BREAKING: Bristol apologizes for her & her sister’s angry Facebook rant & makes the DWTS FINALS; check it out– & our Celeb.s film trailer…
I’m a lifelong Liberal with no sympathy for Mama Grizzly Palin– but I’m rooting and voting for Bristol on Dancing With the Stars. Why? Like all good Liberals, I like an underdog. Though Bristol may have an army of conservative viewers behind her, she is the sole DWTS contestant with zero show-biz training. It shows– and not always in bad ways.
Bristol’s sometimes-awkward sometimes-fetching performances hold a charge of suspense that few of the jaded glossy ‘stars’ can match. Unlike DWTS’s processed anorexic Hollywood hoofers, Bristol looks real. Yes, she hasn’t lost weight– and good for her. She is a healthy fresh-faced young Mom and she shows you don’t have to starve yourself to look ‘pretty in pink.’
DWTS would not be half so fun if it was merely a ‘battle’ between show-bizzed bot.-bodies who have been stage-trained for years. Jennifer Grey, though older than in her Dirty Dancing days, was and is a world-class dancer with a lifetime of performance experience.
Bristol’s other competitors all hail from the worlds of professional music or sports– so there is little surprise or suspense in seeing them ace their moves. I found myself holding my breath as Bristol happily managed her quick-step, survived her writhing rhumba, triumphed in her tango & her semi-finals Paso doble.
Full disclosure: I’ve written a published short story and just-finished novel MSS about a Bristol-esque character, a pregnant teen forced into the limelight by a diva of a mama. So I’ve imagined myself into Bristol’s skin.
Who among us wouldn’t rather be Dancing With the Stars than slaving away as a single-mom receptionist? If it was me, caught up in Bristol Palin’s surreal fate, I’d ‘go for it’ too.
(photos: tvopi.com, celebritysmack.blog, nydailynews.com, DancingWithTheStars.com)
funny but i am like this too, i don’t like the mother but maybe because of that, i like bristol. who would want that mother and really she is not bad to watch in the ballroom steps.
Hi Livvy–
Great to hear from a fellow conflicted Bristol fan–
You hit the nail on the head: did she ask for this Mother?
Sympathy is a part of it, and yeah, she really is not half bad in the ballroom style dances; she wears the dresses well and dances gamely, plus she’s survived Sarah.
So lighten up Bristol haters– thanks for the ‘vote’ of confidence, Livvy!
BRISTOL IS NOT SO HOT A DANCER BUT YOU R RIGHT, IT MAKES THE SHOW MORE FUN TO WATCH THE ONES WHO MIGHT FALL. PLUS SHE *IS* HOT WHEN SHE SHAKES IT
SO KEEP HER ON, SHE’S GOT MY VOTE
Hi Anti and thanks for the Male View here–
And so true that part of the suspense factor is that the least experienced dancers might actually take a topple. But Mark seems to keep Bristol well in hand… She seems most sure-footed when sticking close to him. Go, Bristol & Mark!
I have never watched Dancing With the Stars before, but I am a Bristol fan and have watched it from the first night. I was sure she would be off this week and was thrilled that they took out Kurt Warner. I think Bristol has the best pro-partner, Mark Ballas, and was not surprised to read in my local paper’s gossip column on Friday, “Dancing With the Stars finalist Bristol Palin is rumored to be falling for her pro partner, Mark Ballas. Both have recently denied a relationship; reps for both failed to respond to the New York Post for comment”…but you would have to be blind to not see the chemistry between them. Mark is Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle. I’m sure DWTS’s contract forbids such a relationship during the show. From the start, I have felt that Jennifer Grey would be the winner and the judges are enthralled with her. Her visits to her doctor has added to her appeal to the audience. I think all of Alaska must be voting for Bristol to keep her in the running. I think she’s HOT! Good luck with your book about Bristol. I think there’s a real market out there for it.
Hi Barb–
Great to hear from a fellow Bristol booster! I agree she has an Eliza Doolittle quality and Mark has been a super partner. Bristol seems to be at her best in the ballroom style dancing where Mark firmly takes the lead. I understand the sympathy and admiration of Jennifer Grey– but it bothers me that she has been a professional dancer all her life, whereas Bristol has started from nothing. I think some folks on the internet are blaming Bristol for her mother; Bristol didn’t choose Sarah Palin or the crazed life she was dragged into. But she’s choosing now to make the most of it. Like you, Barb, I have enjoyed watching her learn to dance. I hope you are right about her and Mark. I have to say, though I can’t pinpoint why, I have been assuming Mark is gay. If not, I am all for a relationship– he seems way more mature than Levi (not hard!) and also very patient and easygoing, plus talented. Go Bristol and Mark!
So glad to see the video on You Tube. Looks like she is doing well.
I too wish Bristol luck and certainly this Mark Ballas sounds like a real step up (or 100 steps up) from Levi.
