Up: Taking Pixar to New Heights

So what’s to say?  Pixar knows how to tell good stories in a way that appeals to a wide audience.  Up is no exception and continues the long line of excellent animation and storytelling we’ve come to expect.  However, Up stands alone because of the emotional depth of this film that permeates the story.

We begin with a young Carl Fredricksen meeting his future wife Elie as they bond over their thirst for adventure in the wilds of South America.  The storytellers then spend about five minutes as we see the highlights of the Fredricksens’ life together and how they always wanted to go to South America but never could.  This montage is by far the most moving of the film and from its silence and beauty of the animationm the scene conveys emotion not often found in live-action and even less so than in animation.  But this montage also lays the foundation for the emotional heft of Mr. Fredricksen and why, despite his old age, is unwilling to make excuses or give into all-but-certain defeat.  In other words, we have more than the usual superficial, sappiness (e.g., Finding Nemo), which is remarkable given Mr. Fredricksen is simply the product of illustrators and the vocal grumblings of Ed Asner.  Plus, it was was nice to see an elderly character not relegated to a minor, stereotypical role.  (I suppose this bodes well for a new Indiana Jones film.)

Of course, the film was, on its face, not as heavy as I am suggesting.  Viewers of all ages will find something to enjoy, particularly the comic relief of the two animals–Doug and Kevin, who join Mr. Fredricksen and his young companion, Russell, on their journey.  In Russell, who I decree is of Asian decent, Mr. Fredricksen finds a companionship built on mutual need, with Mr. Fredricksen acting as the father he never could be and Russell having a father-figure actively involved in his life.  One minor quibble: ignoring the overplayed absent father shtick, Russell’s relationship with his actual father is underdeveloped and, therefore, feels like throwaway filler.   Russell’s motivations, and Mr. Fredricksen’s response, would have been clearer (particularly to younger viewers, or at least those like me who are slow on the uptake ).

As for the dramatic tension/antagonist part of the film from Christopher Plummer’s Charles Muntz, it was underdeveloped and served more like a MacGuffin to cement the bond between our two travellers than anything else.  So I suppose it was successful in that regard.  The bits with the many dogs were amusing, albeit too long at times, and did the animators need to make sure to show you that all dogs (somehow) survived what seemed like certain death?  Oh right, for the kids!  Sorry, sorry.

Overall, this was a great film and enjoyable way to usher in the end of the school year and start the summer.  You can spend the extra on the 3D, if you have the means, or you can save the money for ice cream after the fact.  (As usual the 3D effects were nothing special.)

Up – Kind of a Downer

I admit, I don’t understand the fascination with Pixar movies. When it comes to Toy Story, I’m with you. Everything after that, I never enjoyed as much. Maybe I just miss the traditional animation of Disney movies, with their catchy show tunes and dance numbers, and fairy tale stories. I’m in no way defending awful movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame – let’s face it, Disney has fallen off in terms of their great animated movies as well. However, these days, when Pixar’s newest film arrives, critics declare it the newest best movie ever, and families come out in droves. I don’t mind the families and the millions of children enjoying Pixar’s movies – but I think we can draw the line way before calling every Pixar film a further evolutionary piece of moviemaking magic.

Which brings us to Up, that Pixar flick which opened up Cannes, as both the first animated and first 3D movie to do so. That Pixar flick which has people all agog in happiness simply because it exists. Now that I’ve seen it … I still don’t understand the fascination.

Not that Up isn’t a good film. In case you missed all the promos, and I’m not sure how that could have happened, Up tells the story of Mr. Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), the balloon salesman whose beloved wife passes away without ever having traveled to South America, a trip they always planned to take together. Instead of allowing their memory-filled home to be demolished in the name of progress, Mr. Fredricksen attaches a gazillion helium balloons to his home and takes flight to the southern hemisphere. Along for the ride is Wilderness boy scout Russell, and together they meet amazing wildlife and talking dogs.

While Up is entertaining, films such as Toy Story and Ratatouille succeeded because of their balance between adult and kid-friendly humor. Up’s comedy seems mainly aimed at children (dog humor and animation hit its peak with Bolt, but what can I say? That dog was awesome.), though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh out loud myself.

The themes, however, of mourning the loss of a life-long companion, of learning that “things” don’t make up for someone long gone, and that holding on to your past turns you into a curmudgeonly old man with no family, were ever present, and never reached the emotional resolution initiated so effectively at the outset. Here’s a guy literally carrying his baggage as he drags his floating house around the jungle. And while he learns to move past all of these things in a way we see coming as soon as we recognize his conflicts, the writers do such an effective job of illustrating his pain and loss that it never quite leaves his character or the audience. So you know. Major bummer, dude.

These very adult themes, for me, never balanced with the uplifting ending or the slapstick humor. Nevertheless, there’s much to love about Up. For example: This movie is gorgeous – colorful, beautifully animated, with striking, memorable images. When I think back to the film, aside from the consistent sadness, I remember most the sight of the Fredricksen house, suspended in the air by hundreds of balloons over a sea of white clouds, as well as the colorful wildlife and the many shades of the Fredricksen home. An opening sequence takes us through the marriage and life of Mr. and Mrs. Fredricksen, culminating in her death and his broken heart. Reminiscent of the excellent title sequence from Watchmen, that four to five minute arc is a highlight of the film with its compact, precise, yet entertaining storytelling. Take note, film school graduates and Fringe writers: Exposition can be entertaining.

Much like Wall-E, I’d only recommend seeing Up in the theater for moments like these, where you can truly appreciate the artistry and creativity in the movie’s visuals on a giant screen. My problems with the story are no doubt a result of my own floating house strapped to my back, but when compared to a movie such as Bolt, though perhaps not quite the 3D and visual masterpiece of Up, I left Bolt fully entertained and happy. The kids in the audience lack my hang-ups, so they enjoyed the movie just fine; as a family film, Pixar wins again. As a film for everyone, Up promises a little more than it delivers. If you wait for DVD for this one, don’t let the Pixar fanatics make you feel bad about it.

So You Think You Can Dance: Vegas Callbacks

Memo to future seasons’ So You Think You Can Dance auditioners: Please wear better clothes.

