Mariah Carey makes ugly bid for film success
Glamorous pop princess Mariah Carey has cottoned on to the first rule of "serious acting". Make yourself plain, persecuted or ugly, and the critics will sing your praises from opening scene until end credits. Her surprisingly naturalistic and gritty role as harassed social worker Mrs Weiss, in the film Push: Based On the Novel By Sapphire, sees her replacing hot pants for office clothes and leaving her entourage in the trailer. And all to a very effective end.
"Uglying up" is a road well travelled for the determined female thesp who wants to be seen as more than just window dressing, most notably Charlize Theron, who slummed it to play serial killer Aileen Wournos in Monster, and bagged herself a best actress Oscar in the process.
Another hit was Nicole Kidman's prosthetic nose in The Hours, and - in the later scenes at least - Kate Winslet's ex-Nazi jailbird in The Reader. What's unexpected about Carey's performance (complete with pink scrunchie and prim checked jacket) is that, because she's so totally preened and polished in every guise you have ever seen her in before, she's barely recognisable. Of the five people I showed this clip to, three genuinely had no idea who she was.
The film, currently at the centre of an equally ugly distribution tussle between Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company, stars Mo'Nique and a strong performance by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the victim of familial abuse. But it's Carey's cameo that grabbed the headlines at Sundance earlier this year. Why there's even a hint of a moustache if you look closely enough. For an actor whose big screen debut, Glitter, in 2001, became the ultimate pop star-vehicle car crash, Push could be the role that leads Mariah on to genuine acting glory.
What's interesting is that she not only accepted such a downtrodden, small (yet pivotal) role, but that director Lee Daniels gave her the chance to shine: he clearly had vision where others did not. Judging by this clip, what do you think? And what other perma-dolled-up stars might benefit from a make-under? (Guardian)
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