S11.E04: Trump: The Rusical

[OnceSane]

Quote

The queens get political in a “Grease" inspired musical set in the “Trump School For Girls”. Rachel Maddow makes a guest appearance, while Tiffany “New York” Pollard and Joel McHale guest judge.

Airs March 21, 2019.

[Temperance]

These judges seem completely random. 

[laschifosavita]

Can we keep New York? I think we deserve to keep New York around permanently.

[DanielleC.]

Not a fan of Rusicals but it was funny and a good episode... Only major thing I disagree: Silky shouldnt even be in the top 3, even less win the challenge (Yvie earned the runway and the performance). Once again Silky did just a ok job but got helped with a good character/ and special effects... For me, top 3 this week (and becoming my top 3 of the season so far) was on this exactly particular order: Yvie, Brooke and Nina. Personaly I think even Sugar and Scarlett were above Silky this week.

On the bottom tho, it was spot on. I´m glad they adressed the fact that Vangie is unable to perform a character besides her own drag character (she tried to do those dead drops to hide how zero connection she had with the character, it didnt worked), Ra´Jah still thinks shes way better than she is and Mercedezz.. shes a darling, this experience was nice for her, she brought a important subject to the table but on runway/performance/personality, she was the clear choice to leave. 

Lip sync was ok, it could have being waay better with better performers... At leat Ra´Jah was giving about 70% of the energy the song request while Merceds was giving 20%....

Producers: Quite trying to make Brooke and Vangie romance happen!

Edited March 22, 2019 by DanielleC.

[rustyspigot]

YEEEEAHHHH! Michelle was pissed at Joel. He was looking good.

Please keep New York. Her laughing as Silky made her way (slowly) down the runway.

No one is really pulling ahead which is OK.

Never thought I would see a Rosie O'Donnell impersonation that included a death drop, but here we are.

Edited March 22, 2019 by rustyspigot

[AntManBee]

I feel like Joel picked up on Michelle's hatred. And TrumpTrolled her for it.  

[Temperance]

Michelle V has seemed off this season or at least in the last couple of episodes. She has less energy and is quieter. 

[zulualpha]

Its amazing how many talented queens they were able to cast for this season considering it’s #11. The looks have been original and beautiful and the personalities are intense. There seems to be potential for lots of good drama as the competition heats up.  And Brooklyn and Vanjie! Did not see that coming. Love it.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I understand why Mercedes would have trouble reading certain English "words" off the teleprompter (ginormous?) but Silky the PhD was not too great, either. I hope someone later explained how to pronounce "colonel." Vangie was not a great reader, either.

Why didn't they show us how Vangie helped Silky decide to give Oprah her all (and why was she even in need of such advice?) instead of having Silky tell us? And with both Silky and Yvie on the stage, Untucked was quite benign.

Does anyone think that Ru would want the unpredictable Silky representing the show as the winner? I think Yvie, for example, would be a much better spokesperson as well as a breath of fresh air. And since Ru and the others agree on how Yvie's been doing something completely different and exciting, why not encourage her by giving her the win? I will agree that Silky's runway was probably her best so far.

Edited March 22, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Blakeston]

The second Silky started doing well in the challenge, there was no question Ru was giving her the win.

She’ll do what she can to keep Silky on the show as long as possible. Someone who’s that loud and dramatic is like gold to reality TV producers.

Edited March 22, 2019 by Blakeston

[Fake Jan Brady]

I was distracted during the Rusical by how hard Ru was laughing. It wasn't that funny. It was hardly funny at all.

I enjoyed the choreographer; he's no Alyssa but he was fresher than Todrick.

That photo of Brooke Lynn from her ballet dancing days made me jealous of Miss Vanjie.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ooh, Ra'Jah, GIRL. If you're going to tell a world famous choreographer that you have all this dance experience and list multiple dance styles, you'd better bring it. You can't futz around and then say, "Well, I haven't danced for fifteen years." Brooke Lynn, on the other hand, was able to demonstrate her ballet skills on the spot.