Seriously, why don’t more people dress well to try out for this show? The ballroom dancers always have their fabulous costumes, and some of the hip-hop folks wear cute ensembles, but most of these people seem to go out there wearing spandexy things that I can only assume are the norm for real dance auditions – presumably they’re easy to move around in and all that. But come on, people, when you try out for this show, you know your audition is going to be on TV. If you’re going to wear a sports bra, you could at least wear a tutu with it, is all I’m saying.

Anyway, we’re in Vegas this week for the callbacks from the previous hideous audition round. And, as everyone promised me, it is better now that we’re down to a bunch of mostly good dancers. Mia, Lil’ C, Adam, and Debbie Allen are judging along with Nigel and Mary. All this is happening at Planet Hollywood Vegas, which doesn’t look anything like it did in Race to Witch Mountain.

They start out by making all the auditioners perform a solo again, but thankfully the judges don’t comment on them, and we get to watch a nice montage. You know, if the judges weren’t involved, this show would be totally tolerable.

And at the start of the episode we meet two guys we didn’t see in the previous audition rounds. The first is Alex, a professional ballet dancer, who does a non-ballet dance sans shirt that involves jumping around en pointe (I know about en pointe from when Jessi Ramsey took ballet).  The second is Tony, a hip-hop dancer who does a theatrical solo that involves lots of pictures of Nigel. This is apparently hilarious to the people watching.

After the solos they cut some people, including Travis the gay football coach’s son who was so brave, Talia (oh no! I liked Talia!) and Chimezie, the less memorable of the two guys with unpronounceable names.

Then they get taught some hip-hop choreography and perform 10 at a time. More people are cut. We see Gabi with the rheumatoid arthritis, who Nigel had predicted would make the top 20. She does not do well in the choreography, but they ask her to stay anyway because she was so good in her solo.

And then it’s day 2. There are 97 dancers left, and they’re doing ballroom choreography today. They keep bringing our attention to the choreographers of each of these styles. Am I supposed to care who all these choreographers are? And the 97 contestants? And the 47 judges? I have things to do, here.

Featured in the ballroom round are popper Philip and his partner from the L.A. auditions, Arielle. Philip performs badly in his waltz – Adam accuses him of not knowing how not to pop. Which is funny sounding. But he makes it through. Arielle, however, despite wearing a very pretty dress, gets cut.

Also featured is Nobuya, the Japanese pop-locker (or I guess just “popper”?). The judges claim to have been pleasantly surprised by his waltz, since he’s very out of his element. He cries. There is a lot of crying in this episode. And, okay, I like Nobuya now. Yes, I’m one of those people who finds it endearing when funny guys cry.

Next, they have to do a “jazz” dance. And again I know nothing about dance because nothing about the weird routine they get taught makes me think of jazz music at all. It looks just like the hip-hop routine. Only not as fun to watch.

We see Natalie, who auditioned in Denver wearing that terrible tunic outfit. Apparently she does not do well with the jazz routine, although everyone who performs it looks awful to me so I can’t verify that. But Mary gives a speech about how the judges have all been pulling for Natalie and wanted her to make the top 20. Then she tells her she’s cut. Nigel hugs her. She cries. I’m kind of sad for her, since she’s so disappointed, even though I never cared about Natalie before now either way.

But then I remembered (because they told me) that Natalie had been friends with Brandon, another past-season auditioner, who did that really cool stuff and was the only nonwhite person in Denver. The cutting of Natalie is portrayed as a very awful thing, especially for Brandon, and they play super-sad music like Natalie has died. I think this is also being used to build up Brandon. Really? This is the only thing they can think of to do to make us care about Brandon? That is not a good sign.

Brandon proves to be a polarizing figure. Lil’ C and Mia are not Brandon fans following his jazz performance. But Nigel thinks Brandon is brilliant and “bloody fantastic” and “without question one of the best dancers we’ve ever had on this show.” So Brandon’s staying.

They keep showing ads for the summer House reruns. Hee. I did watch the season finale again recently on Hulu, while doing spreadsheets for work late at night. It’s fun to try to figure out which scenes with Wilson were real and which were hallucinations. It’s very hard to tell because the actors played it totally straight, so it comes down to how predictable you find Wilson as a character. And honestly, at this point, I’m not sure where I stand on that.

We’re back with the jazz routines, and watching Gabi again. The judges all think she’s awful, and Nigel in particular seems really sad. Debbie tells Gabi she’s breaking Debbie’s heart. They make Gabi “dance for her life,” which I naively assumed was something they had invented on the spot just for Gabi, but it turns out to be a thing that they’ve been doing on the show for years. So Gabi does her dance, more of the same kind of thing she did in her first solo audition. Everyone votes to keep her, but Nigel sternly warns her that she needs to be able to pick up the styles of her choreographers. Gabi agrees and cries.

Then Sammy, yet another pop-locker, gets dismissed after the jazz without fanfare, which is fine with me.

For the next day, the contestants get broken into groups and forced to choreograph their own routine to randomly chosen music. This involves staying up all night. Ugh, why would anyone want to be on this show? You get hurt all the time and you have to stay up all night and you have to learn two different routines in different styles in one day for four days in a row and then “dance for your life.” Not to mention having to suck up to Nigel. Poor Natalie even had to hug him. Well, though, I guess dancing isn’t the easiest career to break into. Did you see that interview with Adam Lambert where he talked about how no one gets “discovered” anymore so you have to be constantly seeking out platforms to promote yourself, and that’s why he auditioned for American Idol at age 27? And it worked out for him, obviously. I would imagine dancing is even more like that, because if all you do is dance you’re unlikely to even get in as an understudy for Fiyero on an L.A. production of Wicked. So if you want to make this a career, I guess reality TV is as good a way as any. And then it’s also good if you just like having people look at you. Even if it involves Nigel mocking you in front of millions, because that’s how he copes with his own need for attention.

When morning comes, all these people who have been up all night have to perform. Some of them are in makeshift costumes, which is cute. Their dances, however, are not cute. I really hope that when the real show starts next week, everything they do is professionally choreographed, because these amateur routines are not working for me at all. (Although, neither did half of this week’s professionally choreographed routines. Which is… kind of worrisome.)

The first group includes my favorite, Erik the Tapper! Yay! We’re told there have been some personality and/or dance style conflicts in Erik’s group, and their dance is very bad. They dismiss two girls we’ve never seen before and ask Erik to dance for his life.

We also see Nobuya and Brandon’s teams perform, and they’re both pretty boring. Brandon still really does look like Sean Patrick Thomas. Mia threatens to cut Brandon and even scolds him for smiling, but he and the rest of his team gets through.

