Poker Face
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The characters themselves and not just the crimes were tricky to figure out.
Even if that project left comparatively little screen time for Natasha Lyonne.
This week, shes not even the first person to solve the crime!
For example, its been weeks since Benjamin Bratt showed up hot on Charlies tail in the closing sequence.
But if Charlie isnt the star of a show about Charlies life on the run, who is?
Barkin, looking exquisite in head-to-toe white, plays Kathleen, and Meadows is her screen partner, Michael.
They may have been artists once and maybe even each others muses but that was a long time ago.
The starring roles have dried up, along with their bank accounts.
Another example would be the reason for Michael and Kathleens falling out.
But Kathleen has an idea to jumpstart both their careers.
A one-night-only revival ofGhosts of Pensacola, the indulgent Southern Gothic that won them accolades three decades ago.
That this was a bad decision is immediately obvious.
For one thing, its not even theater; its a regional dinner theater.
And Kathleen refuses to adapt to the fact 30 years have passed since the last time they performedGhosts.
But its the egos that are really killing the production.
Michael and Kathleen are at each others throats.
She threatens to tell Ava that hes cheating on her.
Michael threatens to write a tell-all memoir.
And opening night is the perfect time to take care of ones enemies.
What looks like harried, if creative, vengeance turns out to be the perfect murder.
The spotlight falls, missing Michael by a hair, but triggering a heart episode.
The supposed enemies reveal themselves to be lovers.
Its been the performance of a lifetime.
Now all Kathleen and Michael have to do is lay low for a while.
But money isnt enough for Kathleen, not anymore.
Six months ago, she was a has-been; now, shes trending on Instagram.
It takes but one mislaid clue to catch them, but its not Charlie who solves the case.
Unsurprisingly, she wants in on Avas money, too.
Five million by the end of this crummy play, or else Rebecca goes to the cops.
This is what I mean when I say that Charlie is vanishing.
Here, shes not even the first person to get to the bottom of the dastardly deed.
Bad acting triggers Charlies Spidey sense, the same as lying, which offers up an intriguing corollary.
Is really tremendous acting indistinguishable from lies?
What finally ropes Charlie into giving a shit about Avas death is Phils level of devastation.
(Kathleen slipped an Ambien into his boozy thermos.)
Charlie knows that Phil drinks, but she also knows his love of the theater.
He wouldnt let anything happen to his cast.
And so she starts digging.
Which brings us to Chekhovs gun, or the principle that nothing extraneous to the story should happen onstage.
She runs on stage and swats the peanut-tainted prop Chex Mix from Rebeccas hand.
On closing night, Charlie uses it to capture their accidental confession for the police.
Still, the show must go on.
Good acting is as invisible as the truth.
Alas, her career is over.
Where she and Michael are going, there are no small parts, only small prison cells.
