Carrey raises money to finance the ongoing search for his dignity (not pictured). / Michael Becker/FOX
Spoilerage for last night’s American Idol elimination coming up–after the break!
Once again last night, American Idol proved itself to be a ritual spectacle of humiliation that builds entertainers up only to tear them down. I don’t mean the singers. I mean Jim Carrey. How cringeworthy was it to see him dressed up in an elephant suit, flacking his Fox animated movie Horton Hears a Who? Yes, yes, I know, he slyly acknowledged and made fun of the fact that he was shilling a Fox movie on a Fox show–“the elephant in the room,” he called it–but protective irony only gets you so far in this situation. You’re still wearing a damn elephant suit.
The elimination itself–David Hernandez is free to go back to the “pizza bistro” and/or strip club–was not very surprising. More commentworthy were all the bits surrounding the elimination. Having decided that there was not enough cheesy padding in the bloated hourlong results show, the producers have now added an audience call-in segment. Yes, American Idol is now a radio show!
Finally, the other bit of Idol-Horton flackery–they sent the finalists to the movie’s premiere–helped cement my support for Amanda Overmyer: “I met the lead singer of REO Speedwagon! That was killer!” Keep on rollin’, Amanda.