Then we see a team calling themselves “Nerdography.” They wear kind-of-funny costumes and do some stuff Nigel calls terrific. Adam says they made him tear up because he misses dancing. Nigel makes fun of Adam because Nigel is a real man.

We’re down to 68 dancers now.

Erik’s solo for Dance for Your Life involves more tapping, a cappella. He’s not as much fun when he doesn’t have “Thriller” backing him up, but he does some cool backflipping. But the judges send him home. Well, my favorite is gone, so I guess I can stop watching the show now. Oh, wait, people keep telling me I’ll like it when the voting starts. I’m hanging in there just for you, people!

More Glee ads. I watched that on Hulu at work that night, too. I can never watch that Rehab sequence too many times. You know what, I think I’ll go watch it right now.

Okay, I’m back. And, as Tina Cohen-Chang would say, we’re d-d-d-doomed, because it’s time for contemporary choreography, led by Mia. I guess Mia has quite a reputation on this show. And also, I don’t like her because she was mean to Brandon, and for some other reasons that I’ll get into later. (Yes, it’s another long review. What am I supposed to do? This show is three hours long.)

Tony, who we’re told did well in all his performances so far (why didn’t we see Tony in his first audition, I wonder?), is featured in the contemporary section. The dance itself looks bizarre. Apparently Tony is particularly bizarre though, and the judges ask him to do a repeat performance. He stresses out about this a lot, and cries very dramatically on stage, but they ultimately put him through. Everyone freaks out, but I think that’s because it’s the end of the day and they all seriously must be exhausted. I’m exhausted and I’m just sitting here watching a clip show of it eating chips and salsa.

Then they cut Amanda the Barbie. Her mascara is dramatic, but it doesn’t run when she cries. She needs to let us know what brand she uses so that the other girls on this show can pick some up, because I got tired of watching mascara-run faces in the first half hour of this episode.

But then, they cut Nobuya. No! I was just starting to like him! And you already cut Erik the Tapper! What is this about, show?

But while I’m fuming about that we get reminded of one of the sibling pairs, Megan and Caitlin, blondes who are so dull that their only distinguishing trait is their being sisters. Megan makes it through the contemporary round, but Caitlin gets asked to Dance for Her Life. She’s really upset, which can’t make this easy. It’s not fair that some people have to wait hours before Dancing for Their Lives and some of them have to do it instantaneously. Caitlin’s dance is pretty but her shiny blue sports bra top is a bit, uh, much. She gets Nigel, Debbie, and Mary’s votes, and a no from Mia and Lil’ C and Adam. She’s through, just barely.

Then we see Evan and Ryan, the two brothers who did the Broadway stuff in Memphis while wearing hats. They both make it through. Evan and Ryan are indistinguishable to me, so I hope they don’t both wind up on the show. That season that Spike and Andrew were on Top Chef was really hard for me to watch, because despite being unrelated they looked and acted exactly alike, and they kept both not getting cut, and I couldn’t stand either of them. (That said, Spike’s burger place is around the corner from me and quite tasty.)

Finally, thank the lord, the contemporary round ends, and we’re down to 54 contestants. I have no idea how many we’ll wind up with so this means nothing to me. I know eventually we’ll have a top 20 but is that happening after Vegas? Or is there a semifinal round like on American Idol where we’re supposed to know enough about 36 people to vote on them? Even when all we know is that their wives are dead and/or they have a baby and tattoos?

Oh, but now we’re onto the last day. The theme is Broadway. That irritating guy Tyce is choreographing them, and their dance is set to music from West Side Story. Awesome! I like West Side Story. But… isn’t it already, you know, choreographed? What is Tyce doing, other than taking up Nigel’s camera time (not that I’m complaining about that)?

They split the dancers by gender. The women will perform first. While they’re learning the routine, we have to watch the guys hang out by the pool with their pasty white bare chests.

The women are dancing to an instrumental version of America, predictably. There are lots of shots of girls’ feet bleeding in their strappy high-heeled sandals. Man, I would die if I ever tried to do this. But I like watching their performances, and I like their poofy skirts. I only wish they’d had to sing too. And that they were more in sync with each other. Bianca, L.A.’s consummate tap dancer, is in the first group, and she looks great to me, making cool faces like from the movie. Priscilla falls down at the end of her routine, but she laughs about it. Bianca and some other girls get cut, and then, Priscilla, Megan of Megan-and-Caitlin, and Gabi all get cut too. Wow. After all that I really thought Gabi was going through. Caitlin is sad for Megan, but claims Megan is still supportive of her.

The remaining 16 women are told to prepare a solo. But first they go to the pool, where they chicken fight and lounge around in bikinis and pose for pinup-style shots.

The guys are dancing to that Be Cool, Boy song, and it’s hilarious. All these dance boys pretending to be all tough. It’s not nearly as fun to watch as “America,” and the guys don’t have the additional challenge of having to wear heels, but I suppose it’s not this show’s fault that women are expected to wear high heels to look pretty. After the performances, they cut six guys we don’t know, bringing us to 16 male contestants. So I guess there were way more women than men.

Now we’re down to 32, and everyone has to do a solo. We only see brief clips of these. Yay! And that’s it for tonight.

Thursday night, we’ve reached “the climax of Vegas week,” which means we find out who made the top 20 out of the top 32. Really? This episode is an hour long and that’s all that’s happening? I mean, I know eventually we’ll have to watch entire results shows that will end in only one person getting cut, but I didn’t realize we’d be stuck with that this early on. And pretty much everyone I liked has already been cut, so whatever.

They call the contestants in one by one to find out their results. Hilariously, they have to walk down a hallway showing enormous photos of them and video screens showing their past performances. I guess this is yet another tradition of which I was not aware. I would totally want to stop and look at all the photos and videos but these kids are all way cooler than I am.

Do they show this many Glee promos during other Fox shows? Or are they just figuring on a decent crossover audience here?

Other than the top 20 being announced, not much happens during this episode, which probably explains why we get all those long shots of the hallway.

