We've had an opportunity for quite a few weeks to watch Kathy Griffin and Paula Abdul star in their very own Bravo shows. Kathy is with us for the third time. This season we have seen her reaction towards her divorce, the death of her father, and the incarcerated. The lady is funny, complex, straight forward, and a consummate professional (although frequently late.)
People either like Kathy or they don't, but when they do they love her. Jim, a coworker, can quote her funniest lines. He and I review each show with a fine tooth comb, laughing hysterically all over again. Only Kathy can get away with saying 'fisting' in front of a bunch of hardened criminals and get them to howl with laughter. Her friendship with her gays is wonderful to witness, and, even though she purports to dislike children, her performance for her nephew's classmates was designed to make him proud. And it did. One knows with an aunt like Kathy he will always get the girl.
Paula, who is joining the Bravo stable for the first time in the hope of boosting her popular American Idol image, enjoys no such adoration among my office companions. While an entire group of people discussed Idol when it aired, no one discusses Paula without making a face. 'Hey Paula' points out the reasons why: The woman is totally self-absorbed, lacks a sense of humor, is always late and moaning about lack of sleep, and she's downright surly at times. In fact, there are moments when Paula seems scarily certifiable. In telling my friend Jim that I watch 'Hey Paula', I had to clarify, 'For Bravissimo, of course.'
To point out the differences between the two women, I've created a little chart.
I think my comparison points out why Kathy is liked so much. She's confident of her talent but not her looks, which adds a sense of vulnerability. Her sense of humor saves her over and over again, and she has genuine empathy for others. Paula's show is one long series of whining, moaning, and me, myself, and I. Oh, Paula. How could you willingly have placed yourself in a bad light like this? I'm sure you are the fine, talented, and compassionate person you claim to be, but don't you see how you are coming across?Posted by Ms. Place
7 comments:
KAthy's sold out...I thought...? the computor? right?
Yes, she did. Thanks for the reminder, Damsel. But she doesn't have her own product line, and she didn't sell out all the products she helped to sell. Good catch.
I've only seen one and a half episodes of Paula, and i was in an insomniac haze, but the thing about Paula that struck me is:
she seems like a slightly insane child. really. she doesn't have a clue. also, at times, something about the way she speaks in her "narration" segments reminded me terrifyingly of Michael Jackson.
I like crazy, but Paula's crazy is both pathetic and self-important, a combination that leaves me feeling contemptuous and not too compassionate.
Can't watch even a small segment of Paula's show without thinking of the song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me"--just the title that is. So much self-absorption and self-pity combined with so little self-awareness just makes for one pathetic mess.
You are dead on. Whenever I watch Kathy I just think "I want to be her best friend" cause she makes even the most desperate situation hilarious. I watched like half of Paula and the woman is insane. She moans and whines about how hard her life is when she has nothing more than typical life inconviences. I <3 Kathy, I < / 3 Paula
I remember in an earlier routine Kathy did a riff on Macy Gray: "I don't know exactly what is wrong with her... but there is definitely some form of mental retardation... "
That is how I feel when I watch Paula. I've only seen one episode and bits of others. It is too excrutiating to watch.
If I could watch it with Kathy Griffin -- now that would be funny!
LOL, yeah, Trixie, watching Hey Paula with Kathy would be a blast.
Great post, Ms. Place. You observations are spot on. I just cannot bring myself to watch Paula's show. I feel bad for her; I really do.
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