This musical wasn't as bad as some of the skits we've seen in previous seasons (although maybe I was just distracted by all the dancing). For me, the standouts were Brooke Lynn, Nina West, and Yvie. I was worried about Ariel after her disastrous rehearsal, but she wasn't kidding when she said that she practiced her ass off. She didn't stand out during the challenge as "OMG who is that girl who can't dance?" so that was a huge improvement. I loved that Silky thought being cast as Oprah was a minor part and then it ended up being a great solo.

Hahaha, loved that the runway theme was orange!

I loved Yvie's orange big top/circus look. It was so distinct, unique, and memorable. I also loved that it was immediately recognizable (I hate when I see a costume/look and I can't tell exactly what it's supposed to be).

Plastique Tiara's butterfly was pretty. This was a good example of how to accessorize a leotard so it looks like an actual costume.

Ra'Jah's runway look was not a catsuit (as she described it). That was a leotard with chaps. Girls, it's season 11. A bedazzled leotard is not going to cut it.

I liked Nina West's Hello Dolly costume (coincidentally, I just saw Hello Dolly for the first time last week and Betty Buckley was great!). I think she could have even pushed it a little more and made it even more over the top.

Scarlet Envy's dress was really beautiful.

A'Keria's rhinestone outfit was amazing!

Silky's orange gown was pretty.

I liked Ariel's runway look better before the reveal. Once she took off the top layer, it was just a leotard.

Mercedes' look was giving me samba realness. Loved the huge orange feather boa hair which helped elevate the leotard look but again, a leotard.

Vanjie's showgirl look was good, particularly that huge headdress, but I'm with Michelle - I really need her to wear something besides a corset on the runway.

Brooke Lynn's Fifth Element runway look was great! Now that's how you do a catsuit on the runway.

Shuga Cain's Trump look was hilarious. Bonus points for the white eye area. Ha, and the bag of Cheetos!

I would have given the win to Yvie or Brooke Lynn but Ru obviously likes Silky.

Ra'Jah was clearly the winner of that LSFYL. Mercedes was trying desperately to keep up and failing. Mercedes is a sweet girl so I'm sorry to see her go. I'm glad that she had her epiphany before she was eliminated.

ETA: I was cracking up at Brooke Lynn's "Silky buys her makeup at Office Depot!"

Edited March 22, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[worleybird]

Miss Vanjie looked more like Taraji P Henson than Rosie O.

[Juneau Gal]

Silky winning was bs. Silky claiming to have a graduate degree appears also to be bs considering the level of literacy she displayed at the TelePrompTer. I’m not a fan and will be happy when she is eliminated.......but I fear she will be allowed to stay until the bitter end. 

[JakeyJokes]

My friend is a dance teacher and choreographer and won a class from Yanis once! I will have to ask him for any T.

I was lucky enough to attend Denver Pride last year (Chad Michaels is basically the city's drag mother). Yvie is representative of a lot of its drag, and I think Nina described it very well on Untucked. It's not the most polished, but it's very genuine in its eccentricity.

New York complimented my costume on Halloween so I am biased, but she was a really good judge. Joel was like the idiot in high school bothering Michelle the nerd. Don't tell me there was no sexual tension there.

Sad to see my hometown girl Mercedes go, but it was her time and she made Minneapolis proud!

I think Ru's criticism of Vanjie was on the nose - she's Alyssa Edwards 2.0. She is hilarious as herself but has yet to figure out how to be hilarious as something else. For her career, she doesn't need to, but for this show, she does. It will be very interesting it she makes it to Snatch Game.

I hate to rag on anyone's education as a 3 time dropout, but I am thinking Silky has one of those profit-school Ph.D's. I didn't mind her winning, but I did mind her pulling an Aja S9 and bitching about having the small part, especially when it's so obvious she is doing anything she can to get camera time.

Edited March 22, 2019 by JakeyJokes

[Ruby Gillis]

I thought the queens performed well, but I wish they had been able to use the actual Grease music and change the lyrics.  Wouldn't it be covered under parody laws?

[SFoster21]

New York must be ninety by now.  She’s so botoxed that she is unrecognizable.