So let’s just get to the point. Our top 20 are:

• Asuka, one-half of the uncommon Asian ballroom dancing duo (sadly, her partner, Ricky, got cut)
• Brandon (whom, it was made clear, Mia absolutely loathes. She even accused him of fake smiling. Brandon really seems like a sweet guy, so methinks Mia just wants to get herself a hook for this season, so she decided to hate Brandon. I, in return, hate Mia. Meanwhile, Debbie talked a lot about how much she likes Brandon’s manliness. I think that’s because he did his final solo wearing only a Speedo.)
• Caitlin
• Evan (but not Ryan. This is handled very dramatically, with Evan and Ryan being called out as the final two guys, knowing that only one of them would make it, and the judges trying to get Ryan to feel more confident in his baldness)
• Janette the spicy salsa dancer
• Kayla, with the cute grandparents (Mia announces that she doesn’t like female dancers, but she likes Kayla. Uh… okay. She knows that half the people on this show are women, right? Oh well, I’d already started hating Mia so it’s not like I have to change my plans here)
• Kuponohi’ipoi, who is now apparently just going as Kupono. (I kind of like him now. He buzz-cut his hair and had this bit where he showed his to-do list, which included “breathe” and “shave” and “iPod” and “make top 20.”)
• Paris, still wearing her tutu (which I think may make her my current remaining favorite for that fact alone)
• Philip
• Tony

And the following people we haven’t seen much of before, which means either they’re cannon fodder or future Kris Allens:

• Ade
• Ashley
• Jason
• Jeanine
• Jonathan
• Karla
• Max
• Melissa
• Randi
• Vitolio

Sadly, Alex, of the shirtless jumping-around dance that started off the Vegas round, is ineligible for the show since he’s under contract to the Miami Ballet Company and they won’t let him out of his contract. So no top 20 for Alex. Which… he must have expected, right? He’s the one who signed the contract. Alex cries, but Nigel points out that, you know, being a professional ballet dancer isn’t that bad. But I guess this is like an Adam Lambert situation, right, where you could be the understudy for Fiyero, or you could be an international superstar, and all it takes to get you there is auditioning for one dumb reality show.

(Sorry I keep talking about stuff like Glee and House and Adam Lambert, but they are simply three of the many things I currently find more interesting than SYTYCD.)

Next up, the voting starts. Just watch, Paris and Kupono will be eliminated in the first week.

Season 5, Episodes 4&5: Vegas Callbacks (originally aired June 3&4, 2009)

For another take on this episode, check out Inisia Lewis’ review here.

For more on So You Think You Can Dance, click here.

Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro

So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 20

I’m not sure where those others guys went but Las Vegas will only get to see 172 dancers audition. Oh well, if there’s any dancing at all then I’m not complaining. To join Nigel and Mary on tonight’s esteemed panel of judges is Lil’ C, Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman and choreographer and once TV star Debbie Allen.

Day One begins with solos that the judges don’t critique after each performance. Once they’re all done, the judges get together and make their first big decisions as a whole. Some superstars include: Alex Wong who I remember getting through to this round but REALLY don’t remember being so athletic, technical, intense and dramatic. WOW!

Tony Bellissimo focuses more on entertaining the judges with gags focused on pictures of Nigel’s face popping all over the place than on his dancing, but we all know that the judges don’t only love great dancing but they love them some personality too. If you’re fantastic but boring, it’s pretty much as bad as being bad and boring.

With the solos over, the judges thought with the talent they had, they might not even cut anyone this round, but it didn’t turn out to be so. In fact, they were disappointed that some people weren’t up to par, and they cut 45 dancers after one dance.

Next is the first round of choreography and YAY! It’s hip hop with Napoleon and Tabitha. And with only an hour to master the “not slow at all” dance routine, it’s do or die time.

The first dancer I remember seeing, Gabi Rojas, a beautiful and different contemporary dancer, has a hard time and doesn’t make it better when she’s put in her group and completely loses the steps. Even the ones she hits are pretty much awful. In total, another 37 dancers are cut, leaving 96 contestants left.

Day Two brings us ballroom in the form of a waltz with Jean Marc Genereaux and France. That cute import from Asia Nobuya Nagahama is the first good thing we see, at least in those who are clearly not trained. He even breaks down in tears (so cute!) thanking all of his teachers who helped him, even when he faltered.

Philip Chbeeb is a judge favorite but doesn’t do so well this round. Adam even looks delighted that he can’t stop isolating and popping even when doing fluid arm motions. He’s clearly trying and that wins them over. And his friend Arielle is cut, being a big disappointment to the judges when they know she’s had more training and is capable of more personality.

In the end, 16 more bite the ballroom dust. I guess they’re a little more forgiving when it comes to something so technical and not as open to interpretation. Next up, Jazz with Sonja.

Two of the judges’ “almost made it in 2008″ favorites Natalie and Brandon shine during rehearsal but when they get up to do the dance, the judges, surprisingly, don’t really care for them.

Natalie, who I thought was a shoe-in, is one of the first to get cut, and it puts a fire under the butts of all the other dancers. Brandon is next, and though he disappoints Mia and Lil’ C so far, Nigel still has faith in him, and he goes on to the next round.

Gaby Rojas had the luck of being in the last group, therefore she was able to practice longer or watch the dance over and over again, but it didn’t seem to help her even though it should have been the type of style right up her ally. She’s the first dancer asked to dance for her life, and she has to win over at least 3 of the judges. Luckily for her, she’s absolutely gorgeous and enrapturing doing her solo, unanimously being sent onto the next round.

Seven dancers are cut after Jazz, leaving 73 contestants to continue on. And now it’s pressure time. They are given all night to choreograph a routine to a random pick of songs. But we as avid watchers know it’s not the song, but the meshing of dancers who love and know different styles and all have different personalities.

During Day Three, the first group was mired by not really getting along and not having any clue of what to do, and the finished product reflected that. The best group is the final one, containing (and most likely mostly choreographed by) Evan Kasprzak. They’re called Nerdography, and they’re in sync. It’s fun and upbeat and they showcase each other.

68 dancers moved on to the next stage. But from Group One, Eric aka “Silky” danced for his life, which he was counting on because he didn’t believe in his group, but maybe he should have focused on making his group better because they didn’t see the fire in him or enough of something new.

How they fit SO MUCH of Vegas week into one episode, I do not know, but it’s Day Three and it’s contemporary time with Mia Michaels. Be ready to get your butts worked hard, dancers.

One of my favorites, Nobuya just isn’t good enough to make the cut this round. Of the two sisters of the group, Megan and Caitlin Kinney both make it through. Megan passes without problem, but Caitlin dances for her life, only getting three of the necessary votes to get through. Unanimous or not, she lives to dance another day.

