America's Next Top Model 9, Finale: Nice Girls Finish First
If it's the finale, it must mean that it's time to sell, I mean support, Cover Girl. The top three have to do a commercial and print ad. The print ad of the winner will run in a national campaign. But the true ANTM believers know that the commercial is the killer - never has memorizing seven lines seemed so scary. No matter how smart the girls are, these moments always perpetuate the "dumb model" stereotype.
Jaslene, looking gorgeous, shows up for moral support and hopefully not because she has nothing else going on.
Chantal needs a few takes but then nails her lines. Jenah, poor non-perky Jenah, has a lot of trouble. It's only when Jay threatens her with the cue cards of shame that she pulls through. Saleisha's freaked herself out so much that she runs through takes like... it’s Covergirl lip gloss! Finally, she takes a moment, loses it, only to get herself together and land the next take. All the girls looked stunning in the print ads - Chantal looked elegant, Jenah was sweet and Saleisha channeled Veronica Webb.
Panel 1
Time for the nasty - Tyra asks the girls who has the most potential and who has the least. All the girls say they should be top model but in one of the uglier moments this cycle, both Saleisha and Chantal say Jenah has the least potential with Chantal going so far as to say Jenah would be a bad role model for her little sisters. Completely uncalled for - it's not like Jenah tortures puppies as a hobby, she's just edgier, more sarcastic and frankly, more complex/interesting. Of course Tyra goes into full Tyra Show mode, digging way deep into Jenah's psyche to find emotional scars. Jenah's had to be strong her whole life and isn't Ms. Perky. Jenah starts crying but is ashamed of appearing weak. Tyra tells her that she's finding out who she is - another Top Model breakthrough. Thank you Dr. Tyra. There's so much going on that the judges' evaluations are almost irrelevant but just so you know, they liked Saleisha and Chantal but thought that Jenah acted like she was over it.
Tyra chooses Chantal and Saleisha who both sob like it's their job. And after Jenah laid bare her soul, she's sent home and then the crying really begins. I'm thinking Kleenex is going to be a sponsor next season because there were so many tears that it was more like a funeral, not a finale.
The top two shoot their potential Seventeen cover and then go to the site of the fashion show for Qi Gang, a designer I've never heard of. There are extras all around the super long runway and the girls have to walk around dudes on stilts. The judges walk down the runway and it's just so wrong - Nigel tries to work sexy and Tyra struts like Ms. J is going to grade her performance. Jaslene starts off the show and then the girls come out. Saleisha is fierce, working it with a little extra oomph. Chantal is more wooden and it doesn't help that one of the stilt guys falls after slipping on her train.
Panel 2
The tears really start in earnest. Tyra reviews a few of the girls' pictures and we see the panel fake deliberate because it's just Tyra talking about how she knows one of these girls is going to be crushed emotionally and she's the crusher. Maybe we should call Jenah back so she can return the favor and help Tyra with her trauma.
Finally, amidst the girls' tears, Tyra reveals that the winner is... Saleisha. Chantal, with her whole "I was made for this" mantra obviously didn't work, mostly because she was "amateurish" according to the judges. The word lame works just as well. Saleisha, except for the anti-Jenah thing at panel, was sweet, bubbly and not a drama queen. She genuinely wanted to win, she cared, she worked hard… she was everything a Covergirl should be. And so ends a rather tame season of ANTM, where we learned about China, got see Tyra point, shoot and preach and saw that nice girls can also be winners.
Mali Perl can be reached at mali@realityshack.com. She expects all ANTM fans to spend the months until Cycle 10 practicing their struts and poses. You wouldn’t want to let Ms. J down, would you?
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| manda59 |
Posted: 2007/12/16 12:07 Updated: 2007/12/16 12:07 |
Just popping in   Joined: 2007/12/16 From: Posts: 1 |
 grr im soo mad
i wanted Chantal to win
more then enything
stupid bowl haired, flat nosed freak won
chantal was so much more goregous
she would defenetly be my role model
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