out of spite than actual good humour? Was it just me or did Paula’s stab at humour come off like a little kid throwing a tantrum because someone else got picked for the t-ball team? It seemed as if she was moments away from busting out a “Ohhh look at me, my name’s Ellen! I’m going to be on American Idol! I have several Emmys!” like a dejected teenage boy after being denied a prom date. (Insert uncomfortable collar-tug here.)
Judge on your own and try not to cringe, but as far as I’m concerned, mockery is only effective when your digs generate laughter at your subject – not at yourself.
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