S07.E08: Santa's School for Girls

[Keywestclubkid]

Ho ho ho! The queens make the yuletide gayer as they star in the twisted new holiday cult classic, "Santa's School for Girls." Acclaimed film director Janicza Bravo brings her expertise to set, and reviews the queens' performances on the judges panel. 

[Taeolas]

The Vivienne blew the movie out of the water, but Raja owned that lip sync. 

(PS: Called it :) ) And it does look like Raja is going to question the Plunger's secret next week too, being the only one still in the dark. 

[Christine]

Jinkx would have been as good if not better, but Trinity had debts to pay when casting.

[davidcalgary29]

And Jinkx turned a completely nothing role into something to treasure and savour. I'm all for a Raja win, anytime, but it was criminal not to consider her for the win. As good as The Vivienne was, Jinkx's performance was so much more impressive because of what she was given to work with in the first place.

[30 Helens]

I get that all these queens are great and don’t really need the criticism, but in this case, a little criticism was warranted. The acting was completely over the top, and not in a good way. When you’re at a steady 10, nothing stands out. Viv needed to dial that performance back about 40% so she could punch certain lines in a way that would be actually funny, not Ru fake-laugh funny.  And maybe it’s just me, but I thought Raja’s line about Santa coming put the emphasis on all the wrong words. 

I would have liked to see what Jinkx would do with either of those roles. This is not bitterness, I love Raja and still like Viv (although she’s starting to wear my patience), but I think Jinkx could have saved that very horrible sketch. She was not at her best this episode (although I would have placed her in the top 2), but I blame her scenery chewing on trying to stand out in a very loud field.

I wasn’t a big fan of the runway looks, either. I appreciated Shea’s neck rings, but the rest of that looked like she stopped off at the pool toy aisle at Walmart. Overall, I think this was the weakest episode yet.

[davidcalgary29]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

I would have liked to see what Jinkx would do with either of those roles. This is not bitterness, I love Raja and still like Viv (although she’s starting to wear my patience), but I think Jinkx could have saved that very horrible sketch. She was not at her best this episode (although I would have placed her in the top 2), but I blame her scenery chewing on trying to stand out in a very loud field.

This was actually one of my favourite acting challenges for Jinkx -- the part was terrible, as were all of the "Mean Girls" -- and what else could she have done with it? All of her character choices and vocalizations for the role were pretty amazing. I think that the editors agreed, as well, because she got an awful lot of screentime in the final edit for a performance that wasn't even cited to be in the top four. She even got the final scene! I think that she wasn't placed in the top because production wanted the Viv to win and block her again.

[stormy weather]

1 hour ago, davidcalgary29 said:

This was actually one of my favourite acting challenges for Jinkx -- the part was terrible, as were all of the "Mean Girls" -- and what else could she have done with it? All of her character choices and vocalizations for the role were pretty amazing. I think that the editors agreed, as well, because she got an awful lot of screentime in the final edit for a performance that wasn't even cited to be in the top four. She even got the final scene! I think that she wasn't placed in the top because production wanted the Viv to win and block her again.

I absolutely agree. One might think the girls are plotting and scheming with this plunger twist, but really it's just Ru manoeuvring from behind the scenes. In the end, since everyone is getting positive critiques (which I'm also not really on board with, because one, the queens are not all great, all the time, and two, what about the other seasons? I've seen bad looks here being praised 10 times more than some fantastic outfits that were completely crushed by the judges on other seasons), Ru is entirely free to choose who to put in the top two according to who she thinks is going to block who(m?) and hinder their chances at a final win.

Apart from that, I just wanted to say Raja might be the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my life. She is stunning! But yeah, Jinkx is one cut above the rest and I also enjoyed Trinity's and, surprisingly as she's not among my favorites usually, Monet's performances in the challenge. She has excellent comedic timing.

