Blunderbuss

American Idol: "All I Want" - Ford Video Review

(crossposted at flaring muzzle)

Watch the video here.

This is a fun and really quite ingenious video that makes the most of its kitch campfire theme. Sure, it's insipid and almost painfully inoffensive, but what I love about it is the way it plays with the personas of the various idol contestants, and also how it positions certain contestants as frontrunners while marginalizing others.

For example, even though nearly everyone is shown singing, the video begins with Chris and his guitar--he is clearly leading this campfire sing-along, just as he is clearly leading the the entire show both in popularity and accomplishment. (I'm a Bucky fan, but even I must acknowledge that Chris deserves to take the grand prize.)

Having Bucky pop his head out of the back of the truck while reclining is pretty funny--something tells me that some fans would very much enjoy finding themselves in the back of that truck, and the producers of AI certainly certainly aren't above cultivating Bucky's good-old-boy image!

Lisa is the ingenue of the piece and she appears appropriately sweet and innocent. The camera loves her and her warm smile is clearly meant to embody the innocent fun of the campfire in the woods with one's friends.

There are two trios of contestants that serve as sort of generic "friends" of Lisa's who aren't given much to do and don't recieve much screen time.

First there is Melissa, Kellie, and Paris popping out from behind some plastic trees. They are barely there and all but disappear into the crowd in the campfire scene that follows. (If this were a slasher film these three would be the first victims--in fact, poor Melissa really was the first to go from the Top Twelve.)

Then there is Mandissa, Elliott, and Talyor, apparently returning from a fishing trip. It's interesting that the video casts three of the strongest voices in the competition in such minor roles. All three are unquestionably excellent singers, but (how to put this delicately?) they do not have the same pin-up star looks as some of the contestants. (Though, personally, I think Mandissa is gorgeous.) Could it be that the producers are subtly distancing themselves from these three here?

In between the presentation of these two groups, Kevin shows up, alone in the woods except for a faithful bunny rabbit that follows him. This is hilarious on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. Kevin fans, pay attention: you are being mocked by that little bunny rabbit! This is also, no doubt, a joke about Kevin's status as "sex symbol"--the bunny being a rather obvious nod to his would-be "playboy" status. His silly hat and stand-alone status mark him as basically the mascot of the Idol gang, which, at this point, he has clearly become.

The real drama begins with the appearance of Ace's "Bigfoot" character (who seems to have more than his fair share of marshmallows) and the appearance of sexy State-Trooper Katharine. The video hints at what really goes on between teenagers at midnight campfires in the woods with this pairing--and the cute play between the "naughty" (and sweaty) "monster" Ace and "stern" Katharine flirts with turning this innocent campfire into something a little more PG. It doesn't completely go there, though, because in the end, Ace's "bigfoot" is unmasked and Katharine's stern park ranger is integrated into the circle and it's all innocent fun.

The interplay between Ace and Katharine is also a cute play on the Beauty and the Beast story on several levels: Katharine's character is presented as the Beauty who "tames" the Beast (turning Bigfoot into Ace), but Ace's unmasking is also a sort of Beauty and the Beast joke because the "Beast" turns out to be "beautiful" after all. Also, notice how Katharine only smiles after a now-revealed Ace smiles at her--as if she were the "beast" who needed to be tamed all along!

There's something highly appropriate about the roles this pair is cast in--especially Katharine who (despite ocasional giggling fits) comes across as a bit of a snob, even though she's no doubt a very nice girl. (And of course, Ace has been working the cuddly-bear angle pretty intensely since his earliest appearance.)

All-in-all, a very entertaining (and revealing) commercial.

Some final thoughts:

The constentants who get significant individual screen-time are: Chris, Bucky, Lisa, Kevin, Katharine, and Ace.

The rest of the constestants are put in two groups, presented (more or less) in increasing degrees of talent: Melissa-Kellie-Paris and Mandissa, Elliott, Taylor.

My theory: the judges want either Chris, Bucky, Lisa, Katharine, or Ace as the next American Idol. And they want Kevin to stick around for awhile on the show because he is entertaining as a foil for the others and in no danger of actually winning. They want to acknowledge the greatness of Mandissa, Elliott, and Taylor, but don't want to be stuck trying to market them. And they want Melissa, Kellie, and Paris to quietly fade away.

posted by albatross @ 10:41 AM