Hallelujah! It’s Movie Week here again to kick-start the race to the final. Last year it washed away our memory of Robin power-bombing Patsy through a chair, Kara’s lacklustre jive, Scott Maslen forgetting an entire routine (and still getting 9s) and…well…HOOOOOOO! NEW YORRRRRRRRRRRRRK! This year it’s washing out…well quite a bit, but still, IT DOES IT!
OK, first, the bad stuff, at least for me. Which was Jason, gurning and stumbling his way through a tribute to Singing In The Rain which never really catches light, apart from in the bits where he’s fox-trotting, and even then only fitfully. Fortunately everyone else seems to have loved it, so…a perfect evening really isn’t it? Robbie doesn’t dance his Reservoir Dogs-inspired quickstep terribly well, but it’s kind of endearingly blokey in a way I’ve not found him all series. It ends with a recreation of the iconic Reservoir Dogs walk, right down to the slow-motion part.
Other than that? Perfection all round. Alex’s American Smooth is a loving tribute to Pretty Woman, complete with James trying to buy her with a necklace at the end. It works, because Alex loves sparkly things. Truly a fitting tribute to the greatest feminist movie of all time. She gets tangled in her dress, a bit, in parts, but it’s fun and upbeat and, given how the rest of the leaderboard falls…a nice exit for her from the show. I’m guessing. I don’t think it’s going to pay off being in a Hunk Sandwich at this stage of events.
Harry, Holly and Chelsee? All bring it. Harry with one of the better male rumbas the show’s seen, even dressed as the very junior boyfriend of a gross old theatre impressario and dancing to the worst song of the 90s (narrowly beating out Whitney Houston’s desecration of “I Will Always Love You”) “Everything I Do (I Do It For You) (But I Won’t Do That)”. Chelsee also actually validates the Shrek theme, somehow, by kicking her jive up to near-Halfpenny levels with Pasha dressed as Shrek, and a giant fibreglass donkey and castle set.
Most triumphant of all though is Holly, who beats the hell out of her paso, complete with fierce faces, cape-swishing, flamenco hands and SUDDEN DEATH drops. It is a TRIUMPH, her best dance so far, and her only really good dance that wasn’t so just because of Artem masking it with nuclear strength choreography or Brenda. She’s still gone next week, I still wouldn’t bet against her being bottom 2 (and finding it HILARIOUS), and she’s still not a dancer, but for one night only? Holly wins.
Oh also, there’s a pro dance with Vincent licking Bruno’s face, but it’s not very good, so, erm, retrospectively put this in brackets or something.
The mighty mighty Monk Seal 
Oh if only Alex had dressed as a hooker and James had tried to lure her with the promise of a pearl necklace. Please never let Pasha be done over by the wardrobe dept again, even he couldn’t look cute dressed as Shrek. (Are they the same wardrobe dept that dresses Little Mix?). I’m soo fed up with Jason now, ffs it’s only dancing and the facial expressions, blimey – is that his sex face? The rumba is so dull, it’s just dancey walking and even Harry failed to enliven it. For me, it was Chelsee and Holly that shone tonight but poor Holly is a goner and the irritating Savage will still be there.
I don’t need to think about Jason’s sex faces outside of the Results Show, and then only abtractedly.
I would hate to see Jason’s sex face. Thankfully, it’s never going to happen. Are they kicking out two next week?
They are.
This was one of those rare occasions when the judges’ leaderboard actually matches mine. Loved both Chelsee and Holly tonight. I liked Chelsee’s jive a smidge more (despite a slightly ragged bit in the middle of the dance) but this was the first time I’ve thought Holly was showing emotion – both in the dance and when the scores came in. But are makeup trying to ensure Pasha only does one series?
I didn’t notice Alex getting tangled in her dress, but that’s probably because I’m usually making a cup of tea when she’s dancing. I don’t like the rumba and Harry’s effort didn’t change my mind. And I would have liked Jason’s dance if if I were able to overlook how boring he is in the VT before and with Tess after – but I can’t.
