What family
BBQ is complete without a little drama (and potato salad with raisins,
apparently)? Just as important as who’s invited to the party is who ISN’T
invited. On last night’s RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, it was our
dearly disinvited that made the biggest impression.
The specter of
India continues to hang heavy in the workroom.
Right from the
get-go, Alexis is shook by last week’s attempted coup. The departed India has taken
every opportunity to wring each drip out of her exit, from her cringey runway
exit spiel to her verbose mirror message, India wasn’t done shaking things up.
Alexis
continues to plead with the girls that, while she did see Shea as competition,
she did not campaign to boot her.
But, like the
tell tale heart, India has burrowed her way into the queens’ brains, and
suspicion looms large, only exacerbated by the personalized letters India hid
around the work stations like the most petty escape room.
She even left
a note for Alexis, a calculated bit of last words that managed to claim moral
high-ground, extend grace to Alexis and somehow frame this as something
requiring Alexis to open her heart? (Likely a reference to last week’s lip
sync, but doubly-effective as another way to make Alexis look like a villain.)
It’s a deliciously evil way to further entrench India in Alexis’ mind,
like squatters
fighting against the building of CyberArts studio.
Of course,
this week is all about unwanted visitors, sort of. Ru drops in to introduce
this week’s challenge: the Charles Family Backyard Ball. Each queen needs to
present an original “play cousin” character with voice-over, as well as some
handmade BBQ realness constructed from unconventional backyard materials. As
the guests of dishonor of the party, they’ll need to be clever and creative,
but to nail the second look, they need to be inventive and skilled.
So, although I
didn’t love the premise, this was a good week to test the ladies’ limits.
In crafting
these characters, we actually got to learn a little more about the people
behind the performers. During Ru’s walk-through, Shea tearily tells a tragic
tale about losing her father and sister in a short span of time. We’ve gotten
to see what a strong competitor Shea is, but witnessing her emotional strength
is just as impressive. In fact, Shea’s powerful belief that she carries her
lost loved ones with her is such a healthy outlook, even RuPaul resists the
typical urge to spin the situation into another one of her armchair psychology
koans.
Elsewhere,
Ru-ru meets up with Juju and they bond over their sobriety and the vital
friends that helped save their lives. Juju is a beloved Drag Race vet,
so seeing her discuss her sobriety could be an impactful event for others who
are struggling. It’s also always a bit of a gut-punch when Ru gets emotional.
On the
mainstage, Cracker is an obvious stand-out right out of the gate. She smartly
punctuates her voiceover intro with jokes and live reactions that make sure
every single word counts. It’s joke after joke after joke, which is exactly the
point of the exercise. For her cookout couture, she turned out a sickeningly
slick red number that uses pieces of badminton equipment. It’s not my favorite
lewk up there, but it’s chic.
Next up, Juju,
obviously, kills it. Her play-cousin character’s jokes feel a touch less
original than Cracker’s. “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come” is the kind of
thing you’d see on a mug in a sponsored Facebook post, regardless of how
tickled Bebe Rexha may have been.
Still, Juju can DELIVER a joke — no matter
how hacky — with enough aplomb to land it. The effect was a funnier
presentation, but her original unconventional materials gown was merely a
simple dress adorned with some watermelon cut-outs. She looked pretty, but not
very exciting.
Still, Juju’s
runway was a thrill compared to Blair’s time on the mainstage. Her character
was fine — a soft-butch, mulletted, trailer tart — but the “jokes” were obvious
and the mannerisms didn’t necessarily jive with the voiceover. I had high hopes
for her couture runway, but she walks a so-so pastel gown that was desperately
missing some edge and refinement. Her makeup was still cute, but overall
disappointing.
Shea, no
surprise, has a strong showing in both parts of the challenge. Her character
monologue wasn’t as chockablock with jokes as Cracker or Juju, but the outfit
was perfect, including an airbrushed t-shirt featuring her character Grandrea
from her season’s 90210-Ho challenge. However, it’s Shea’s custom-made backyard
bridal eleganza that really stuns. A masterful combination of gingham, netting
and chaps, it’s my favorite of the week.
