TVgasm Investigates: NeNe Leaks Can Act?

Watercooler

By WaffleBoy | Monday, September 17, 2012 | 12:00 pm | 6 Comments
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Posted in: TVgasm Investigates, Watercooler

The Full Review at Vulture.com

 

Okay, those were pretty good, huh? Well from here on out the road gets a little bumpier

 

“As for the aforementioned caution signs, it’s not hard to see “New Normal” veering into caricature, especially with Barkin as a sort of latter-day Archie Bunker; and one-time “Real Housewives” player NeNe Leakes, who Murphy has featured on “Glee,” as Bryan’s assistant.” – Brian Lowry, Variety

Okay, this is a bad review, but the good news for NeNe is that her performance is being lumped in with Ellen Barkin’s, and the reviewer is making it sound like they suck, because Ryan Murphy has written some bad characters. It’s a surprisingly not so bad, bad review.

The Full Review at Variety

 

“The harder challenge for Normal is reality personality NeNe Leakes, blustering her way as a finger-snapping “sassy assistant.” – Robert Blanco, USA Today

Blustering, finger snapping, and “sassy”. There’s no real upside in this review.

The Full Review at USA Today

 

 

 

” Bryan is… something that requires NeNe Leakes as his neck-rolling assistant. She doesn’t play herself—except for the fact that she does, because she can’t act.” – Rich Juzwiak, Gawker.com

Dang, Rich Juzwiak, don’t bottle it all up. You’ll get an ulcer! 

The Full Review at Gawker.com

 

Also, NeNe Leakes is here to yell things, because Murphy likes it when she yells things. – Todd VanDerWerff, The AV Club

Okay, on the one hand, mentioning Ryan Murphy makes it seem like the guilt for being bad is being shared. However, it seems like the thing the critic is really mad about is that Ryan Murphy cast NeNe in the first place. So this one gets filed under “Yeesh! No reason to get nasty about it.”

The Full Review at The AV Club

 

 Okay, and here is one more review which could be great, but then again seeing as it refers to NeNe as a drag queen, it might be one of the most awesome bits of passive-aggressive writing we’ll see this year

 

Funny as hell, too, is NeNe Leakes as Rocky, a drag queen. – Linda Stasi, New York Post

 

Like I said, if NeNe is playing a drag queen, which I’m pretty sure she is not, then it’s a stellar review, otherwise Linda Stasi and Sheree might be the same person.

The Full Review at The New York Post

 

So what should we take away about NeNe’s work in this new medium? Well, I think if you like NeNe on RHOA, than you’ll like her here, because you’re going to be getting the same person. And there isn’t a thing wrong with that. Plenty of people over the years in Hollywood have churned out the same performance year, after year, after year. I love John Wayne, but for all the years he was in Hollywood, you never heard anyone talking about the guy losing himself in a role.

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About

Waffle's family would like to go on record and say he was raised by raccoons. You eat out of the garbage one time, and everyone suddenly gets judgmental. He's just going to point out, for the last time, with God as his witness, there was ice cream in that carton. However, the fact of the matter is he was born and has lived about 90% of my life in the Bay Area in Northern California. He's a long time cube monkey (office worker), who spends too much time trying to maximize the money he spends on his cable bill, and has a not so healthy love of all things that are dumb and fun, translation: needless explosions, cable neeckedness, and any time Steven Segal attempts to express human emotion only by squinting.

6 Comments

  1. 1
    NameOfState
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    I missed the first few minutes, but unless NeNe had an opening monologue, I don’t think she was used much.

    Ellen Barkin’s character is basically, “I hate gays and wish all black people were slaves.” I mean, “Are you supposed to be using this bathroom?” when she opens the door on NeNe and “In my day, we read about Presidents who owned people like him” about Obama? It’s almost like he’s making a statement about Republicans, but it’s so subtle. What could he mean?

    The gay couple has a nice kitchen and I love that the daughter was imitating Little Edie from Grey Gardens.

    Only saw the Glee episode with Carol Burnett, and I did like American Horror Story, but from what I’ve read about his reactions to musicians who turned down offers to have their songs featured, he seems to be an angry man with an agenda. I don’t see myself watching it every week.

    I really do like that kitchen though!

  2. 2
    kloewent
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    well I watched it. The show was ok, I like the concept, makes gay families seem completely Normal! NeNe was ok, she just played her caricature of a sassy black woman who is going to beat you if you ask her to do anything for you. She wasn’t memorable, but she didn’t stand out as horrific either. Plus, she does look like a drag queen!!! I don’t know why if the mother was so appalled she didn’t just give her daughter the $35k. Is that the going rate, cause it doesn’t seem like enough to me. For the 10 months (I am including the month after because you are usually pretty messed up and perhaps have stitches!) That is less than a thousand a week!!

  3. 3
    cherrylipgloss
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    ellen barkin was my celeb girl crush after the big easy and she still looks amazing….but why does she have an old lady voice?? what the heck happened….? I still have the same voice I’ve always have and I haven’t aged as well physically as Ellen, but she sounds 90+ years old now….

  4. 4
    NotWithoutMyTV NotwithoutmyTV
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Is asking NeNe Leaks to play the big, sassy black friend “acting”?

    Now, if she act the role of someone who WASN’T obnoxious, then give that bitch an Oscar. Snatch it right out of Helen Mirren’s hands and hand it to over to The Mouth of the South.

    And I’m right there with you, Nads. Ryan Murphy could use a nice, severe, daily beating. Sorkin, too. (Although I saw Sorkin on 30 Rock a while ago, and he was spoofing himself, so I have to respect that. Some.)

  5. 5
    See-Jay
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    There is nothing lovable about Ellen Barkin’s character. She’s simply written as an over-the-top bigot with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The poor man’s Lucille Bluth.

  6. 6
    vallegirl vallegirl
    Posted September 17, 2012 at 11:27 pm

    FYI – if you repeat the words “NeNe Leakes” enough times then throw in “drag queen” your targeted ad will be for Astroglide.

    The more you know.

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