Tony B. has shined throughout the auditions but contemporary does him in, and in an unusual move he’s asked to not only dance for his life but to do it by repeating contemporary, his toughest routine of the day. They are impressed with the changes he made in just a short time, and he gets through bringing him to tears. And I love Cat. She says what we’re all thinking. She loves to see a grown man cry.

With 13 dancers cut, 54 contestants are left for Day Four, and Tyce Diorio is ready to run these guys ragged with some West Side Story Broadway.

For the first time, the auditions are separated into male and female groups. While the girls learn their “I love to be in America” routine, the guys lounge by the pool.  A lot of people who seemed to be shoe-ins are cut including Bianca Revels, Megan Kinney and Gabi Rojas, leaving 16 girls to shake it one more time. And then while the girls get the time in the sun, the boys get down and “COOOOOOL”, leaving 16 boys left as well.

THE FINAL TOP 20 REVEAL

But after all that Vegas madness, I know what you really want to know. Who will be the dancers we’ll be falling in love with and voting for?

SURE BETS

Janette Manrara is the salsa dancer who’s been down on her luck, but this turned up from the moment she brightened the judges’ day in Miami with an upside down, in the air split.

Kayla Radomski has the cutest grandparents who sacrificed so much to get her dance classes, but she can also captivate anyone so it’s no wonder they support her so much.

Brandon Bryant has the judges yelling at and over each other. Mia and Lil’ C still don’t like him, but it doesn’t matter because he’s through. And I think he’s fabulous. And he even lets his foes know that if he gets the chance to choreograph with them that “it’s on!”

Jason Glover was my call from the beginning. He’s just a gorgeous dancer who always emits emotion. I’ve got to see more of his personality, but I love him already though I know so little.

Phillip Chbeeb epitomizes a sure bet. He’s got the crazy unique, hip hop style we all love to watch because we don’t understand how someone’s body can move that way, and he’s tried enough of the other styles that he will have an okay time picking them up and fun trying to do so. He’ll be a fan favorite, no question.

Evan Kasprzak is the younger of the sibling pair, but I believe he is the better one in terms of overall dancing. Although his brother Ryan choreographed him, I think Evan has tighter skills, and the judges did fall in love with him when he almost made it last season.

TOSS UPS

Kupono Aweau put some of the judges off in Seattle with his early auditions, and can ANYONE learn to pronounce this boys name? But he took the criticism and built on it, so that’s always a good sign.

Paris Torres is a former beauty queen who knows how to work the screen. I remember her first audition, but she’s been focused on very little since. Can she lose the perfection and bring her real persona out.

Tony Bellissimo may not have the dance chops, and the judges put him on blast to step it up, but they love to watch people grow and have faith in him.

Max Kaptitannikov is one of those guys who does Latin ballroom well, and magically did everything else well too, but he’ll need to turn on the sexy to get the ladies to pick up the phone.

Caitlin Kinney has hip issues as well as some confidence issues, plus without her sister, she may lose steam, but no one can deny that she’s a fantastic dancer. Hopefully she won’t be her own hardest obstacle.

Randi Evans loves unitards. We got so see a montage of them so it can’t be denied, and we didn’t see her very much since the beginning, but the judges have faith in her strength.

Asuka Kondoh. We know the judges love her, and she can definitely move with flair, but can she do the other styles well enough to keep her in the competition?

THE RARELY SEEN

Vitolio Jeune from Haiti has the talent but needs to bring out that personality if people are going to pick up the phone for him.

Jeanine Mason is a contemporary dancer and one of the youngest competitors at 18.

Karla Garcia has been on Broadway so we know she should kill that area, but since we saw so little, what about the rest?

Ade Obayomi got some early time but has been absent since so will he have the fans going in to stick around long?

Jonathan Platero is apparently a world champion in salsa but we hardly got a glimpse of his skills.

Melissa Sandvig is that ballerina who always gets through but disappoints during her solo because she doesn’t bring enough “ballet,” plus she got so little screen time and doesn’t seem to have the most exciting personality, so she may see some problems.

Ashley Valerio, a dancer I can’t even recall from the beginning, but I’ll cross my fingers for her.

SURPRISE LOSS

Alex Wong knocked my socks off Vegas Week. I was like, where did this come from! He’s in a ballet company where we know they are strict about focusing on their one field and not so much about messing up the technique with trying others. I though after Wednesday he would be a sure bet, but he is under contract to the Miami Ballet company. Nigel asked their artistic director if he would let him out of his contract for the time of the show, but the meanie just wouldn’t. To see him cry, broke my heart.

So that’s our top 20. I think overall, their skills would kill last season, and that says a lot because I was OBSESSED with last season’s contestants. I can’t wait to see next week performances and what styles of dances the producers pick for the first go round!

Season 5, Episodes 4&5: Vegas Callbacks (originally aired June 3&4, 2009)

For another take on this episode, check out Robin Reed‘s review here.

For more on So You Think You Can Dance, click here.

Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro

The J Factor Ep.11

Check out Episode #11 - June 8, 2009 – Summer Movie Preview/Review.  Listen to what J.B. and Jaimie think about this summer’s movies.

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Burn Notice: Friends and Family

Michael Westen is back for his third Miami summer of explosions, gun fights, covert operations, cover identities, tumultuous relationships and helpful how-to narration as Burn Notice begins its third season on USA. The premiere picks up right where last season ended, with Michael being forced to jump out of a helicopter into the ocean after choosing to disregard the warning from the people who burned him that they had been holding his enemies at bay but would cease to do so if he didn’t play ball. Consequently, Michael has a nice five mile swim back to shore he must contend with.

He makes it and collapses onto the sand. Hell, just watching it I felt exhausted. But Michael doesn’t even get a break after that! Nope, nearby cops look at him with suspicion (he is after all swimming in a suit) and Michael is forced to run from them. He eludes them and holes up in a nearby hotel while they swarm outside. He calls Fiona through some spy voodoo with wires in the hotel basement. She’s happy that he’s still alive but tells him that she’s been listening to the police radios and knows that he is utterly surrounded. Michael then tells us via voiceover that just because you can escape from a situation doesn’t mean you always should. Thus, he surrenders to the cops. What a day.

