Britney Tries A TV Channel Other Than E! For A Change

Dan Gibson | March 25, 2008 12:00 pm
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Now and again, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. This installment covers probably the most talked about music news of the day, for better or worse: Britney Spears’ career-rehabbing stint on last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother.

• “She had nice comic timing for her few lines, seemed spunky, alert and with it. Considering the last 18 months of her chaotic life, all of that equals a success. Her character didn’t appear written especially for her. But Spears’ final scene with Neil Patrick Harris, who plays the show’s lothario, was a good inside joke. Harris’ Barney is trying to lure her up to his apartment to see if his broken bed has been repaired. Britney’s character replies, with chirping enthusiasm, ‘If it is fixed, can we have sex on it and then go shopping?’ Maybe there’s a future for Britney Spears out there yet.” [Fox News]

• “Here’s the problem. How I Met Your Mother is pretty much an average-to-occasionally-good sitcom… It’s featured flyby cameos for plenty of actors and other assorted hams… which must have convinced Spears’ handlers this was a reasonable start at reversing the tragic spectacle she’s become in recent months. Only problem: The role was not funny. Not quite ‘Gimme More’ at the VMAs, but not far off either.” [Newsday]

• “Spears’ best moment came early on, when Stella first begins to remove Ted’s butterfly tattoo–his ‘tramp stamp,’ which has been mentioned in earlier episodes. Ted screams, upon which Spears’ Abby rushes into the office exclaiming, ‘Doctor, are you all right? I heard a woman screaming in here.’ How many times did Spears shoot the scene? Who knows, but she got it right.” [Boston Globe]

• “The role wasn’t really juicy enough to merit the attention it got as a stunt, but it was probably appropriately suited for her tentative acting chops. At no point did she convey the edge or danger a true actress might have brought to the role, making something actually funny of her obsession. As Simon Cowell might have said if this had been a performance on American Idol: Forgettable.” [TV Guide]