Overall, the “Glee” crew did a great job with the Britney Spears episode – balancing the fun and energy of the performances with the heartfelt character and story that we crave from the show. “Is this real life?” Rachel Berry asks like a certain eight-year-old boy in the “Glee” episode “Britney/Brittany,” after undergoing heavy anesthesia at the dentist’s office. No, it’s just Britney Spears world. And we’re just living in it.
Or rather, Brittany’s world.
Or rather, Brittany’s world.
The blonde girl with the faraway gaze – and the faraway brain — finally gets her star-making vehicle with an ode to the 1990s icon: Britney Spears. Even better, we learn her full name: Brittany S. Pierce.
No wonder she can gyrate like her, sing like her, dance like her, wrap a snake around her neck like her, and look good in a red pleather jumpsuit and nude diamond dress like her.
Brittany, and the Glee Clubbers, shine after several drug-inducing hallucinogenic rides on thedentist’s chair. The transformative “Me Against the Music” (with the Madonnaesque Santana) as well as “I’m a Slave 4 U” performances signal to us that Brittany is ready to take on a more leading role, rather than play backup vocals. She even suggests performing to Ke$ha. Tik tok, Ryan Murphy.
Not to be outdone, Rachel gets her Britney Spears on by doing the song-that-launched-it-all “Baby One More Time.” Here, she’s not so successful. Her earnestness, her adoring look and her intelligent voice bumps up against the breathless sound of breathy pop. It’s like a YouTube spoof, an opera singer trying to make a barmaid’s ditty on Oktoberfest more appealing — by shedding herclothes. Throw on a tank top or a Catholic school girl’s outfit and call it a day. But hey, it got Finn’s attention. Rachel rescues herself at the end with the suitably earnest Paramore ballad, “The Only Exception,” as a dedication to her loyal football-loving boyfriend.
Artie, under drug’s duress, leads a “Stronger” performance with Finn and Puck, and the nimble football team, which have become quite a dance troupe. Guys performing a girls’ feminist empowerment song, shall we say, is pretty cute and clever. Artie, in his turbo-charged wheelchair looking like Stephen Hawking in a football helmet, makes it all the more fun.
The real Britney makes cameos here and there — and we wished she could have been used more. Alas, acting can only take you so far. Remember “Crossroads”? Never mind.
If this doesn’t get you nostalgic for the days when MTV left its mark on every teens’ psyche and music videos gathered buzz that’s not Twitter generated, then you’re just like Will Schuester. Will, the one person who doesn’t loosen up, who’s anti-Britney Spears everything, who’s trumped by Emma’s hot dentist boyfriend, Dr. Carl (played geniusly with that endearing Uncle Jesse smile by John Stamos).
As a result, he lets loose. He buys a yellow Corvette on a whim and tries to seduce Emma with a slow cringe-inducing version of “Sailing” by Cristopher Cross. Dude, even ‘N Sync had better game than that. Terry, looking good in her “Real Housewives of Orange County” get up, soon put the kibosh on Will’s play.
Will won’t stop, though. He tries to prove that he’s not so stuck up, which Kurt and Emma had accused him of, by performing with his Glee Club at the pep rally. He jumps and spins in a bowler hat, while the rest pulsate through Fosse-like moves, while revving up the crowd with “Toxic” in a sex-induced heat. Jacob Ben Israel grabbed a guy’s behind and got punched. Coach Sue pulls the fire alarm and gets trampled. Just casualties of a Britney Spears-induced haze.
So, Gleeks, was this Britney Spears episode more epic than last season’s Madonna episode?
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