The field has been narrowed down to three: JR, Rob and Ricki. And it's time for the finals! I've been trying to figure out all day who I'm rooting for. I want to say JR, but if he doesn't perform tonight, I guess it would have to be Rob. I like Derek, but Ricki puts me off for some reason. So I'll decide after watching tonight's dances and let you know. I realize you are all on pins and needles.
Brooke and Tom introduce the three final couples and they take the floor. First up tonight will be Ricki and Derek. Carrie Ann will be helping Ricki get ready for her cha cha. Carrie Ann says that Ricki has got the technique down but she needs to work on her sexiness. Ricki's body issues come up AGAIN because she obviously thinks that bigger girls can't be sexy, and she really needs to get over that. I mean, look at Christina Hendricks for an example of a woman who is not tiny and yet is sex on a stick. Ricki has got to be over forty. Isn't it time to let those hang-ups go and feel sexy no matter what your size? Gah, she is so frustrating.
So let's see if she brought out the sexy. Here's what I don't get about Ricki's performances: everyone talks about how awesome her technique is, and it's good, but I don't think it's great. She's not as good as a Nicole Scherzinger or even a Jennifer Grey. Her turns and footwork are both sharp, but her hip action is non-existent. I think that's what leads to the charges of being unsexy; her midsection is completely stiff and rigid. Compare that to JR's rolling hips, and there's a huge difference. It's a good, fast routine, and Ricki doesn't miss a step, but there's still something missing. I wouldn't give her a perfect 10 for that, but the judges probably will.
Judges? Len says it was good, though it could have been a little more fluid at times. Bruno thinks she's never been hotter or sexier, and while he agrees with Len, he thinks it was fantastic. Carrie Ann thinks Ricki was living the dance, although she saw the moments that Len saw, where she seemed to get mixed up on a pass or a transition. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 9.
Last week, Rob came on strong and showed that he belongs in the finals. Rob has the waltz, and he's struggling. Bruno comes in to help him and tries to get him to puff his chest out and walk like a prince. It seems to work; Rob looks a lot more graceful. Will he be able to translate it to the dance floor? Hmm. I actually kind of blame the choreography for this one. There's too many points where Rob has to walk or scuttle across the dance floor and he's not good at it. This dance seemed to really feature Cheryl, and not emphasize Rob's good points. The parts in hold were good; his arms and carriage were graceful. But when he took steps, he was sometimes pigeon-toed and his butt was sticking out again.
Judges? Bruno loved the fluidity, but noticed that Rob messed up the footwork at times. Carrie Ann thinks Rob is the male Cinderella, and she's psyched at how far he's come, despite his small mistakes. Len liked the holds and the posture, even if it got heavy at times. Len calls it "simple, but...simply beautiful." Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 9. I thought they might get at least one 8, but again, I thought it was more a failure of choreography than dancing.
JR had an ankle injury last week and kind of screwed the pooch, but he still made it through because Hope sucked. JR goes to see a doctor and finds out that his ankle isn't fractured, so he can still dance. Len comes to visit JR in the studio to give him tips on how to work his hips, and also to give him a pep talk on how Karina has never won so JR needs to win it for her. Well, their routine is really fun and JR is back, attitude-wise. That said, his ankle or whatever still seems to be affecting him; he doesn't have the hip action that he's had in routines, and he screws up a few times and Karina has to get him back on track. He tries to hide it, but it's pretty obvious that he got lost and had to restart. I think the pressure of the finals and his injury might be getting to him and he lost it for a moment or two.
Judges? Carrie Ann can't even talk at first because the crowd is going nuts. Carrie Ann thinks that people fall in love with his spirit when he dances, but tonight his musicality is off, and she wants him to bring it in his three dances. Len notes that JR did a lot of that dance solo, but it wasn't that good and there were a lot of mistakes, probably due to his enthusiasm. Bruno liked the mood they set, and even if his technique wasn't always right on, his character was right there. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 7 and Bruno 9. JR admits to Brooke that he did screw up a few times, and Karina knows that they're going to come back with their freestyle.
Speaking of the freestyle, it's time for those to rev up with Ricki and Derek going first. I know I say this every season but the show hypes these freestyles and they are probably my least favorite routines. Derek and Ricki work on their freestyle and Derek is actually really mean to her, telling her that she's not good and she needs to shut her face. He explains via interview that every time he's been really hard on her in rehearsals, she's done great in the performance. I believe it; nothing Derek can say is worse than what Ricki says to herself in her head, I'm sure. But it was odd to hear Derek be so harsh; I don't know if he's always like that and they don't show it, or if he's truly just using it as a motivational technique.