Robbie – it’s time for him to go, but I was impressed that he didn’t make a big deal out of dancing in memory of Gary Speed. I expected it and was glad to be disappointed.
I have very high tolerance for tribute dances – I wouldn’t have minded.
Just pleased someone finally commented on Harry’s hands. 😀 I swear he is channelling the Hobbit with them!!!
He hasn’t quite to the stage where he looks like he’s trying to conjure up fireballs like Chris did…
Chelsee and Harry were fabulous – could it be a McFly double win I wonder?
Pasha is still adorable as Shrek, especially when he shook his ears at Craig lol
It does make you wonder what Danny had to do to lose Popstar To Operastar. If you never heard his singing on it anyway…
I wasn’t as enamored with Alex’s American Smooth, but it wasn’t too bad, and I wasn’t as in love with Holly’s Paso as everyone else seems to be. She looked like she was staring at the floor half the time looking broody and sullen, rather than looking straight ahead and fierce. I actually got a little smug when Craig pointed it out. Still rather annoyed that Holly’s Paso got a higher score than Harry’s Rumba. I was rather enamored with it. Or maybe previous male celebrity rumbas have just made me severely lower my standards. I dunno.
And…ugh, I’m with you on Jason’s American Smooth. It’s amazing to watch something that’s both boring *and* horrifying at the same time. Almost makes you long for the days of Tom Chambers. Almost. At least he was less terrifying and was better at embodying the dance.
Tom for all his faults seemed to actually enjoy dancing beyond it just being “performing” – for its own sake. I’m not sure about Jason.
Chelsee and Harry were my favs for the night but Holly was a close second, I hope her actually looking interesting in being there for once is enough to save her this week.
Harry’s was one of the few non cringey male Rumbas I’ve seen on the show. Chelsee’s jive was great. I thought it was overmarked but on the scale of things she should have been at the top so it made sense. This is what happens when people are overscored- meaningless 39s are given out.
I know Jason’s probably a lock for the final if not the whole thing but there’s just something so offputting about him.
Don’t tell Nicole Cutler that she thought it was equal to Jill Halfpenny’s what’s your dance CV?
Hee! I bow to her greater experience. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, I think it’s the closest anyone’s come to St Jill in the Jive but there were a couple of dodgy bits in the middle. I just think in an earlier series she might not have scored so high- but she deserved to be top of the board. Actually in those terms I thought Harry was undermarked because I thought he should have been higher up the leaderboard than Jason.
The show just needs to introduce 11s and be done with it.
Briefly read that as “meaningless 69s”. [PASHA JOKE REDACTED]
I thought it was a great week, overall (though late-night iplayer + wine = yey; of course).
I wasn’t too thrilled by Harry’s rumba, though perhaps no bloke will ever be fantastic at that dance (and he was wearing an oddly unflattering outfit which somehow gave him a Kevin Costner-esque gut). And however difficult it may have been for him this week, I’m glad Robbie wasn’t allowed to play the Speedo card (tragic though that story is).
The Jason gurn-a-thon was barely tolerable – pleeease let him not win this….
I really liked Holly’s performance – she genuinely stepped it up, and her paso-face was authentic rather than Bunto-horror (I live in Madrid right now, and the routine really bore comparison with some of the professional flamenco I’ve seen). I hope she gets through this week, though I doubt she will – Alex’s woobette face will have garnered her loads of votes, I fear.
To be honest, much as I adore Pashlee (ugh – sorry), I found their jive kinda messy. Perhaps after seeing the epicmazing Ka$ha one to Caro Gemstoneofchoice, I was expecting more. Still want them to win, of course.
Btw – did I hear right that your bezzie mates the music people were playing a song with the lyrics ‘you give me FEELINGS’ at some point? I have a FEELING it was a song by that veggie/blondie/weirdie who was on ‘Sleb Come Dine With Me’ with Alesha’s ex and the G4 git a few years ago.