In jail, proudly displaying a snazzy neon orange prison jumpsuit, Michael gets a visit from Sam. He tries to turn Michael’s frown upside down so to speak by telling him that although he is still as burned as he ever was, the people who burned him have ceased keeping Michael out of the police computers. “So the good news is I’m being investigated by the cops and the Foreign Intelligence Agency,” Michael asks. “It’s a change,” Sam replies. Sam also informs Michael that his mother Madeline is okay, but she’s a little pissed about having part of her house blown up (as you’ll recall, that was Sam’s doing at the end of last season as he was trying to save Madeline from armed thugs). For a moment, Michael wonders if he’s safer in the slammer. At least his mother can’t get to him in there.

But Michael isn’t in jail for very long because a figure from his past arrives to bail him out. This is Harlan, an old comrade. But just like anyone else, Harlan has an ulterior motive. He tells Michael that he wants his help with a girl named Marta (it’s always a girl, isn’t it?). The mission is not wooing however. It seems that a man named Rufino Cortez is scamming Marta’s father out of their land. Why and how I didn’t quite get.

After a failed break-in at Cortez’s nightclub, Michael has his associate Barry package him as Tom Wellington, a lawyer representing some cronies interested in making a deal with Rufino. The plan is to ambush Rufino at the meet and kidnap him. But of course Michael doesn’t just get to meet with Rufino. First, he has to meet with the middleman, a sleazeball named Falcone, who dislocated Michael’s arm to show how tough he is (Michael can’t fight back because he has to hold up his cover identity as a whiny lawyer). From there things go awry, and there’s a significant twist that changes the stakes and Michael’s position dramatically.

From there we get some signature Burn Notice action, including sequences like a good hand-to-hand fight (though it was edited a little fast for my taste) and jumping through glass windows into the ocean, only to have the ocean set on fire by a fuel drum. To be honest, not all of the A storyline plot elements really gelled for me, but the episode does set up that Michael still wants to find his way back into his agency and his old career because he’s a patriot, but doing so will jeopardize his relationship with Fiona. And she’s not happy about that. And she’s always armed. Not a good combo. Jeffrey Donovan and the rest of the cast continue to be in strong, charismatic form, and they seem like they’re having almost as much fun making the show as viewers are watching it.

Season 3, Episode 1: Friends and Family (originally aired June 4, 2009)

For more on Burn Notice, click here.

Thursdays at 10/9c on USA

Photographs courtesy of Glenn Watson, NBC Universal, and USA

Rescue Me: Where My Ladies At?

Where all my whores at? That’s right, I’m talking to you, women of Rescue Me! If you’re not nagging your man, you’re only about the sex, aren’t you? I’m sure you have occasional character development (if new positions or giving new excuses for sex is considered development), but come on now. The casual viewer would watch this week and have to wonder what else all these females are good for. They’re either riding you for not living up to your potential, or they’re riding you. Sorry, just getting into the spirit of the show, there.

First, the Cliffhanger that Wasn’t: Tommy returns Damien to the firehouse, dirty and shaken but alive and unhurt. I hope my spoiler didn’t ruin it for you. Needles conferences the crew and wants to know who’s responsible. There’s a lot of I’m Spartacuses, with Tommy ultimately taking the fall for Mike. Privately, Needles and Tommy try to intimidate each other, with Needles finally telling Tommy that he won’t be punishing him. Officially, that is. He’s going “grade school” on this one, and will do the worst thing Needles can think of: he’s tattling on Tommy and telling Sheila about Damien’s brush with death.

Only Sheila doesn’t react quite the way you think. She, uh, offers herself to Tommy to “thank” him for keeping Damien safe. Her home shall be his haven – she’ll bring the booze and fornicate as much as he likes. Because, you know, they both have needs, and if Tommy looks after Damien, she’s happy to be available. Sex is her only weapon, she says, as she laughs and escorts him to the door. She’s very nonchalant about the whole thing, and I’m not sure she even enjoyed the sex, but … I really can’t figure where she’s coming from here. Sheila seems relieved that Tommy might continue angry sex with Janet so he can enjoy more peaceful sex with her…

Enter Janet, who breaks up with Dwight (without having told him) and offers to continue a sexual relationship with Tommy, no strings attached. Tommy and Janet need to remain on their best behavior for little, lying Katy who will cut them off otherwise (huh?). If they’re going to pretend to be a couple for the sake of Katy’s academia, they may as well continue to have sex. Right? I mean, who doesn’t understand that logic? Tommy, naturally, agrees, though he’d prefer to have Dwight out of the picture.

Enter Dwight, who visits Tommy at the firehouse and tricks Tommy into admitting that he and Janet went to town on each other while visiting Katy. Dwight, however, is more upset that Tommy told Janet about the drugs, so he grabs Tommy by the balls and holds. And squeezes. And holds. We shall overlook in this scene how Dwight thinks so little of Janet that he’s okay with her sleeping around. Because Michael J. Fox is freakin’ hilarious here, with a clueless Sean Garrity stopping by to add even further to the absurdity. The true highlight of this episode.

But we’re not done with our sex-crazed women! Black Shawn apologizes to Colleen for being an ass about her sexual prowess, but ruins it by implying that her skills are slutty and whore-ish. Well, at least someone on the writers’ staff realizes how they’re portraying the women. These are your mothers and daughters, America! Colleen takes offense, and ultimately realizes that Black Shawn is having doubts about marrying her. Because she’s a slut and whore. The wedding appears to be off.

In our final portrayal of the strong female characters on this show, Sean Garrity calls home to ask his mother to make the long trek from Jersey to NYC to be by his side for the surgery. She berates him for having cancer, not being married to a nice girl, and for making her leave home. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is another funny scene, especially as Sean and his brother turn into infants as they argue over the phone. But a friendly, supportive woman? Not really. Even Genevieve eventually became simply a sexual trophy.

In other news, Lou humbles Franco and Needles by arranging a short match between Franco and Lou’s old boxing protégé with the glass eye. The old man knocks Franco out within seconds. Garrity’s having a hard time collecting the cash for his surgery since he can’t seem to lay his hands on the profits from the bar. Tommy closes the bar again, and ends up downing so much vodka that he hallucinates a bar full of burn victims. We watch as an un-burned Connor appears and talks to Tommy about his work on Wall Street. He seems like a decent guy until his own son enters. Connor bullies the kid to the point it becomes painful to watch.