[GoldenGirl90]

Long time lurker, first time posting on this thread 🙂 

Some random comments while watching:

I love when the girls are doing their makeup and they begin sharing their personal stories. Very touching and often times heartbreaking.

New York looks so... different. She was beautiful as a brown-skinned woman. I’m not sure if she did something to her skin or if it’s just the lighting, her makeup, or all three but... she doesn’t look anything like she did more than a decade ago. 

Sidenote: I think Silky meant gerrymandering, not gentrification, but Mama Ru corrected her.

The choreographer was a shady bitch and I love it, lol.

The Trump Rusical was cute.

I know a lot of people feel some type of way about Silky winning but I’m okay with it. 

[Glade]

Silky's runway look was a really basic gown, I'm surprised she was praised and not read for it, just like the girls who wore another damn leotard.  She didn't deserve that win just because she looked like Oprah and causes a lot of on-set drama.  Yvie was amazing tonight.  Shade; The Rusical was the best because the queens were actually singing and giving amazing performances; I'm not sure why this year it was a lipsync, but either way I wasn't into it.  Naturally, since they filmed this last year, the politics are going to be outdated; where was AOC?

Edited March 22, 2019 by Glade

[JakeyJokes]

I saw New York in person last fall and she didn't look excessively Botoxed (or lighter-skinned). But maybe she had just had a procedure and it hadn't settled before filming?

[Pallida]

6 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

I hate to rag on anyone's education as a 3 time dropout, but I am thinking Silky has one of those profit-school Ph.D's. I didn't mind her winning, but I did mind her pulling an Aja S9 and bitching about having the small part, especially when it's so obvious she is doing anything she can to get camera time.

I’ll admit I have a bias as I’m struggling to finish up a PhD program, but I’m really irritated that Ru keeps calling her doctor. Silky said she applied to a PhD program, not that she was admitted or was working on it. When she said what the program would be in, I also wondered if it was a predatory for-profit program simply because of how it was named.

I’m not going to rag on anybody struggling to read a teleprompter though. I don’t read at a distance quickly, so I’m sure I’d struggle with it too. The colonel thing amused me, in part because I can see speaking quickly without fully engaging the brain just to keep up with the scroll. 

[Jesse]

22 minutes ago, Pallida said:

I’ll admit I have a bias as I’m struggling to finish up a PhD program, but I’m really irritated that Ru keeps calling her doctor. Silky said she applied to a PhD program, not that she was admitted or was working on it. When she said what the program would be in, I also wondered if it was a predatory for-profit program simply because of how it was named.

I’m not going to rag on anybody struggling to read a teleprompter though. I don’t read at a distance quickly, so I’m sure I’d struggle with it too. The colonel thing amused me, in part because I can see speaking quickly without fully engaging the brain just to keep up with the scroll. 

It's not like Ru is calling her "Dr [Actual Last Name]," though. "Dr Ganache" makes me laugh every time. (Full disclosure: I have a terminal master's.)

[2727]

2 hours ago, Alexis2291 said:

The choreographer was a shady bitch and I love it, lol.

I did too, while still feeling bad for the girls who got eviscerated.

Although none of the choreography we saw was in the final show...

[Ananayel]

This should have been my favorite episode. It had Joel McHale, who I adore. It had New York, who is my favorite reality tv person possibly ever. And surprise Rachel Maddow! Surprise disgused Ginger Minj! I did enjoy parts of it, but I guess I'm so trumped out I could barely watch the Rusical. None of the Trump women are remotely funny to me at this point. I don't know when this was filmed, so maybe it seemed like a better idea then, but right now, I think it's too late and too much has happened for Sarah Sanders' eye makeup and Kelly Anne Conway's broomstick "chic" to be funny. Though, please tell me they spoofed the Putin/Trump/Nunes Human Centipede meme. I thought I saw that, but then thought, naw.

[Not4Me]

None of the queens have really irritated me so far (not even Silky with her sometimes extra moments) so I guess that’s good. In fact they all seem to be acting like supporting sisters which I haven’t seen in years on this show. 