And look behind Brucie as he introduces Chelsee and Pasha – one of the orchestra is clearly having a wank haha!
They had Kelly Rowland doing “What A Feeling” behind Harry & Aliona’s recap of the week before. Maybe it’s later – am only up to Alex & James in my recapping schedule.
I’m really happy that Pasha and Chelsee were partnered and I loved their jive (though I pray they never do anything like that to him again – what the hell?) Anyway, I kept wondering what Vincent has been thinking, watching Pasha with the wee tiny winner of a partner – and look who he was lumbered with. Still, I’ve thought pros’ stars were waning before and they just keep coming back (Anton’s there but Ian and Matthew are gone for good!! We still have Tony but no Dmitry and poor Damien Whitewood got one chance then poof – you just never know what the producers will botch up next). Haven’t seen all the dances but truly loved Holly’s and Chelsee’s and Alex’s was pretty good – I like all the celeb gals’ personalities at this point, and even Nancy was awfully good for a laugh. SCD beats DwtS this time for me, even counting Tristan but he nearly saved the whole debacle over here single-handedly even with a bitchy bossy cow.
I wonder if Flavia turning into the Lady-Anton will influence what happens with Vincent? They tried a bit with Erin and Ricky Groves, but I don’t think she had the comic eye that Anton has, in a mainstream sense. Flavia if nothing else seemed to know how to make people laugh until she got bored and just threw a cannon in for no reason.
No, even Pasha couldn’t maintain any level of cuteness with sickly yellow-green make-up (horrible in HD) and trumpet ears. They might as well have gone the whole hog and put him in a fat suit… it all rather detracted from Chelsee’s joyful jive. Absolutely loved Holly and Artem’s paso, the first in SCD history to channel Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice in Strictly Ballroom – oodles of flamenco – lovely to watch.
Ugh, the rumba – too much of Harry posing and Aliona flailing for my liking, and far too basic for this stage of the competition and Harry’s level of competence. I’ve already forgotten Alex and James’s dance and Robbie is severely out-classed now, although that wasn’t a bad quickstep. Ola covering up will have lost him votes this week, I fear.
I rather enjoyed Jason’s homage to Singin’ in the Rain – I’ll get my coat.
He looked more like Gilbert The Alien than Shrek.
Is Bruno Flavia’s father? Is Vincent the bad boyfriend Bruno can never forgive? Does Bruno spend all day telling her to remember nice sweet Matt?
Another week where Jason is styled like Max Branning. Now if Jason would just stop dancing and start staring forlornly into space and taking a long drag off his smoke, then I might care more.
There was something very sad about Jason’s American Smooth. Somewhere along the way, the excessive amount of time he spent bumbling along made it seem less like a lighthearted dance and more like a slightly desperate swan song for a man who never was. I was waiting for him to start singing Rose’s Turn.
That’s why I love Holly – even when she tells us how much she wants to stay, and gives what is for her a very impassioned performance, there’s none of the LOVE ME DAMMIT! She’s just cool.
Harry’s rumba was better than I expected, mostly because he did seem to be making a real effort. Sometimes too much of a visible effort, but still a constant progress from where he’d been before. Most frontrunners or purported frontrunners would have walked through and not made any effort.
I think I expect too much from Chelsee because of her early dances, which were so fantastic (minus the one where Pasha played a photog). I was most disappointed with her jive because there wasn’t a moment where I just sat back and was wowed by their work together and the fun of the dance. Half the time they didn’t seem to be together and when they were, the camera was on top of the damn donkey, with the actual couple on the other side of the room. This felt like all kinds of Shrek product placement with a dance as an afterthought. Not the best ending either. I wish they could redo this, even if I know she probably will never have the best jive, due to lack of control.