Tommy only comes to when Mike enters the empty bar to drop off band equipment. Drunk Tommy tells Mike to back off of Damien, but Mike fires back that he doesn’t want to. Tommy tries to pull rank, and Mike reminds him that Tommy’s just an old man and has no rank over any of them. They argue angrily back and forth until Tommy swings at him; Mike easily deflects and sends Tommy to the ground. We close out this week with a defeated Tommy facing some hard truths about himself. Presumably. You know how these things usually blow over by the next episode.

This one’s for my ladies. May someone write you a fully realized part one day.

Next week: Secrets and kidneys!

Season 5, Episode 9: Thaw (originally aired June 2, 2009)

For another take on this episode, check out Cameron Cubbison’s review here.

Listen to The J Factor with J.B. and Jaimie here or on iTunes.

For more on Rescue Me, click here.

Tuesdays at 10pm on FX

Photographs courtesy of FX and IMDbPro

Rescue Me: Thaw

I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, so naturally the first thing I did when I got home was plow through the two Rescue Me episodes my Tivo/soulmate saved for me and then I even watched last night’s episode live, commercials and all. And as further testament to the subversive, unpredictable genius of Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, after a three hour blast I was still desperately craving more.

I almost feel a little guilty now, as I happily watch Tommy and Janet and Sheila all fall back into the self-destructive spirals they’ve been trying to claw their way out of for several seasons. Months change, seasons change, but not people. They can pretend for a little while, they can put up a front, but eventually, everyone falls back into who they are, for better or for worse. So Tommy is drinking again, and by the end of the episode, has found himself immersed again in dysfunctional relationships with both Janet and Sheila. Yikes.

They’ve both promised him no-frills, low-maintenance, sex-only relationships, Sheila as a ploy to make sure Tommy keeps her son Damian safe in the firehouse, and Janet…well…I don’t know what Janet’s motive is, but that’s not exactly new for her character. Tommy stupidly agrees to both of them, even though he has to know in the back of his mind that they will never work and will in fact just lead to more trouble. Then again, Tommy Gavin seems to thrive on trouble, almost as if he seeks it out. And he’s got plenty more going on in that arena, believe me.

First, Needles is up his ass (just as Needles seems to be up everyone’s lately) about the whole Damian fiasco of last week. Tommy rescued Damian after Mike stupidly brought him into a fire and nearly got him killed. The good news is that Feinberg okayed Damian going along, so now Tommy has some dirt on him in case he ever tries to get Tommy kicked out of the firehouse again. Tommy tries to take the rap for Mike, and Needles really gets out of line, telling Tommy “that’s your twenty-year-old godson you almost got killed. You already got one dead kid on your conscience, do you really want another one?” Bringing up Connor is really low, especially since now Connor has joined Tommy’s drunken pantheon of ghosts, not as the young boy that was killed in a hit-and-run, but as what Tommy’s subconscious thinks he might have grown into.

Meanwhile, Sean continues to deal with his kidney cancer, which is getting worse. He bites the bullet and calls his mother and his infantile brother to tell them the news.  He reluctantly convinces his mother to come all the way from…New Jersey…to be with him during surgery, after she complains that he never calls with positive news and laments the fact that he doesn’t have a new girlfriend. Ain’t family swell?

Speaking of family dysfunction, Janet tells Tommy that their daughter Katy sent them a letter saying she doesn’t want to see them again unless they can act civilized and happy. Tommy suggests they lie and fake a relationship, and Janet concurs (and adds the whole sex thing). Naturally this whole arrangement upsets Dwight (Michael J. Fox), who comes by the firehouse and confronts Tommy about why Janet seems different since she and Tommy came back from going to see Katy’s play. The truth comes out, and Dwight exacts his own unique measure of very painful revenge on Tommy. Janet claims she is done with Dwight, but I hope that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Michael J. Fox on the show.

The other big dustup this week is between Tommy and Mike. Mike runs into Tommy late one night at the bar and sees that he has been drinking. Tommy tries to lie his way out of it and tells Mike to back off mentoring Damian because he is going to take over that duty. Mike stands up to Tommy and tells him that he has no rank or power over him anymore, and that he’s not just going to listen just because Tommy says he has to. Tommy takes a drunken swing at him and Mike hits him in the gut. “Keep drinking pal” he says as he walks out. Now Mike knows a secret and has leverage against Tommy with Feinberg and Needles. The conflict keeps ratcheting up this season, and while normally I’d be getting depressed over the fact that nine episodes are gone, because this season is a super-sized 22 episodes and not 13, we still got a long ways to go. Until next week…

Season 5, Episode 9: Thaw (originally aired June 2, 2009)

For another take on this episode, check out Where My Ladies At? by Jaimie Campos.

For more on Rescue Me, click here.

Tuesdays at 10pm on FX

Photographs courtesy of FX and IMDbPro

Royal Pains Preview: Welcome to the Hamptons

USA is adding another show to its lineup this summer: Royal Pains.  The premise is quite straightforward: Hank Lawson, M.D. is fired from his hospital job in Manhattan after choosing to work on a critically-injured patient instead of the routine procedure happening on a major donor to the hospital. Who cares, right?  Well, the benefactor dies and Hank loses his job, his shallow fiancee, and most of his belongings.  To cheer him up, his younger brother, Evan, takes him to the Hamptons for the weekend.  Keep in mind all of this happened in the first 15 minutes (take note, The Tudors!).

Evan sneaks them into a party hosted by Boris, a wealthy German lesser noble, where Evan saves a partygoer’s life and Boris’s concierge doctor almost kills her.  Here’s where we learn that a concierge doctor is a private doctor rich people have on call to tend to their medical needs.  Anyway, Boris wants to hire Hank but he initially refuses.  This displeases Evan, who is loving the Hampton lifestyle, ladies, and bar of gold Boris gave to Hank.

Somehow Tucker, a trust fund teenager, gets Hank’s number and calls him after he gets into a car accident.  His girlfriend is a cyberchondriac but before Hank leaves he has to MacGyver a quick surgery of Tucker, who failed to mentioned he’s a hemophiliac.  He saves his life and makes a friend we’ll likely see in future episodes.