I’ve been feeling A'Keria they last few episodes (ever since she tasered Silky as the DMV clerk), she really knows how to bring it both in the acting challenges and on the runway. And I never imagined I’d like Scarlet.

More hot Joel Mchale please!

[Destiny74]

Rusicals are my least favorite challenges because they all seem to be poorly written and not entertaining.

That being said, this one was the worst.  Very little laughter from the judges.  Ru laughed a bit but it seemed put on and strained.  Trump:The Rusical  just WAS NOT FUNNY.  

Dump the Rusicals.  They all suck.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Destiny74

[Koalagirl]

Michelle Visage’s poorly disguised annoyance with Joel McHale makes me wonder if she resented any non flattering comments he may have made about her on The Soup.  

[Juneau Gal]

9 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

Rusicals are my least favorite challenges because they all seem to be poorly written and not entertaining.

That being said, this one was the worst.  Very little laughter from the judges.  Ru laughed a bit but it seemed put on and strained.  Trump:The Rusical  just WAS NOT FUNNY.  

Dump the Rusicals.  They all suck.

I simply cannot find any humor in anything Trump related. I watch this show for a respite from him; this Rusical was not welcome. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Question: the queens were obviously told they'd have an orange-themed runway, but did Suga coincidentally choose a Trump-themed outfit, did the queens know that there was a Trump connection before they came, or did Suga switch plans once she found out about the connection? I'd be most impressed if she had planned that outfit ahead of time, not knowing the connection, as that was a risky move.

Edited March 24, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Blakeston]

On 3/22/2019 at 6:40 PM, JakeyJokes said:

I saw New York in person last fall and she didn't look excessively Botoxed (or lighter-skinned). But maybe she had just had a procedure and it hadn't settled before filming?

She's been open about having had various procedures. I've been hearing people make comments about her looking extremely different for a few years now.

36 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Question: the queens were obviously told they'd have an orange-themed runway, but did Suga coincidentally choose a Trump-themed outfit, did the queens know that there was a Trump connection before they came, or did Suga switch plans once she found out about the connection? I'd be most impressed if she had planned that outfit ahead of time, not knowing the connection, as that was a risky move.

Based on what past queens have said about what they're told in advance, they were probably just told that the runway theme was orange.

And at this point, Trump is so strongly associated with the color orange that I'm not surprised someone made the connection.

[amykay9377]

Because of personal preferences, I didn't find this episode funny at all.

Rachel M was trying way too hard to be funny in the taped segments, but she didn't land. I was amazed at how many of these folks couldn't f'in read a teleprompter, but... benefit of the doubt - I have bad eyes, so maybe I couldn't read it either.

The Rusical was just terrible. The descriptions of the characters were asinine, and the way the characters were portrayed was just bad. I only made it through 2 minutes before muting it. But I spent more time hating the Werkroom Talk than the show itself.

I felt really bad for Nina. His story was terrible! In the 90s, "gay" was the new "black" in terms of who to gang up on, and I can totally believe shit like that happened (was he actually going to be murdered, probably not, but the assholes put the fear in him, and that's bad enough!). Hugs to him.

But I'll end it on a positive... Brook Lynn's dance photo was amazing! That choreographer brought all the shade! And Joel McHale (so meaty!) can come back and YEAH! to Michelle any time!

Edited March 24, 2019 by amykay9377

[Rosenrot]

This has made me want to steal the line "the next time you bring me talent, make sure they're talent-ed" line from South Park's Guitar Queer-o episode and adapt it as "the next time you wanna make fun of something, make sure you're fun-ny". I'm all for making fun of Trump, but this = not funny. Ginger was the best thing about this episode. ❤️ And I thought all the girls performed well, so that was nice, at least. 

I had to google who Tiffany Pollard is. And I've seen both seasons of Flavor of Love! Shame. 

I'm just gonna point this out in every single post: Plastique is so beautiful. 

Sweden mentioned! 

On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 4:42 AM, DanielleC. said:

Producers: Quite trying to make Brooke and Vangie romance happen!