[Glade]

Raja definitely deserved that win; she nailed the part and her runway look was out of this world, and brought me back to the first and best Drag Queens In Space acting challenge, which I wish they would straight up reboot rather then coming up with some of this crap.  Raja and Jinx were the only performances I really remember from this painfully long, drawn out skit.  But the 'alliance' blocking Jinx and giving Monet a part she did nothing with was some bullshit. 

[TallulahBelle]

Yeah, Viv had no light and shade in her comedic timing for me, it was all at 100, so I wouldn't have given her a top 2 spot.  I really thought maybe Shea was going to be top two with Raja's take on Nancy from the Craft - Shea did a really great job with the timing in the 'straight' role of the Final Girl, Sydney from Scream trope and her runway made the entire judging panel gasp, so I really didn't get that judging outside of Ru wants the final 4 to be who she wants it to be (why she doesn't want Shea there, I don't quite understand, but you do you, Ru . . . )

[violet and green]

I was surprised when Raja was in the top two, but she absolutely killed that lip sync and I loved her reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor in her blonder 1980s phase eye-makeup and wig.

[theatremouse]

I don't know how to read this show anymore. I mean, I know Ru wants over the top over acting in these challenges, but I've always thought there was intentionally-over-the-top and bad-acting over-the-top and they wanted the former and not the latter. To me, Raja in this challenge was very much the latter. I also thought what The Vivienne did (especially some of the facial stuff) was probably hilarious to see in person, but in the actual scenes didn't really work. The editing to make the scene show what is needed to show meant you either missed some of that - or the moment dragged in order to let you see it. That said, I don't know who I thought should've won. They were all adequate. No one was amazingly more hilarious than another. Jinx is wonderful and made that character something out of practically nothing, but the writing was still meh enough that I wouldn't put her on top. Shea had the difficult task of playing the normal one, and did it well, but who gets rewarded for being the normal one? No one. And Trinity was funnier when she actually had trouble reading the script than when she tried to repro that by actually doing the character.

[davidcalgary29]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

I don't know how to read this show anymore. I mean, I know Ru wants over the top over acting in these challenges, but I've always thought there was intentionally-over-the-top and bad-acting over-the-top and they wanted the former and not the latter. To me, Raja in this challenge was very much the latter. I also thought what The Vivienne did (especially some of the facial stuff) was probably hilarious to see in person, but in the actual scenes didn't really work. The editing to make the scene show what is needed to show meant you either missed some of that - or the moment dragged in order to let you see it. That said, I don't know who I thought should've won. They were all adequate. No one was amazingly more hilarious than another. Jinx is wonderful and made that character something out of practically nothing, but the writing was still meh enough that I wouldn't put her on top. Shea had the difficult task of playing the normal one, and did it well, but who gets rewarded for being the normal one? No one. And Trinity was funnier when she actually had trouble reading the script than when she tried to repro that by actually doing the character.

I think that the skit might have made the most sense to the two of us in the viewing audience who have seen the 1974 Canadian cult classic Black Christmas, and enjoyed it. But they really should have saved that one for Canada's Drag Race. 

I think much of the problem with the pacing and tone here lies in the fact that RuPaul wanted Boobarella, and Janicza wanted Citizen Kane. And sure, you can have both, but that's probably not going to happen with these writers. If you want to see a really well-written acting challenge, head on over to Drag Race France this week, because the one they served was pretty much the best acting challenge we'll ever see on any of the franchises. If you get all the French cultural references, that is.

Edited July 2, 2022 by davidcalgary29

[lyric]

7 hours ago, Glade said:

Raja and Jinx were the only performances I really remember from this painfully long, drawn out skit. 

Oh my gosh the skit was SO long. Brutal.

This season has been interesting in that I’d never warmed up to Trinity or Shea before, but I get the Trinity thing now; Shea less so but still like her more than before. Monet, I’ve lost a little love after being consistently petty. And Viv…haven’t warmed to her at all after her UK season or AS7.

it’s interesting that folks keep saying Ru favors Jinkx and will make sure she’s in the top 4. Why do people believe this? I don’t get the sense she prefers Jinkx and even forgot her name at some recent event. Just curious where that belief is coming from. I love Jinkx though and would like to see her win, but I’d be happy to see many of them win.

