America’s Next Top Model 2, Episode 4: Make Me a Celebrity!

Last week, on America’s Next Top Model 2, Catie cried, and Heather struggled to fit in with the other girls. Catie cried more, while Yoanna won a dinner with some male models. Heather ended up being eliminated and guess what else – Catie cried. Let me warn you in advance – you can expect the same this week too.

We begin this week, as usual, at the loft. Xiomara is getting ready for the day’s activities as she tells us that she only had two hours sleep from the night before. We get a flashback of her being one of the two remaining girls at the elimination ceremony, which she barely escaped. Tyra and the other judges told her that it was her weakest week ever and Xiomara is determined to not let that happen again. Catie is off in a corner telling the camera in a confessional that she feels like she is under too much pressure. Jenascia, as usual, is complaining about her shortness. However, she’s determined to overcome it and show the judges that she has what it takes to win.

While all this is going on, Mercedes tells the camera how her hair has been falling out recently. We find out that Mercedes was diagnosed with lupus a year ago. It has changed her life, but she is keeping it a secret from the other girls because she doesn’t want their sympathy or have her illness have an effect on the way they look at her. I respect her wanting privacy, but I think she should tell them, just so they know what’s wrong if something happens. I do still love Mercedes though.

Xiomara is all ready to go see Martin, the girls’ trainer, at the gym. As the model wannabes get in the elevator, they call for Camille. When they don’t wait for her, and head to the street, Camille gets a little ticked. She always holds the elevator for all of them. Yeah, I’m sure. No worries, though, she is not there for friends and will show them all when she wins. At the gym, Martin reminds the girls that this is a competition. Honestly though, the girls look so tired and I don’t think could care less at this point.

They play something called “Last Girl Standing,” which is basically a game that exhausts everyone until one girl is still going. This really makes no sense. Martin is yelling at the girls, calling them all quitters. In the end, it’s down to April and Camille. Everyone seems to be rooting and chanting for April, which confuses Camille because nobody is cheering her on. Pushups will determine the winner. As they stay stationary in the upward position, Camille drops and April wins. She says that she never gives into weakness. Hmm, maybe this is foreshadowing that she will win! Camille knows that not everyone likes her, but she could care less, as usual.

Here comes Tyra mail! The girls are told to wear clothes that express their personalities. When they meet up with Tyra, she is with Simon Doonan, creative director at Barnes New York. Simon tells the girls that personal style is imperative and is very important to model life. Tyra than tells the girls that she, herself, has been on best and worst dressed lists. The worst picture is of her in a wedding gown, dyed purple, for the Academy Awards. I have to admit, it really is pretty bad. Each girl will now be analyzed on what they chose to wear.

April is up first, and is showing a lot of skin – hence the fact that she explains her outfit as her being “comfortable in her skin.” Mercedes has a fresh flower in her hair and a bright top saying that she is Latin and always liked to dress that way. Sara has a funky look going on, according to Simon, but it looks pretty ghetto to me. And we all know that ghetto is Sara in a nutshell. Shandi says her look is vintage, and Tyra likes it, but thinks Shandi may actually be a bit too covered up. Xiomara has this trendy/trashy look going on, but it looks hot. Camille says she likes to wear her Jamaican colors and Xiomara isn’t buying it. Tyra isn’t either as she tells Camille to express her ethnicity in other ways.

Yoanna has a groovy look going on and Jenascia is trying too hard to look taller. Catie tries to dress according to her new hair and thinks she did a good job. Simon disagrees. Here comes the quote of the week, folks. Simon tells her she has “Too much hooker style going on.” He continues with: “You should go down to the docks, see the hookers there, and ask them for some advice.” Then he goes on with telling all the girls that none of them have a sense of style yet. Catie is upset that he called her a hooker, to which Simon snarls back at her “When you signed up for this competition, you didn’t expect to sit there with a pink umbrella while everyone told you how pretty you were, did you?” Okay, I love this guy. Jenascia is amazed Catie is back talking, while Mercedes tells the camera that it’s just Catie being Catie, and she wants to be catered to. Sara tells us that Tyra knows which girls can take all this and which can’t, and it will show later.