Their freestyle starts with a giant picture of Fat Ricki on the stage, and she was bigger when she started, but this has obviously been distorted because she wasn't THAT big. Derek does flips towards the picture and Ricki bursts out of it. Not my cup, but at least it didn't last long. You know what I'm loving about this freestyle? It's not hip hop or contemporary. It's kind of a quickstep, to be honest, and there's some Latin in there -- maybe samba or salsa? I don't know enough about the steps to tell you, but it's definitely combining two different types of dance. Ricki does a great job with the footwork and they are mostly smooth going into and out of the tricks. For the last lift, Ricki lies across Derek's shoulders like a board and he just spins her around like a million times, so she stumbles a bit when she retains her feet. It maybe wasn't as flashy as some, but Ricki didn't miss a step and it just looked good. Not perfect, but really good.
Judges? Len thought it was fun and entertaining, even if she lost it a little in the quickstep section. Bruno thought it was an amazing combination of the salsa and the quickstep, since they are very opposite in movements, but she managed it. Carrie Ann loved the same thing and pointed out how smooth they were going into and out of the lifts, except for the last one where Ricki stumbled a bit at the end, because Derek spun her around like a top. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 9. The judges are actually scoring this season instead of handing out 10s like candy. I like it.
Heh, as Tom introduces the segment you can see in the background that Kirstie Alley is sitting with Maks in the audience. It goes Kirstie, Maks, Val, Hope. Kirstie and Maks are yukking it up and having a great time, Val is smiling, and Hope is ice cold and scowling. That says so much.
Anyway, Rob and Cheryl are up . Cheryl explains that she's done three freestyles. She won twice, and lost once. She decides to do a routine that starts out slow and ends fast. So Rob starts out on the stage with Cheryl on a piano. It's very '30s style as they dance to "Minnie the Moocher." It's pretty good in the beginning, but I love right before the fast part kicks in and you can see Cheryl kind of look at Rob like, "Are you ready for this?" with a devilish look and then they go hopping and kicking across the ballroom and turn it into a Charleston. For his part, Rob doesn't seem to miss a step, even with some difficult lifts thrown in. It was really good. Not perfect, but really good. I've liked these first two freestyles as much as I've liked any freestyle ever; let's hope JR continues that trend.
Judges? Bruno tells him that it was a brilliant concept with brilliant execution and Rob is peaking at the right time. Carrie Ann thinks you have to blow the judges away to get a perfect ten, and she's blown away. Len knows that Rob gave it his all, and he and his family should be proud. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10 and Bruno 10. Rob is surprised to get a perfect score, especially because the routine was so, so difficult. He seriously still hasn't caught his breath.
JR and Karina decide to do a Latin-tinged dance, since JR is Latin and has had luck with those routines. They work on the stunts and there's one I totally don't understand where JR has to jump on Karina's head or something? And it never quite works out in rehearsals, and JR is worried that he's going to hurt her. I thought they were going to take it out, but then in this morning's rehearsals, it looks like everything continued to go horribly wrong. Karina cried, and JR tried to soothe her. You guys, I'm kind of worried. I hope no one gets injured.
Well, they didn't screw up any of the lifts, THANK GOD! They nailed a particularly scary-looking one in the opening and I think that gave them the confident to get through the rest. It was Latin-flavored, but mostly contemporary, meaning that they didn't really dance in hold at all, which means I'm less likely to enjoy it. But they had a TON of energy. They were out-of-sync at times, which wasn't great, but they nailed all the lifts and got the crowd going, so that's worth something. It was good, but it was everything I hate about the freestyle round.
Judges? Carrie Ann's critique consists of dancing and she thought those were the "sickest lifts [she's] ever seen." Len thought the routine revealed Karina's body and JR's talent. Bruno liked the "animal physicality" and quite a comeback. JR is so fired up that he takes a victory lap. As they wait for scores, JR looks like he might have a heart attack. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10 and Bruno 10. Wow, what a coincidence that their two scores add up to the same as Ricki and Derek's, huh?
Man, who would have thought that Rob would be on top going into the final night of the show? Not me. But I do think he deserved it. They dance again tomorrow night, then one couple is eliminated, and then the final two do an instant samba. This was a good finals. No bad feelings, no fights, just couples who are truly teams and some great dancing. Any of them could win and I'd be fine. Even Ricki.