madonna's halftime show: horrendous

So yesterday's Superbowl halftime show included Madonna doing a medley with a puzzling array of stars -- Nicki Minaj, LMFAO (am I the only one who thinks that they look like South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone?), Cee Lo Green and others. According to newspaper articles, she was helped by Cirque du Soleil director, Jacques Methe, but this seemed more like Cirque du Merde. We had Star Wars meets ancient Greece (with a Viking flourish). There was a marching band. There was a Richard Simmons lookalike dancing on a wire (OK, he was good). There was the cheerleading squad (who made me wish for Toni Basil's "Mickey" video). There was so much more, and yet it all seemed like so much less:

What struck me is that Madonna wasn't really doing the bulk of the dancing. For the most part she was strutting, while the really strenuous dancing was being done by the supporting cast. It makes perfect sense, I'll admit -- at 53 she has lost a lot of the athleticism that she had decades ago. I'd prefer that she adjust her act accordingly rather than use smoke and mirrors (and of course those brief camera angles up her skirt) to make us think she is still the performer she was.