At the loft, Mercedes is thinking. She fears that people will judge her because of her illness. She knows that she has to push harder in order to succeed. Tyra mail! The girls have to get ready to see a wacky designer. They arrive at fashion designer Betsey Johnson’s studio. Shandi is freaking out. Betsey is a little crazy I think, and tells the model wannabes that this thing is all about personal style. I love the fact that her shirt says “Guys *heart* B.J.” They sure do, Betsey… they sure do. Betsey then shows the girls portions of her last runway show that she had. It’s a tad skimpy, if you ask me. The girls now have to go back to the loft and show Betsey that they can dress with their own style. Jenascia says she has had problems lately dressing like herself. I love her one-liners. Catie isn’t so sure what to do yet. Usually, when that happens, she just cries. But they spare us this time. For this contest, the girls can’t wear their own clothes. They have 10 minutes to rummage around in the other girls’ things. Betsey tells the camera this has nothing to do with makeup, clothes, hair, or shoes – it’s about the person. One winner will get a fabulous dinner out in NYC, with a special guest.

Ready! Set! Go! The girls are off looking for outfits. April and Sara switch up wardrobes. Yoanna likes Mercedes' shirts and takes one. Xiomara can’t find anything, but Camille does find Xiomara’s jewelry. However, Camille decides that the jewelry doesn’t match the dress she is wearing and just tosses it all on the bathroom counter.

Time is up and Sara goes first. Betsey says that she could have been in her last show. Xiomara looks a bit confused and Betsey picks up on it. Camille goes and Betsey thinks she looks rough. April does well and Yoanna looks nuts. Mercedes doesn’t feel well but she looks adorable and Betsey loved her. Jenascia is told she looks like a cluttered mess and Betsey tells her she doesn’t like her height. Also, that she needs to go to modeling school. Catie is told she doesn’t have enough “real you.” She has the style and walk, but there is no “Catie” in it. Whatever that means – I don’t get it. Shandi is last and is told not to be a sex pot. Her strength is that a sex pot is exactly what she isn’t. Well, it’s time to pick a winner. Betsey decides on Shandi. There is a round of “Oh, Shandi,” which apparently all the girls do to her all the time. She is allowed two guests and takes along Xiomara and Yoanna. They make Betsey do a cartwheel as this madness ends.

Uh-oh, trouble is brewing at the loft. Xiomara’s earring is broken. Camille says she doesn’t need this right now as Xiomara complains to the camera that she doesn’t understand why Camille didn’t just tell her it broke instead of just giving it back to her. Camille is just ticked off that she has to get it fixed now and couldn’t care less about it. Mercedes is on the phone with her mom telling her that she is losing hair. She’s scared, but her mom tries to comfort her. Even though she is getting tired more frequently, she is going to do what it takes to win and push herself.

A limo is outside. Yoanna says as they are getting ready to go, the loft elevator door opens. Out comes Adrianne, winner of the first season of America’s Next Top Model. She will be joining them for dinner and Yoanna couldn’t be more excited. Adrianne tells all the girls that she is busy all the time and is "blinged" out because she is modeling diamonds. On that note, the girls head to dinner and have the VIP room! Ooh la la!

Once they arrive, Adrianne asks who they want to be eliminated next and is met with a round of “Camille!” Xiomara then proceeds to bring up her earrings that were broken and gives an impersonation of Camille’s walk. Ironically, at the house, Catie is leading April and Mercedes in some impersonations of their own. Catie mocks the walks of Camille and Yoanna, not to mention hits the nail on the head when she makes fun of Xiomara’s walk and the bugged out eyes. Ahh, the memories. Back at dinner, Adrianne is telling the others about the business and that this is an opportunity they better not screw up.

Wow, more Tyra mail. They have to be ready at 6:30 a.m. for their next shoot. Fast forward to later when the girls get to the shoot site and meet up with makeup artist, Jay Manuel. He tells them that they have to learn how to take on the persona of a celebrity in order to succeed. All this after telling them that they need their own person and such. I’m really not getting all this. Catie will be Marilyn Monroe, Mercedes will be Billie Holiday, April is Catherine Zeta-Jones, Shandi is Nicole Kidman, Sara is Angelina Jolie, Camille will be Diana Ross, Jenascia will be Selma Hayek, Yoanna is Audrey Hepburn, and Xiomara will be transformed into Grace Jones – which she is NOT happy about. Tyra tells her that Grace Jones is a modeling icon. Xiomara accepts it and starts to get air brushed. Then the shoots begin.