Was there something in Untucked or did I just miss that? 😮

Edited March 24, 2019 by Rosenrot

[belligerent]

7 hours ago, amykay9377 said:

Rachel M was trying way too hard to be funny in the taped segments, but she didn't land. I was amazed at how many of these folks couldn't f'in read a teleprompter, but... benefit of the doubt - I have bad eyes, so maybe I couldn't read it either.

I feel like a couple of them (Silky, at the very least) were probably screwing words up on purpose to get more screen time. I have a hard time believing she could make the KFC connection if she wasn't deliberately mispronouncing "colonel." The mini challenges don't always come with a great prize, so you can either win those and maybe get saddled with being put in a leadership role (and going down with the ship if it sinks) or you can do something funny and hope it becomes a meme.

Scarlet still reminds me of my ex-bf.

I'm very, very tired of trumpf but I understood more of this than the kardashian themed one. I don't think the jabs they're taking are barbed enough to be funny, though, so I'd rather they just do something else. It seemed more like a roast than anything.

[Diane Mars]

Regarding Silky and the fact she didn't wanted to be Oprah, I'm asking myself if it's not because she'd planned to be her for Snatch Game !

[vibeology]

3 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

Regarding Silky and the fact she didn't wanted to be Oprah, I'm asking myself if it's not because she'd planned to be her for Snatch Game !

If that's the reason, I think she could have spoken up and gotten a switch within her team. No one was trying to screw someone over with the casting and if the part would have screwed her over down the line, I get the sense most of the queens would have been willing to trade parts.

Silky was crazy wanting the lead over the 40 second comedy solo. Those 40 second solos often play better. You don't have to be on as long so you get to go big quickly, get a moment all to yourself and don't have a chance to be upstaged because it's a solo. It's very clear what sort of parts Ru responds to and rewards in these musicals and sketches and they're rarely the lead.

[Rai]

When Silky does up her face, she's absolutely beautiful. And her Oprah was beyond. Like. Damn. Reached through my screen and pinned me to my seat. 

The Rusical overall was fine. Brooke Lynn was good, Nina was good, Yvie was good, and even though she just played herself again, Vangie still made me laugh so much. No one was outright TERRIBLE. It's just extremely hard for me to find joy with anything Trump-related these days. That said, Suga's outfit on the Runway was absolutely great. 

If I were Michelle, I probably would've gone nuts sitting next to Joel, but again, on my TV? YEAH!

[sarahlee]

On 3/22/2019 at 12:06 PM, Juneau Gal said:

Silky winning was bs. Silky claiming to have a graduate degree appears also to be bs considering the level of literacy she displayed at the TelePrompTer. I’m not a fan and will be happy when she is eliminated.......but I fear she will be allowed to stay until the bitter end. 

Silky has extremely bad eyesight. Like - really, really bad. She is highly educated, but it seems everyone had trouble with the prompter - not just Silky.

[reallymadcow]

Silky read the word “colonel” so she could read it—she didn’t know how to pronounce it. That’s not an eyesight thing. That’s an ignorance thing. 

[Earmuffs Mom]

I mentioned last week I was sick of the parade of leotards on the runway.  I'm glad Michelle finally mentioned it and someone mentioned in Untucked how Michelle hates leotards.  

Vanjie has an IG post up today snuggling with Brooke Lynn.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Joel's continuous "yeah"s to Michelle's growing annoyance is already one of my fave moments of 2019 and it's only March. Love loved him! My boyfriend couldn't recall who New York until I said Flavor of Love and that Pumkin spit on her. The things we remember. SMH 

My fave: Yvie's talking heads, runway and performance as the Cryptkeeper v.2 aka Kellyanne Conway. Honorable mention: Ginger Minj as the orange tumor currently entrenched in the White House. 

The other standouts for me were Nina, Brook Lynn and Shuga. Silky as the winner? Uh sure? 

[Carrots4]

Coming to this late, it’s interesting to see what Yvie’s condition actually entails, since Jameela Jamil says she suffers from the same condition. 

Joel McHale’s enthusiasm is kind of endearing. Watching Michelle get annoyed by it is a bonus.