RuPaul's Drag Race: The DESPY Awards
March 31, 2015 9:52 AM - Season 7, Episode 5 - Subscribe
With the herd finally thinned enough that everyone's identifiable, the queens are tasked with putting together a fake awards show resulting in the most unexpected laugh line of the episode: "Courage." Kathy Griffin dispenses harsh but accurate comedy advice (though few listen), Isaac Mizrahi delights in judging, and Pearl & Ru have a bizarrely intense stare-off. Also: paper red-carpet dresses. Also also: chickens.
In the words of Michelle Visage, "meh."
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:36 PM on March 31, 2015
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 12:36 PM on March 31, 2015
I think we finally saw, briefly...briefly...a bit of actual self-awareness from Violet ("You hate me! You really hate me!" was actually kind of inspired), and then we saw her screw it right back down again. Of course, that could have been editing. Her drag is still so fierce, but I don't think she has the chops to make it through Snatch Game, so we'll see. It is interesting that two of the queens who really would have stood out in Snatch Game (Trixie and Mrs. Kasha Davis) are already gone. I still think that Pearl and Kandy should have lipsynched last week, and that Kandy probably should have gone home (although Kandy's lipsynch was actually quite good this week).
For a long time, I wasn't the biggest Michelle Visage fan, but I'm starting to come around. For a girl who sells fake tits over the internet, she's really got a head on her shoulders. I like Ginger, but Michelle's read on her runway look this week was absolutely correct- it struck me as very "mob wife at her daughter's wedding."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:24 PM on March 31, 2015
For a long time, I wasn't the biggest Michelle Visage fan, but I'm starting to come around. For a girl who sells fake tits over the internet, she's really got a head on her shoulders. I like Ginger, but Michelle's read on her runway look this week was absolutely correct- it struck me as very "mob wife at her daughter's wedding."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:24 PM on March 31, 2015
It's just so bleedingly obvious that this season is all about the young queens. We get it. Adore Delano was a big smash last year, and the kids with their Instagrams and their Snapchats are all about the pretty young guys who are pretty young queens. However, this is going to lead to a disastrous late season unless funny, interesting queens like Katya and Ginger are in it for the long haul. Right now, we have 5 Tyras and nobody to balance them.
Pearls "redemption" was so staged and so heavily-edited, I don't know why the producers bothered. Yes, she got in one cute joke, but it shouldn't have meant he won the challenge.
Feh. This season is just terrible.
posted by xingcat at 1:34 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Pearls "redemption" was so staged and so heavily-edited, I don't know why the producers bothered. Yes, she got in one cute joke, but it shouldn't have meant he won the challenge.
Feh. This season is just terrible.
posted by xingcat at 1:34 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Adore was at least funny.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:35 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:35 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Violet's Untucked did also make her seem a little more self-aware, if in fits and starts (she deploys the not-here-to-make-friends trope unironically, which is a little awk -- but she does make some progress).
More assorted thoughts: Fame is getting redeemed a bit for me. Her The-Secret-y new-age patois still grates, and she can be a little condescending now and again, but I do enjoy the fact that she's such a genuine doof underneath it all. There's also all these hints about her life and upbringing that seem really fascinating.
Max's "I... feel... very... uncomfortable... right... now" was the perfect response in that situation. I continue to be impressed by her ability to keep things light and positive and not take out her frustrations on anyone else.
I have a feeling Kandy Ho is finally gonna get chomped during SG; if she doesn't, my guess is she'll be B3 but safe. She is a very talented lipsyncer and definitely won fair and square tonight against MKD, but 3 lip-synchs is usually the limit (I think the only one who's survived 3 lipsyncs was Coco Montrese, and that's probably because the producers wanted to keep her around for a Coco v. Alyssa deathmatch, no I haven't watched every single episode of this show why do you ask) and I just can't see her doing well in SG based on her performances so far.
I actually like this season so far, #justicefortrixie notwithstanding. The queens seem very talented across the board and the challenges have been pretty fun. I do kind of miss the workroom banter of some of the past seasons: Alaska in particular could always be counted on to make a few well-timed smart remarks that really livened up those segments. As I believe I have remarked before *cough* I love Katya, but I wish she'd show off her screwy sense of humor and play to the camera a bit more during those talking heads.
posted by en forme de poire at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2015
More assorted thoughts: Fame is getting redeemed a bit for me. Her The-Secret-y new-age patois still grates, and she can be a little condescending now and again, but I do enjoy the fact that she's such a genuine doof underneath it all. There's also all these hints about her life and upbringing that seem really fascinating.
Max's "I... feel... very... uncomfortable... right... now" was the perfect response in that situation. I continue to be impressed by her ability to keep things light and positive and not take out her frustrations on anyone else.