Raja is hella sexy. I didn’t love her goth performance - it was aiight - but still glad to see her in top 2.

This season has been great. They shouldn’t ever send girls home again on All Stars seasons - this is way more fun.

[Keywestclubkid]

23 minutes ago, lyric said:

They shouldn’t ever send girls home again on All Stars seasons - this is way more fun.

With ALL the positive feed back this rule change has gotten I really hope they keep it around 

[cpcathy]

Agree that the sketch was brutal! I checked out after the first scene. I thought Shea was really bad, and Viv was super annoying. Loved Jinx and Trinity. I’m confused, did the director actually direct this or is Ru just saying she did? I was put off by the camera not being on someone when theywere giving their big punchline.

Edited July 2, 2022 by cpcathy

[Blakeston]

There wasn't a single clever line in the script of this "comedy" challenge. The Daytona Winds challenge from season 14 was about 10 times more entertaining than this.

The only queen who impressed me at all with her delivery was Jinkx. I would have loved to see what she would have done with Viv's role.

Most of the contestants weren't actually bad in the challenge, but they didn't do anything interesting, either, and a lot of them didn't emphasize the right words.

I have to wonder - does Shea even want to win? She was so competitive in AS5! In that season, she acted like she was going to shatter into a million pieces if she didn't get the crown she felt she was owed. This season, she has her choice of juicy roles and picks the most nondescript one?

I think maybe she isn't confident in her ability to play wacky characters, and so she just chooses the "normal" one and hopes she doesn't embarrass herself. She did a good job playing Flava Flav in AS5's Snatch Game, though, so we know she can do comedy to some extent.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I am slowly but surely becoming a Trinity Stan. She honors her alliances, she helps people out, she makes smart choices, and she plays her own A-game every single challenge. I love that the knitted look was made by a fan and I love that she's been wearing that leopard bathrobe since before she was born. Plus she's liked a few of my tweets so I'm biased.

I love Jinkx but was a little underwhelmed. She kind of did a Christmas version of Spare Rib, IMO. I couldn't stand her exaggerated vocal fry and I don't care if it was on purpose (however, slipping occasionally into full demon was a great choice). I have a feeling that she ad-libbed a lot and the reason I feel that way is because the writing was so terrible that when something was funny it stood out. Not everything has to be a dick joke. The throwaway line "...I'm in a lot of debt" was much funnier than the enormous deal made over Santa coming. COMING. LIKE CUM. FROM A PENIS. AFTER SEX. GAY SEX. GET IT? 

I thought it was going to be her and Viv on top again but I'm not mad about Raja. She had a good performance and a next level runway. Jinkx did the best with what she had, much moreso than the other queens who got stuck with boring roles (poor Shea), and did her normal Old Hollywood runway which was good but didn't stand out. So, I imagine it came down to Ru choosing what she felt took precedence, and how it would play out from a storytelling perspective. 

I'm glad Raja won the lipsync. Viv is the better dancer but Raja brought the joy. Also as a 40-something I enjoy other 40-somethings being portrayed as something other than coffin shoppers. I'm not a huge fan of lip sync accessories and Viv has done it two times now. It felt forced with Silky and it feels forced now. 

Edited July 2, 2022 by The Mighty Peanut

[Ms.Lulu]

I thought that the challenge was too long.  Trinity, Yvie, Shea, and Jaida were meh.  Monet was okay.  I had it Viv, Jinkx and Raja at the top.

The runway was extra good this week.

I was glad that Raja won so that Jinkx didn't get blocked again.  I hate the rose gold plunger more than the chocolate bar from season 14.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[Fake Jan Brady]

11 hours ago, lyric said:

This season has been great. They shouldn’t ever send girls home again on All Stars seasons - this is way more fun.

Might have a different opinion if I was stuck with an entire season of "stars" like Serena ChaCha, India Ferrah or Derrick Barry.

