Drag Race RuCap: “A Toast to Alyssa Edwards”

Who needs Oscar gold when Alyssa Edwards is serving golden goddess on TV?

NICK TAYLOR: Yes, the Academy Awards were fun, lots of gorgeous expressions of gratitude and admiration between fellow artists and fellow human beings. It was wonderful, it was funny, but did anyone give a speech as good as the queen’s best roasts? Certainly, no one matched the deranged peaks or flailing lows brought out for the "Toast of Alyssa Edwards." The diva herself looked quite good, proving all that glitters really is gold. I do need white pageant girls to stop wearing blonde units only a few shades removed from their pale, pale skin. Still, the glamour was there, and the episode was very entertaining. Were you dazzled, diva?

CLÁUDIO ALVES: I think Amy Madigan would have fun at a roast, but I’m not sure she’d be a good roaster. Maybe Jessie Buckley could thrive in that environment, as she feels like a cool lady and her speech and vague air of Olivia Colman-esque humor. We should be asking ourselves who, from the Oscar set, we want on Drag Race, and my answer is Malgosia Turzanska, who showed up to the Academy Awards covered in safety pins and would’ve surely fought for a Discord top-two placement last week. Oh, but you asked about the actual roast Drag Race episode, not imaginary AMPAS crossovers. Well…

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Drag Race RuCap: "Drag Queens for Change"

The Meek(s) shall inherit the Earth! Myki will get her revenge!!!

NICK TAYLOR: Cláudio, your assertion that the end of last week’s episode snapped the season into place has already bore fruit in the competition. On the one hand, this week’s winner and the eliminated queen feel in some way like RuPaul tipping the scales back from a Rate-A-Queen result she didn’t agree with. On the other, the judge’s choices were very correct, and the queen’s performances in the maxi challenge were almost uniformly strong, with one glaring exception. It’s hard to believe we’re not even halfway through this pack of queens, but the margin for error grows slimmer by the day. 

CLÁUDIO ALVES: I’ve either been blessed with Apollo’s gift or just spent too much time watching Drag Race franchises over the years, sinking into the depths of pattern recognition and reality TV cynicism…

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Nicole Kidman's Closet of Wigs

Our new favourite comedy skit from the obviously brilliant Adrienne Ianniciello. What's your all-time favourite Nicole Kidman wig? 

The end is priceless. Any reminder of her brilliance in Babygirl (2024) is always welcome! 

Drag Race RuCap: "The Rate-A-Queen Talent Show, Part 2"

The face of a proud Greek mother whose plans are falling into place.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: Those Emmy losses to The Traitors have really done a number on the Drag Race producers and editors. Because this week, the entire episode felt like it should have been unfolding in a Scottish Castle rather than the WOW studios. In other words, it was juicy reality TV, but perhaps a bit less rewarding as a RuPaul’s Drag Race episode. For those, like me, who feel the series is at its best when embracing the form of a drag variety showcase, an hour that felt more about alliances and internal cast politics than about talent or drag pageantry is bound to leave one a tiny bit dissatisfied. At the same time, a pretty shapeless season suddenly slotted into place, narratives writing themselves into existence, arcs, heroes and villains, underdogs and whatnot. 

NICK TAYLOR: It’s fabulous character drama, and a great bit of comeuppance for all my bitching about the alliance shenanigans or whether the talent show needed to be two episodes. The queen’s choices really mattered! We got some fun drag from the runways, and Nini Coco would have trounced this group pretty handily if she’d performed this week, but everything whack about the final ratings felt like the end of Act One in a major way...

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Artist Tribute: Regina Hall in the Scary Movie Franchise

by Nick Taylor

We are ringing in the opening weekend for Paul Thomas Anderson’s new American epic One Battle After Another by celebrating a legend. While early reviews suggest an impressive performance likely to be overshadowed by the bigger challenges of her co-stars, I’m simply excited to see her kill it again on the big screen. Anything for this actress to keep building the goodwill necessary to one day swan across Oscar’s stage and receive the adulation she obviously deserves. I am, of course, talking about Regina Hall, one of the funniest people working in the pictures. With this year being the 25th anniversary of the very first Scary Movie (yes I know it was released in July, hush), we take this day to honor Hall’s superlative turns as Brenda Meeks across the first four films in the franchise . . . 

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