The last impact of Russell this series for me will mostly be expecting someone to break into Rose’s Turn any minute. I think it would have appealed to Ian’s sensibilities most, would that he were still here. I remember him thinking Penny’s Boots-samba was her stand-out dance so he appreciates a good camp over substance turn (as do I).
Pasha was never a photog – he was a humble fan in love with Pasha’s paparazzi loving starlet and then…somebody killed somebody at the end or I may have made that up. I can’t remember.
I think it’s true what Craig said on ITT about Jason being the least naturally talented celeb (“I just meant at ballroom dancing darling, not in general!”) and everything he achieves being down to hard work. Even when it all goes right, as it did with his American smooth, you can see the level of effort, and he’s just not as enjoyable to watch as someone like Chelsee.
Harry did very well at a difficult dance, but I do like how low the bar has been set for the male rumba. Alesha: “That was that by no means uncomfortable to watch – 9!” Basically, if the judges haven’t gnawed their own hands off with embarassment, they’re reaching for the nine paddle.
I have to say, I was a little bored with this week’s show. Jason’s performance was boring, Alex’s performance was boring, Robbie’s performance was boring. I adore Harry but it’s not his fault the rumba is boring. Holly was mildly interesting but I find her boring in general. Chelsee livened things up with her jive but I couldn’t ogle Pasha properly with all that horrendous makeup on him. Sigh.
I know you keep saying Holly isn’t a natural dancer, but I think she’s at least as good as Alex and deserves to be there more than Alex, Robbie, and even Jason. Being new to Strictly this year, I don’t understand why Robbie is still there and hasn’t even made the bottom two when it’s obvious he’s the least talented dancer still in contention by a mile. Is it the voting demographic of the show – will they vote for the good looking bloke even if he’s rubbish?
Short answer yes, but to be fair they are getting better. Getting rid of the dance off probably helped. I think that Holly has been hard done by being in the bottom two twice but I can see why she has been there.
Popular radio DJs like Chris Moyles have been telling people to vote for him even if they don’t watch the show. He’s also the only “sportsman”, he’s with a partner who knows how to play to the audience, and while his personality has annoyed me, it appeals to many others.
I think the viewers, so far, have done a good job at who should leave when. Far more than I’d expected, especially with the tricky personalities like Lulu (the “star” who would usually hang around to the top 6 or 7) and Russell (the “entertainment” who did try and was a nice guy, but who’d run out of steam some time before he left). The only mistakes for me were Nancy leaving before Audley or Lulu, and Anita leaving before Alex and Robbie.
Oh and Rory. I forgot poor Rory. He should have lasted a few more weeks at least.
As for Holly, I think it’s a credit to her she’s lasted this long. She was in the shadow of Kara, probably one of the most popular women ever on Strictly. Her personality is the antithesis of LOVETHISLOVEMELOVETHISLIVEBREATHESTRICTLY. She’s not the most natural or graceful dancer. She and Artem weren’t exactly setting the floor on fire early on. She’s been something very different for the show.
I don’t think he’s too far past his time – the dancers being eliminated more or less in competence order means the “why are they still here?” branch is being passed around a lot. Nobody’s really held it for more than a week or two. It’s not as thought he’s Widdy.
I find Chelsee a little annoying when she’s being interviewed, but her Jive was pretty good, if not quite Jill/Scott/Austin level.
Loved Holly’s Paso, and that she avoided the bottom two as a result. I can’t see her making the final somehow, but I’m glad she had at least one grat dance. And Artem standing there in the VT with his fencing jacket having been supposedly cut off of him was a pleasant sight.
Harry’s outfit made him look like he was starring in a cowboy-themed gay porno. Which I would totally watch. I usually hate the Rumba, but his at least wasn’t cringeworthy to watch, unlike most of the male celeb ones.
I’m really glad Robbie went. His dances have had too many gimmicks and little substance, and all the whining about scores over the weeks has gotten on my nerves.
I’m too excited over Holly doing Charleston next week to even consider much else. SUCH A TRAINWRECK ONCOMING.