Masters of Horror: Sick Girl. My biased review

The AICN talkbackers are already chiming in. Among the quotes:

“Who would’ve guessed that Misty would be so much better than Angela Bettis, who seemed to be channeling Velma from Scooby Doo?”

“I agree about Bettis, she looked like an amateur next to Misty.”

Far from true, in my opinion, but interesting the perceptions there. I understand how Angela’s performance is a little jarring at first — I remember the first day I heard her doing that voice and thinking, “Well, that’s a little over the top.” But when I saw the performance in its entirety, I didn’t feel that at all. I think any small snippet of it is going to come off as odd, but the big picture is very human. And that’s one of the things that makes her a superior performer — she can keep the big picture in her head at all times.

To me, the episode felt too fast, like it was rushing to hit all the plot points without giving the drama time to breathe. The one-hour timeslot isn’t negotiable, but I really would like to see a slightly longer version on the DVD. There aren’t any key plot points or scenes missing from what was aired (except a minor bit of backstory with the coke-snorting waiter), but I think the pace could stand to be slower, and people would appreciate Angela’s performance more. There are so many little things she does with her eyes and small gestures that I think people are missing because there isn’t time to notice them.

But I don’t disagree with the AICN guys as regards the quality of Erin’s performance — she was great. And remember that good acting also means making your costar look good; I think Erin knew she had to step up to Angela’s game, and brought it. In Erin’s early scenes, where she’s nervously sketching in the lobby, I see echoes of some of Angela’s early scenes in MAY. But that might be because I think I may have known someone at USC who might have partially inspired that characterization.

As for Jesse, whose performance puts the “lube” in “Hlubik,” I need only defer to what Lucky said about him on set: “He’s our Bruce Campbell.”

The addition of Zach Passero’s animation was a genius touch, a dose of weirdness that just comes outta nowhere.

And Lucky’s direction is full of smart choices, not all of which were picked up on by me the first time. The way, during an argument scene, Erin’s shots are handheld and Angela’s are static; or the way, during the first date, that every cut-to-closeup gets progressively closer.

And the general theme of the episode — I guess it goes without saying the degree to which I can relate with the story of someone who has dating trouble in part because of introvertedness, but also because of a hobby or interest that others find weird and disconcerting. Of course, as in MAY, when she finds someone who accepts the weirdness, it turns out to be so much more weird than one could have imagined.

Anyway, fantastic job, everyone. Even with my problems with the pace, I can’t say I’d have edited any differently given time constraints.