Episode Report Card Kim: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Triple Play
By Kim | Season 13 | Episode 17 | Aired on 11.14.2011
Time for sob stories! First up: Hope. She was a tomboy growing up, but her parents got divorced. And then her Vietnam vet dad kidnapped her and her brother and got arrested in front of them. Then she reconnected with him when she found him homeless, and he started coming to all her games. Then her dad died right before the 2007 World Cup and the coach pulled her from the game. The team lost, and Hope talked to the press about how the coach made a huge mistake. Oops. Eventually, she got back onto the team and that's where she is today.
I'm not sure how any of that relates to dancing, but okay. Their tango is filled with athletic and impressive lifts, but the problem is that Hope shows no grace getting into or out of them. It just looks awkward. Maks did a good job of choreographing movements to show off Hope's height and long limbs, and about half the dance looks good, but the other half looks ungainly. Hope still doesn't offer precise placement of her hands and feet - she just throws her arms and legs out and they land wherever. I can't believe no one has called her on that yet.
Len thought it was "far, far better than their paso doble" and that the lifts were clean. Bruno also thought it was much better and more controlled. Really? Carrie Ann saw more fluidity of movement and they were working together. Carrie Ann does point out that the ins and outs of the lifts were not graceful, and she also snaps at Maks for smiling, which happens off camera so we don't see it. She obviously thought he was being a dick, and knowing Maks, he probably was. Hope tells Brooke that she thinks "they" wanted her off the show from day one. Oh, Jesus. Please let her get eliminated. I can't take this bullshit persecution complex she's got going. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8. Carrie Ann sounds PISSED. Hope and Maks are kind of ruining what should be a fun and funny show for me. Get over yourselves.
JR was raised by a single mom who told him to always keep smiling. He joined the Army to serve the country and get money for college. And then he was driving a Humvee while they hit a landmine. Afterwards, JR admits that he was really depressed because he didn't think he could ever be in a relationship because his face would scare people. His mom told him that someone would love him for what was inside. And he has a really hot girlfriend (who weirdly kind of looks like Cheryl). And JR thinks that positivity is his secret to success. I would agree with that. Very few people have been dealt such a hand, and even fewer have embraced the challenges and just gotten on with it. Get that, Hope? Still feel like whining about your scores?