- OWN
- Lindsay Lohan lands a role—as herself.
A few years ago (more than a few now, I guess) there was a not-terribly-successful show on HBO called The Comeback. On it Lisa Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, a shrill, washed-up sitcom star who becomes the subject of a reality show that follows her return to television, this time as a wacky, aging aunt figure to a cast of young hotties on a painfully unfunny sitcom. The reality show within the show is called The Comeback, and Valerie treats it like a thing that will facilitate her return to fame more so than a thing that’s intended to document it. The crew wouldn’t appear to care one way or another, so long as vaguely embarrassing and sad things continue to happen to their earnest-to-a-fault subject along the way. A tidy rise to the top wouldn’t make for much of a show. Watching Valerie struggle? Now that’s entertainment. And it’s OK if we’re entertained by it.
To state the obvious, Lohan is very much a product of her environment, a case study in the personality disorders fame can cause. As part of her self-prescribed recovery process, Lohan has moved back to New York to be closer to her family (which, based on what we know about her shitty parents, is misguided). For several weeks she’s been living in a hotel. It’s not an ideal arrangement, but she has a personal assistant and a sycophant of a “sober coach” by her side almost constantly to ease the discomfort. In the first episode she and her posse and a high-dollar apartment broker are out looking at more-permanent lodging when Lindsay decides she needs to change her clothes. They stop by a friend’s boutique and Lindsay plays fashion show until the broker comes in and tells her they really need to keep moving. He’s been waiting outside the entire time; there’s no indication she realizes she’s being fucking rude.
