What a Joke

Last night, my sweetheart of a brother happened to ask the following question over dinner:

"So, Jill, what did you think of that exit on Canadian Idol last night?"

My reply: "Haven't seen it yet, I taped it. But I don't really care, as long as Greg didn't get the axe."

Of course, never in my wildest dreams did I think Greg Neufeld would be going home. Not this early in the game. Probably not ever. For me, Greg was consistently the best performer, and in my eyes, he was already crowned the next Idol.

But something about the expression on Luke's face told me that the Canadian public had pulled a cruel, cruel joke on me. It was the flash in his eyes; the sly grin that twisted his lips.

"They didn't vote Greg out, did they?"

He didn't answer with words; just a slight nod of his head.

"WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!"

I couldn't believe him. I did not believe him.

So I went downstairs and watched the tape for myself. And sure enough, Lukey wasn't lying.

After a week where the Idols performed hits by Queen, the bottom three, as voted by Canada, were Brian Melo, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Greg Neufeld. For the past few weeks, these three have, in my mind, been the most deserving of being the Final Three. I believe it was Judge Jake Gold who even said, when seeing the three of him before him as the least vote-getters, "I believe that these three were the best performers from last night." The shock on the Idol judges faces was quite visible. Even Ben Mulroney looked as if someone had punched him in the gut.

Carly Rae was sent to the couch first. And then came that awful blow: "Greg....you did not receive enough votes. I'm sorry, but you're going home."

So with that, the dynasty that is "Idol" poved once again what a farce it really is.

It's not the first time I've been disappointed by a departing contestant from one of these shows. Probably the hardest to take before this was watching Chris Daughtry being let go from American Idol. He was the fourth-last to leave.

But now Greg, leaving seventh-last from CI...well, it really is a joke. The boy was clearly one of the most talented, professional performers that has ever been on any of the Idol shows I've watched over the years. The look of complete disbelief on Greg's face said it all. Then there were the blank, almost-angry stares from the judges as they tried to figure out how Canada got this so wrong. And then, as if that weren't enough, there was the lecture from host Ben, who declared that Greg should not be going home and that the voting public had made a very grave mistake, basically calling the Canadians who picked up their phones to dial in votes the night before complete idiots.

It was easily the biggest shock the Canadian version of the show has ever experienced.

The only thing I can hope for is that Greg Neufeld's early elimination from the show proves to be a blessing in disguise, as it did for Chris Daughtry, who has gone on to bigger success than either of his season's finalists, Katharine McPhee or Taylor the-grey-haired-dude.

I'll probably continue watching Idol this summer, just to see what happens with the other Idols I have a mild interest in - Dwight D'Eon, Brian Melo, Tara Oram, Carly Rae Jepsen. But I'm not sure I'll bother another year. If people are stupid enough to vote out someone as amazing as Greg, than it's not worth my time watching.

Some Movie Reviews Pour Vous...

Hey guys!

I'm still here...still alive...I know the Blog has been Blah, but I was on vacation last week!

It was a great week off - beautiful weather, with lots of time spent at the beach, on the lake, in restaurants, at movie theatres, with family & friends.

Two movies to recommend: "The Simpsons" & "Hairspray". I loved both, but you should only go check 'em out if you a) like The Simpsons (even just a little bit), or b) like musicals (and music from the '60s.)

"The Simpsons" truly was just like a super-mega-extended episode of the classic TV cartoon that many people have loved and watched for years & years. A little more risqué, perhaps, than they can show on primetime (I mean, we do get to see Bart's doodle, after all), but it won't disappoint, as long as you enjoy the show, even just a little. I, for one, am not a Simpsons fanatic - I watch it occasionally if there's nothing else on (and it seems the Simpsons is ALWAYS on, somewhere). But I still get a chuckle out of it when I do watch, so I definitely give the movie 2 thumbs up. And if you don't find yourself humming "Spider pig, spider pig..." for days afterwards, you're made of stronger stuff than I am!!

Now, "Hairspray" is completely different (just proving how diverse am, eh?) - it's a musical set in Baltimore in the '60s, about a short-n-plump teenage girl nameed Tracy who loves to dance and gets her unlikely opportunity to shine on the Corny Collins Show (just like American Bandstand or shows of the ilk.) There are many bright stars burning up the screen in this fun romp - most notably, John Travolta, all dressed up in padding and a wig to play Tracy's hefty mom, Edna. Christopher Walkom is Wilbur, Tracy's father, who spends the movie trying to prove to Edna that he loves her still, despite her...uh...grand stature. James Marsden is perfect in the role of Corny Collins, and Michelle Pheiffer really captures her inner bitch as Velma, the studio producer, whose daughter, Amber, is the snooty star of the Corny Collins Show. Amber (played by Brittany Snow, also of "American Dreams" fame, for those of you who've heard me ramble about sadly-cancelled show) is unhappy with Tracy stealing her spotlight on the show, and joins with her mother in attempting to exact revenge. Last but not least, there's Queen Latifah, who shines in her role as Motor-Mouth Maybelle, the host of "Negro Day" on the Corny Collins Show.

While "Hairspray" is mostly a fun, dance-in-your-seat, make-ya-wanna-sing kind of movie, there is the constant reminder of racial issues that were finally coming to the forefront during that era. Not only does Tracy break her own barriers over her appearance and size, she also helps break barriers so that black kids are allowed to dance with white kids on the same stage, on the same screen.

If you like musicals (à la "Grease"), you'll love "Hairspray"!!

OK, so there's a Blog...so hopefully, Sharon, you're out there reading, and won't have to lecture me at ball tonight. ;)

Have a great day, gang!!