Yoanna goes first. She looks pretty good. Jenascia is next. She has the look down and does fairly well, but Tyra tells her to stop opening her mouth. Than the photographer gives her directions too and she gets flustered and kind of goes off a little. No big deal. Sara, as Angelina Jolie, looks really hot and raw. Tyra has to give her some advice though, because her personality is not shining through. Shandi looks very much like Nicole Kidman and does a great job. Camille has Diana Ross down to a tee. She is such a diva and it works. Xiomara is almost ready and Shandi tells the camera that she used to be scared of Grace Jones. April is up for her shoot and is a little off in the Catherine Zeta-Jones look, but takes a nice photo. Catie as Marilyn Monroe is okay. She is trying to be strong, but it’s hard. Xiomara is up as Grace Jones. Okay, she looks scary. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. Mercedes is last, as Billie Holiday. I’m sorry, but this girl is amazing. She looks terrific. She is nervous though, and the photographer notes on how she is semi-shaking. And with that, the photo shoot is over.

At the loft, Jenascia is still talking about the shortness thing. Okay, it’s time to get over it. Catie is on the phone with her boyfriend at home. She tells him that the last three days were horrible and that she wants to quit. He tells her not to. Basically, Catie is scared that she is going to have to change herself in order to win, and she doesn’t want to do that. Girl, you need change!

Tyra mail tells them someone will be eliminated that day and everyone is nervous. As the girls make their way into the elimination room, Tyra is waiting for them. All the girls are wearing black. Tyra shows them a picture of her as “Mariah Carey and Lil’ Kim’s baby.” Oh, and our guest judge this week is none other than Betsey Johnson, who is on a mission to give these model wannabes some style. The girls line up for individual evaluations, but first a test. They are standing in front of their own box of accessories. They have 60 seconds to decorate their simple black dresses and make it look like they are ready for a night on the town – oh, and show some style!

Yoanna keeps it simple and just wears some pearls. The judges like it. They like her shot as Audrey Hepburn too. April looks K-Mart to Janice, in her accessorized outfit. They do like her photo this week though. Mercedes looks like she is in a bad prom outfit, according to Janice again. She goes back and redoes her outfit with a complete turnaround. They love her Billie Holiday picture. Shandi is a bit cluttered and Janice doesn’t like her outfit either. They redress her. Her picture looks really good this week and the judges agree. Sara looks a mess. Her shot is kind of ghetto to me as well, but the judges like it. I don’t think she looks like Angelina Jolie at all.

Camille wears a necklace and gets a purse. They critique her and of course she snarls back at them with some excuses. Her picture is really nice though. Jenascia is up. She has a hat and belt on. They tell her to take it off, look at her picture, and all agree that it’s nice. Catie keeps it simple. Nobody really comments on her outfit, and they are torn on her picture. Some like it, some don’t. Janice says it looks a bit like a drag queen and that Catie would make a beautiful guy. Tyra says that drag queens wish they looked as good as Catie. I’m speechless. Xiomara is looking ‘70s with a scarf. As usual, the judges don’t like it and tear her apart. However, they love her Grace Jones picture. Not me though, I’m petrified of it. Time for deliberations.

The judges agree that Yoanna is one of the most beautiful girls in the competition. Sara knows how to work the body, but needs more personality. Camille nailed her Diana Ross shot, but her attitude is something that needs work. Jenascia needs to have a more positive attitude and they still talk about her height. Shandi is odd, but they like it. April is lacking something this week, but they aren’t sure what it is. They also feel that Catie looks dead in front of the cameras. Mercedes looks great and Xiomara needs to have a more positive attitude as well.

The girls are called back in. There are nine girls left, but Tyra only has eight pictures. They are quickly reminded of the prize. Mercedes is first. Tyra tells her she needs to perk up with the energy though. Xiomara is next. Tyra says she took a great picture. Up next are Shandi, Yoanna, Sara, and April. April is told to start looking more sensitive. Camille is called up next and told that she nailed the Diana Ross look, but she has something else that Diana is known for – her diva attitude. She needs to lose that.

Jenascia and Catie are told to step forward. Tyra tells Jenascia she had a great photo this week, but since she lacks in one thing, she needs to overcompensate in something else. That isn’t happening. Catie had a nice picture too, but they question her attitude and ability to take criticism. The one picture left is for Catie. Jenascia is eliminated. She hugs the other girls and sheds some tears. While packing, she confesses that the house will suck without her. I agree. She is going back to serving wings at Hooters, being with her friends and being the happy person that she is. As she disappears from the group photo at the end, you can’t help but wonder if there is a trend with all the girls on the left phasing out quicker. Interesting.

I’m going to miss Jenascia. She was always good for one-liners and insight into the rest of the house. She never got involved in the drama and always told it like it was. I wish her luck. Next week, looks like the girls are going to be doing underwater shots, with some having problems. Mercedes’ illness becomes an issue with what looks like her probably telling the other girls about it. I love this show – can’t wait for next week.

Phil Kural is a senior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@temple.edu.

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