Fed up with everything so far in the weekend, Hank wants to go back to Manhattan, but first Divya shows up interviewing to be Hank’s physician’s assistant.  Again, word travels fast.  Before Hank can tell her no, they get another call and head to the local hospital with its ineffective care but good-hearted administrator, Jill, who Hank met at Boris’s party.  At the hospital, Hank meets local eccentric, Mrs. Newberg, who needs Hank to adjust one of her fake breasts because the other one deflated.  For those who aren’t following the emergency, she’s throwing a party that night and wants to show off the gals.  Anyway, Hank reluctantly fixes her up.  After all is said and done, Hank agrees to stay on a temporary basis and moves (with Evan) into Boris’s estate.

And there you have the pilot episode of Royal Pains.  I enjoyed the show and plan to keep watching it.  It was fast-paced, had interesting storylines, a great soundtrack, and characters I don’t mind watching for an hour.  I was a little surprised by this as I’m not much of a fan of Burn Notice or In Plain Sight, opting instead for the many 80s references and Corbin Bernsen hairpieces on Psych (and Monk before Sharona left the show).  Two minor critiques: I don’t care for the name Hank (petty, I know) and I’m concerned that Hank and Evan could easily turn into caricatures (whiner and party-guy, respectively), which would get tired fast.  I’m optimistic, though, that this will not be the case as their characters develop over the season.  So therefore, ladies and gentlemen, I recommend you tune in to the premiere of Royal Pains this Thursday, June 4 at 10 P.M. (Eastern) on USA.

Listen to The J Factor with J.B. and Jaimie here or on iTunes.

For more special coverage, click here.

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Barbara Nitke

Pushing Daisies: Pearway to Heaven

Although Pushing Daisies was officially cancelled by ABC earlier this year, there are three episodes left in the queue and ABC is burning them off over the next three weeks.  Here is the first of the final episodes, in extensive and loving detail from yours truly.

Young Olive Snook dreamt of the love and attention of others and got her wish when she was kidnapped for one day.  She acquired a form of Stockholm Syndrome but the two men–Jerry Holmes and Roy Bustamante–were caught and sentenced to many years in prison.  But they broke out with only Olive on their mind.  This all came to her as she and Ned were hanging off a cliff at the end of the last episode.  But this week, the facts were these:

We cut to Ned and Olive safe in The Pie Hole talking about their ordeal and rescue by a mystery man.  Emerson and Chuck walk in to say they found a body, but Ned does not care and only wants to make and eat pies (which he can now do since he no longer uses rotting fruits).  So Chuck steps up and wants to be Emerson’s sidekick.

The new pair of detectives head to a fountain and see the frozen body of Erin Embry in the fountain.  Emerson thinks the case is a nonstarter and leaves.  Chuck is unconvinced and tricks Ned into walking with her to the department store near where the body was found.  As a surprise, Chuck realizes the crime scene is on display.

Back at The Pie Hole taxidermist Randy Mann walks in with a gift for Ned and awkward flirting with Olive.  Well, actually it’s a gift Ned wanted made for his magician step-brothers.  As he waits, Olive’s former kidnappers walk in–technically, they were accidental kidnappers: she was hiding in a car they stole and her parents wouldn’t answer the phone when they called about Olive.  They returned Olive, even though the three all enjoyed each other’s company, anyway, Olive and the guys are sharing a happy reunion.  Ned, of course, walks in to rain on the parade.  He thinks twice, though, when the ex-cons express their excitement at his engagement to Olive.  Ned goes along with the charade and Olive is very happy, even with her delusions.

Emerson tells Chuck about Ned and Olive, and she tries not to let it get to her.  As they talk, Wendell Featherstone and other devotees of the deceased window designer Erin Embry express their admiration for Erin’s work.  Chuck works the crowd up with the suggestion that Erin was murdered; the crowd decides to hire Emerson to investigate the crime.  Once on the case, Emerson and Chuck talk with the store owner, Dick Dicker, and move on to Erin’s co-designer, Coco Juniper, but she didn’t kill Erin (same with her assistant, Denny Downs).  And as we cut to commercial, we see that any one of these guest stars could be the killer.

Meanwhile, Randy is driving everyone else down to the border to help smuggle Jerry and Roy.  They run into a police road block and divert to the Darling Mermaid Darling house to get disguises for the guys.  In the excitement, Vivian and Lily learn (with great shock) that Ned and Olive are engaged.  We pause for a musical interlude of “Hello” performed by Olive as she wonders what is going on with Ned.  Ned interrupts (as usual) and says he’s okay with their deception since it’s important to his friend Olive.  But after Vivian gives Olive a veil, Olive and Ned have an argument and Olive tells the truth to everyone as her heart breaks once again.  He wants to leave but can’t as the police have surrounded the Charles home.

Back at the department store, Dick Dicker unveils the Erin Embry Memorial Window designed by Coco Juniper.  In the window we see a mannequin’s dress is caught in an escalator.  There’s a scream and everyone rushes inside to find . . . you guess it . . . Coco, stuck and very dead in the escalator.  But not everyone is sad, Denny Downs is pretty pleased, and Emerson and Chuck suspect him.  This is likely a diversion, but still the pair snoop around the store after hours.  They find Denny’s design book and realize he designed all of the windows at Dicker’s, plus there’s a sketch of Dicker, which makes them think he’s the next victim.

From a pep talk from Randy, Ned decides he needs to be the Superman and hero he’s supposed to be.  He sneaks into Randy’s car, magic taps a dead rhinoceros, and the newly-alive rhino scares away the police so the others can escape.  Ned is pleased with himself and heads to the morgue to help Chuck and Emerson.  He taps Erin and Coco and they say that Dick Dicker killed them both to decrease store customers in hopes of letting the store fail.  He is caught before he kills Denny.  With Dick in prison, Denny takes over the store and appoints Wendell a new designer.

And Randy’s encouragement for another comes back around to him as Olive works out with the Mother Superior to help smuggle the guys out of the country as nuns.  (I’ve seen that before!)  Anyway, we end with Chuck expressing her jealously for what Olive can do with Ned that Chuck cannot do.  Ned reassures Chuck that he’s only interested in her and not Olive.  Of course this goes out the window when he experiences jealousy at seeing Randy Mann put his hand on Olive’s.  Oh boy!

Great episode (even with the superfluous singing) and it just makes me even sadder to know we only have two left.

Season 2, Episode 11: Window Dressed to Kill (originally aired May 30, 2009)

Listen to The J Factor with J.B. and Jaimie here or on iTunes.

For more on Pushing Daisies, click here.

Saturdays at 10/9c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC

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