Hi Penny2– thanks for stopping by and for taking time to watch the YouTube clip. I chose the Tango, which was one of Bristol and Mark’s best. I also enjoyed their Two-Step and their Waltz. I am glad to hear both you and Barb see a future for Bristol and Mark– I may have been totally misguided in sensing Mark was gay. I hope they can get together– and I hope they can dance their way into the finals on Monday! Elizabeth
As is often the case, The Tubes have some major wisdom to contribute:
Well the joint was jumpin’, maybe I got too high
And the beat was familiar, my feet were too sly
I tried to hustle, I tried to bump
I was always steppin’ when it was time to jump
My baby said quit, I told him I wouldn’t
If he asked me today, I’d say I couldn’t
Slipped my disco –
Slipped my disco when I was dancing with you, baby
Sometimes my body does things my brain don’t understand
I’m not the girl I was, but my feet still think I am
I begin to wonder – is it worth the pain?
Get so twisted that you wind up lame
Maybe it’s my technique – or is it my shoes?
Just another white girl with the disco blues
[fade out to “I could’ve danced all night” guitar solo…]
– The Tubes \ Slipped My Disco, from Young And Rich
Wow, thanks to you and to THE TUBES, Litotes, for getting us inside Bristol’s ‘white girl with the disco blues’ mind.
Did you hear that a man in Wisconsin is under arrest for shooting his TV while Bristol danced? (And I thought in the Land of the Free, it was OK to shoot your TV…)
Honestly, it ‘may just be me’ but I enjoy watching Bristol dance and find it more compelling than the polished ‘real star’ dances; but with all the flaming today on the Net, Bristol must be wondering, as you say, ‘is it worth the pain?’
XX to the blog’s Resident Wit–
Elizabeth
I was shocked, shocked last night when Bristol came out on top–and very pleased. It shows that they really do count the People’s vote. Wouldn’t it be amazing if either Kyle or Bristol wins? I worry about the solo dance for both of them. He’s got the black vote and Bristol has the Tea Party–who’s voting for Jennifer?
Hi Barb– yes, it was quite an exciting finale. I like Kyle too; both he and Bristol are so fun to watch because they are NOT professional dancers, as Jennifer and Brandy both are and were. About who’s voting for Jennifer: I’d say ‘everybody else’ who is not polarized over Bristol and Kyle. I think Jennifer gets the broad middle plus those who vote on pure talent.
Yes, surely Jennifer has the most dancing talent– because she IS and always was a professional dancer. So it does not seem ‘fair,’ even by Reality TV standards, to pitch a real artist like her against contestents like Bristol who are true beginners.
Jennifer Gray in Dirty Dancing is right up there with some of the greatest movie dancing of all time. Yes, she’s older and she’s had these injuries, but even with all that, she comes into this with way more dance experience than the rest of the field.
I know everyone is trying to politicize Bristol, but the reason I like her has nothing to do with her Mother. I like seeing someone come from nothing and no experience and manage to hold her own with the pro.s. It’s stories like hers that make DWTS the hugely popular show that it is.
So that’s my two cents– but I think Jennnifer will win it.
I am also a registered Democrat. I don’t subscribe to any of the politics, but look at it as an entertainment show that constantly begs for my vote at the end of each performer’s dance. So I finally chose to participate after all these years of watching DWTS. I am tired of seeing the pros who truly have an advantage always easily dance away with the trophy. I thought that Nicole was beautiful, elegant and way ahead of everyone else competing. I’m tired of watching those who already know how to dance just do what is predictable. This is entertainment and I want value for my time watching which is why I voted for Bristol. I want to see how far a person can go who has absolutely no background in dancing or performing. I have to laugh at all the conspiracy theories. If anything, the producers are showing their integrity by tallying the votes exactly as advertised. What amazes me is how embarrassing my fellow Democrats are behaving and making something that is supposed to be fun into so much negativity and political bashing. People in this country really have lost perspective.
Greetings Lin and good to hear a voice of reason from a fellow democrat. You sum it all up very well, to me. Yes, Democrats are losing perspective on this and in the end will wind up looking foolish if they explode in anger just because Bristol’s voters went all-out to push her over the top. Bristol is not her mom and a lot of this fury really should be directed at Sarah.
I agree also with what you say here:
“I’m tired of watching those who already know how to dance just do what is predictable.”
YES, exactly; this is what I keep thinking. Yes, OF COURSE, Jennifer G, is the better dancer; she was at one time one of the best dancers in the world. Her dancing in Dirty Dancing is right up there with the all-time greats. So how on earth does she– even older and battling old injuries– fit the stated DWTS credo of bringing in celebs without a dance background? They always identify her as Actress Jennifer Gray but really she is much better known as a dancer.
She IS a professional dancer, and so was Brandy, and so to make this apples and oranges competition at all fair, you’ve got to cut Bristol a break. Yes: she has no training at all and is holding her own quite well, considering that. I agree the Conspiracy Theory thing is way overblown.
Any contestant’s voters can pool their votes if they feel passionate enough to do so. If Bristol’s voters feel the most passionate, for whatever reasons, then Bristol wins. That’s the rules of this particular game.
If people want a show where professional dancers compete in some serious Olympic style way, they can have it– but few would watch. I’m eager to watch Monday to see how this all plays out. THANKS again for your refreshingly sane comment, Lin–
Elizabeth