[Christine]

By not eliminating anyone, we get to see all of the looks that the queens brought for each runway, rather than see them on Instagram after a queen has been eliminated.

I love Jinkx but her performance was a tad over the top in some scenes; having said that, her foot moving in time to the music after she was "killed" was priceless.

[howiveaddict]

I wanted one of the queens to do the dance from Little Miss Sunshine during the lip sync.   

[Madding crowd]

I’m in the same age range as Ru so I appreciate his references such as liking the infamous TV movie “Satan’s School For Girls”. I guess this was no better or worse than the usual skits but the lack of criticism makes it less like Drag Race and more like one of the awful holiday specials. In a normal season Viv would be critiqued for not looking at her co-stars at all during her scenes. Instead , everyone was rated amazing. I still adore Jinkx and root for her and Raja.

In terms of the runway, the judges didn’t mention Shea’s outfit was similar to other things she wore in her seasons including the plaid shirt/cape and neck rings. It seems like there are only a few episodes left and we will likely enter it with everyone at the same level due to the plunger shenanigans. I like the no elimination but not liking zero criticism.

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Madding crowd

[Wonderlad71]

I get that many people are loving this season but the lack of drama and stakes takes it down a few notches for me (AlL Stars 2 remains peak). I'm sure this format with a lack of critique will be sure to lure in the Violets and Bianca's etc who otherwise may be reluctant to return for a All Winners S02.

At the same time those lipstick eliminations on regular All Stars sucked so I hope the format gets a further shakeup next season. 

This is a fun season overall but should have been 6 episodes max (while UK vs the World should have been longer). I get that these were hosted and ordered by different channels.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Wonderlad71

[davidcalgary29]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:29 AM, Wonderlad71 said:

I get that many people are loving this season but the lack of drama and stakes takes it down a few notches for me (AlL Stars 2 remains peak). I'm sure this format with a lack of critique will be sure to lure in the Violets and Bianca's etc who otherwise may be reluctant to return for a All Winners S02.

At the same time those lipstick eliminations on regular All Stars sucked so I hope the format gets a further shakeup next season. 

This is a fun season overall but should have been 6 episodes max (while UK vs the World should have been longer). I get that these were hosted and ordered by different channels.

I think it would have been a problem for me before the drag streaming explosion that arose with the thousands of new franchises that are popping up, and all of which have maintained the traditional elimination format. This is a very nice change from that, and while some of the dramatic tension is lost in the process, we to get to see each of these great queens for the entire run of the show. 

[Mahfouz]

I have to say that the whole plunger walk has grown VERY stale. Why can't the winning queen just say who she wants to block? 

Shea and Monet continue to underwhelm.

I thought when Janicza gave Yvie advice for really emphasizing the Santa cumming part that Yvie didn't follow the brief, accolades to the contrary. 

I do think Trinity is clever but she doesn't have to have a self-deprecatory quip for EVERYTHING.

Jinkx, Raja, Jaida, Trinity for Top 4 in that order. 

The Viv can bounce back to the UK. Happy 4th!

[rlc]

Still enjoying this season, and like the format in general, but I'm definitely ready for something to happen. I have loved Jinkx for many years, and have seen them perform live multiple times (their shows with Major Scales are epic). Though I would love to see them win, they will benefit regardless by having a new demographic adore them and attend their shows- still, Jinkx is without a doubt my top choice for the win. I struggle with The Vivienne. She's definitely talented, and hasn't done anything to specifically turn me off, but I have simply never warmed to her. I remember loving Raja during her season, but upon rewatch didn't enjoy her mean girl antics. She has 100% redeemed herself, and I am thoroughly enjoying grownup Raja. Trinity is also someone that I've come around on- she is who she is, and is delightful. I'd be fine with her winning. Monet has been more likeable this season than in other seasons (she definitely has less of a chip on her shoulders) but has been somewhat underwhelming this season. Shea has also been somewhat disappointing. Yvie and Jaida have both done very well, and I hope the both see a good boost to their careers, especially Jaida who got stuck with the Covid win.