That leaves
Alexis. I think Alexis could have recovered from last week’s escándalo, but not
with a showing like this. First, her character is a take on the Latina cleaning
woman trope, but it also includes a dud of a wig reveal and a few inexplicable
details. For example, why would her answer for “What is your character bringing
to the party?” be coquito? Her voice over explained, “Because it’s the best
Puerto Rican drink to bring a party,” but … where’s the joke? She came close to
saving herself with her unconventional gown, which she made thoughtfully,
carefully and embellished with red Solo cups. Her mistake was sewing in an
inflatable kiddie pool into the tail that just threw all the proportions out of
whack and ruined the overall presentation.
Cracker is
(rightfully) picked the winner this week. (Although I think some might have
preferred Juju’s character and Shea’s outfit, Cracker did better between the
two.) Backstage, Cracker establishes Alexis and Blair as the bottom, which is
accurate, and the rest of the queens seem to accept it’s between them. Blair
makes a stronger case, but even if she didn’t, lingering doubts about Alexis’
conspiratorial leanings would surely have sealed the deal.
This week’s
lip sync assassin is none other than reformed Drag Race villain
Roxxxy Andrews. She looks … amazing? Like, how was Roxxxy Andrews not cast
in Hustlers? She basically mops the floor with Cracker to Ariana
Grande’s “One Last Time,” culminating in a reveal of an extra skimpy outfit
(more a collection of straps, really) that spells out Thick & Juicy on her
butt in rhinestones. Even though Roxxxy doesn’t bust out too many big moves,
she sells the song with her face in a way that makes Cracker looks like she’s
doing some weird fake ballet.
Andrews is the
winner, and she reveals the queens voted to send Alexis home.
Next week is a
stand-up comedy challenge, which means Cracker and Juju are going to be at each
other’s throats, and poor Blair better start packing.
Let’s take
stock of where our Top Five fall in this week’s rankings.
1.
Shea pulled away a bit from Juju this week. More than even Alaska
before her, it feels like Shea is the most prepared queen we’ve seen yet. She
is playing every aspect of this game, on the mainstage, off the mainstage, with
Ru, with the other girls, she is always “on,” but it never reads as calculating
or inauthentic. She’s one of the few queens to grasp that they are being
evaluated on EVERYTHING, not just the challenges. Shea is unafraid to open up
and be vulnerable. She’s relentlessly driven and creative. She’s eager to model
good behavior and help her fellow contestants sew even though they’re her
competition. If Drag Race gave out merit badges, Shea would
need a second sash.
2.
Considering we’re coming up on a comedy
challenge, Jujubee continues to nip at Shea’s heels. She
slipped a bit this week for me, and I think overall her fashions are merely
pretty. Sure, construction is going to be her biggest hurdle, but I thought her
character could’ve been better. It was good, but it just felt sort of …
uninspired. Yes, Juju at 80 percent is still fabulous, but she’s going to need
to hold nothing back if she wants to outpace Shea.
3.
Could Cracker win this
thing? Maybe! This was another great week for Cracker, who almost would benefit
from winning — and therefore lip syncing — less. Not that Cracker isn’t
beautiful or sexy, but she’s not … sensual. When she plays straight-up
sex-kitten, it feels awkward. I much prefer to see her blend glam and camp and
lean into her dorkiness a bit more. I wasn’t awed by her original garment, but
it was solid and her character more than made up for it.
4.
I do declare, Blair should
prepare. I’m not feeling super confident in her ability to thrive on a stand-up
challenge, and now she’s slipping on the runway? She could surprise us, but
it’s seeming more and more certain Blair will bid adieu before the final three.
5.
Thanks for playing, Alexis.
Earlier this season, Alexis mentioned wanting to prove that even if she gets
older or puts on a little weight, she can still be the performer she’s always
been. In a way, that’s what held her back. I don’t want All Stars to
prove you can still do what you’ve always done; I want to see what I never
thought you could be capable of. Alexis’s big personality and years of
experience got her far, but it always felt like she was playing small,
especially seeing queens like Shea, Cracker and Blair really fight to prove
themselves.
How would you
rank the queens?
SOURCE: TOWLEROAD
No comments:
Post a Comment