Much Ado About Very Little

NBCSPORTS.COM -- I read this great piece today from a guy... complaining not about the Monday Night Football spot, but about the response by the NFL and ABC after the fact... he believes it was entirely calculated, that the apology was ready and waiting before the spot even aired and that it was done intentionally -- that CBS screwed up by not promoting a show at the same time that they were getting in trouble for mild almost nudity.

I read another article where a coach was describing it as racially insensitive because the player was black and the actress was white. And also complaining because it reinforced the stereotype of (atheletes? blacks? unsure) as sexual predators.

I finally was able to read another article about the topic that finally described the scene in enough detail for me to determine that it wouldn't be inappropriate to watch at work... that when she drops the towel she's only shown from behind and from the waist up.

So I went to good ol' iFilms.com and watched it.

First, off, it doesn't reinforce any stereotypes other than (a) guys find it hard to say no to naked women jumping into their arms, (b) something about sluts but I'm not sure exactly what the stereotype is, (c) ABC and the NFL are hypocrites like the article linked above suggests. I'm pretty sure you see the very top of pink underwear when she drops the towel, that she's not actually completely naked, just topless.

But, having said that, let me say loud and clear... I am offended by that clip.

First, the cinematography sucked. For most of it, the back and forth interaction between the football player and the actress looked like it was done at two different times in two different places, maybe even green screened. The restaurant scene in Heat looked better and it's been widely suggested for years that the scenes between Pacino and Deniro were done at different times.

Secondly, the acting sucked. The athlete we can forgive, it's not what he does. He may play a good game of f-ball, (hey, if you can say b-ball, I can say f-ball. deal.) but he probably doesn't aspire to be an actor. If he does, he's gonna need some lessons. But the actress... man, she stunk so bad. I have so many more talented female friends trying to get into showbusiness with little luck. While the meantime, this horrible waste of airspace gets by solely on her willingness to be naked. I wonder how many casting couches her rear has left impressions in.

Was the spot a big deal? I don't think so. Without taste? Yes, but I imagine so were many of the ads that aired during the game. Will I follow OneMillionDads.com's recommendation and file a complaint with the FCC? No, but can I file a complaint with SAG?

I don't think anything in that clip was that devastating or can't be seen anywhere else. You can see that much skin on an awards show, with an actress wearing a backless dress. You can see women in towels on any show. And I'm not sure that someone who hasn't heard of Desperate Housewives by now, or hasn't found the concept appealing would really be all that swayed. Maybe they'd check out an episode or two, but if anything, Sheridan's crap-crap-crappy acting would probably do more to turn people off, or cause them to TiVO it in hopes of seeing more racy stuff without having to hear her horrid line delivery.