I have a feeling Kandy Ho is finally gonna get chomped during SG; if she doesn't, my guess is she'll be B3 but safe. She is a very talented lipsyncer and definitely won fair and square tonight against MKD, but 3 lip-synchs is usually the limit (I think the only one who's survived 3 lipsyncs was Coco Montrese, and that's probably because the producers wanted to keep her around for a Coco v. Alyssa deathmatch, no I haven't watched every single episode of this show why do you ask) and I just can't see her doing well in SG based on her performances so far.
I actually like this season so far, #justicefortrixie notwithstanding. The queens seem very talented across the board and the challenges have been pretty fun. I do kind of miss the workroom banter of some of the past seasons: Alaska in particular could always be counted on to make a few well-timed smart remarks that really livened up those segments. As I believe I have remarked before *cough* I love Katya, but I wish she'd show off her screwy sense of humor and play to the camera a bit more during those talking heads.
posted by en forme de poire at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2015
Max is one of the best coaches and mentors I've ever seen on the show -- she can coax a performance out of anyone. One of the weird frustrations of Violet's rise is that Ru mentions every week how young she is, as both an excuse for her bad behavior and a sign of her promise, and yet Max is Violet's age and a fully formed artist.
I had a huge soft spot for Kasha and think it was weeks too early for her to go, especially since Kandy has been intensely forgettable. As late as this episode, my friend and I were still asking each other who she was. Kasha brought a combination of camp and sensitivity to this season that I really appreciated -- she was really dedicated to a very specific kind of character in a way that seemed to come out of love more than mockery. And she looked like House from season 4 of Face Off out of drag.
Miss Fame's chicken tat changed everything for me though, w/r/t Miss Fame.
posted by thesmallmachine at 3:48 PM on March 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
I had a huge soft spot for Kasha and think it was weeks too early for her to go, especially since Kandy has been intensely forgettable. As late as this episode, my friend and I were still asking each other who she was. Kasha brought a combination of camp and sensitivity to this season that I really appreciated -- she was really dedicated to a very specific kind of character in a way that seemed to come out of love more than mockery. And she looked like House from season 4 of Face Off out of drag.
Miss Fame's chicken tat changed everything for me though, w/r/t Miss Fame.
posted by thesmallmachine at 3:48 PM on March 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
I like a lot of Max's looks, and she was the definition of grace under pressure last night, but girl has got to learn to paint her eyes.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:57 PM on March 31, 2015
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:57 PM on March 31, 2015
Pearls "redemption" was so staged and so heavily-edited, I don't know why the producers bothered. Yes, she got in one cute joke, but it shouldn't have meant he won the challenge.
Apparently there was a LOT more to Max and Pearl's presentation; they didn't show Max saying much, but she had quite a bit of dialogue and wrote all the material. Max's parts were pared in the service of Pearl's redemption edit.
Max watching Max.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:57 PM on March 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Apparently there was a LOT more to Max and Pearl's presentation; they didn't show Max saying much, but she had quite a bit of dialogue and wrote all the material. Max's parts were pared in the service of Pearl's redemption edit.
Max watching Max.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:57 PM on March 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I fell in love with Miss Fame with the sentence "You can put bluing on a white chicken to make it sparkle!" Followed by "you just flip the chicken over and show the judge its asshole, and then he says your chicken is healthy."
posted by KathrynT at 10:52 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by KathrynT at 10:52 PM on March 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Good take on the young queen focus, xingcat. My wife commented that this season's queens are more memorable out of drag than in, which is rather damning for Drag Race. Even Katya, who has the most "outrageous/trashy queen" vibe of anyone this season is milktoast compared to last season's queens. Max shines as a better version of Milk, but relies too heavily on the faded "nostalgic/classy" look (grey hair, grey makeup). I wish Trixie were here for this episode, as she didn't get to shine as a comedy queen.
Prediction: Snatch Game will be flat and dull, hopefully stressing that this was a terrible season and it was dumb to focus on the pretty young queens who have up to now relied on pretty. I miss last season's queens so much, especially after watching Season 6 Untucked now (on Amazon streaming, FWIW). Even Courtney Act had more depth that most of these queens, and how I miss Bianca Del Rio.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:53 AM on April 1, 2015
Prediction: Snatch Game will be flat and dull, hopefully stressing that this was a terrible season and it was dumb to focus on the pretty young queens who have up to now relied on pretty. I miss last season's queens so much, especially after watching Season 6 Untucked now (on Amazon streaming, FWIW). Even Courtney Act had more depth that most of these queens, and how I miss Bianca Del Rio.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:53 AM on April 1, 2015
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posted by en forme de poire at 10:54 AM on March 31, 2015 [4 favorites]