I didn't always hate Lindsay Lohan.There was a time, probably around the era of the Tina Fey-scripted comedy Mean Girls, where I quite liked Lindsay; she had matured from a kid actor into a sexy, self-assured bombshell of a woman with fine comedic chops and a burgeoning career. Since then, she's become a punchline of a joke no one cares about any more: trashy, crotch-flashing tabloid fodder.
So I was pretty irked to see that she was joining the cast of Ugly Betty, a series which is making me slightly nauseous with all the good cheer, melodrama, and "heart" that they've been cramming down our throats since firing showrunner Marco Pennette, the man responsible for adding some much needed laughs (and for making characters Alexis, Mark, and Amanda not only likable but three-dimensional).
Yes, folks, the same people that wrote the word "heart" on the white board in the writers room of Betty have chosen to cast one of the most despicable starlets not just in a guest role... but in several episodes of Ugly Betty. Lohan is slated to appear in the season finale of Ugly Betty, airing May 22nd, as well as five episodes next season, the series' third.
Lohan will play a former classmate of Betty's who was, well, a mean girl to our heroine back in the day but whose life has--like Lohan's--taken a turn for the worse since then. Unlike Betty Suarez, who is working for Mode magazine, has a fantastic boyfriend (who impregnated his ex-girlfriend!), and an exciting life filled to the brim with, well, good cheer, melodrama, and heart.
Bets are on to see how long before Lohan's character beds Betty's boss Daniel, her boyfriend Henry, or both...
What's On Tonight
8 pm: Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC; 8-10 pm); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8-9:30 pm); Bones (FOX)
9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); One Tree Hill (CW); Samantha Who? (ABC; 9:30-10 pm); House (FOX)
10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC); The Bachelor: The Women Tell All (ABC)
What I'll Be Watching
8 pm: Gossip Girl.
The naughty teen soap continues tonight with a brand new episode! On tonight's episode ("All About My Brother"), Georgina (Michelle Trachtenberg) threatens to reveal some potentially damaging information about Serena's past; Blair and Jenny spread rumors about one another through the Gossip Girl website; Dan catches Jenny's new boyfriend cheating on her.
Comments
Anonymous, I care that she's a trainwreck. She shouldn't be given more of a soapbox or public stage than she already has.
But...
I dunno. This doesn't bother me so much. Unlike certain trainwrecks (Back to Britney again), I am actually rooting for LL to get it together. Because she was so promising and seemed like she had genuine acting talent (unlike, say, Britney or Paris), I would like to see her get her life together. And I think that if she is going to do tv, this seems like a great, natural fit.
Alcholism is a disease. I've seen what it can do to your normal, every day non-starlet. If she wants to change and get her shit together, I want her to succeed. And I would say that about anyone - starlet and non-starlet alike.
I now step off my soapbox.
I don't believe Jace said that Lindsay Lohan was a bad actress. In fact, I think the article was mostly about Ugly Betty and how it's suffered lately, replacing its humor with "heart" and moxie with melodrama. Lohan's casting just seems to be one more trick they're pulling out of their sleeves, rather than a brave casting move. So, get over it. And don't ever say "no offense" when you clearly have the intent to offend. It just looks silly.