Of all the battles that have ever been lip synced on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show lip sync battles (or on the spinoff Lip Sync Battle), Melissa McCarthy’s battle against Jimmy Fallon may have just simultaneously beaten most other battles and won the lip sync war.
Last night, McCarthy reached new heights in the sometimes-entertaining viral video-mongering game. The first round was solid and standard: McCarthy gave a lively performance of DMX’s “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” while Fallon performed Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” Of course, during the second round they actually go all out, bringing in props. And if you think the pillow Fallon uses during his rendition of ZAYN’s “PILLOWTALK” is an exciting if gimmicky implementation of a prop that’ll pose a dangerous challenge to whatever McCarthy does next, fear not. McCarthy lavishes herself in gimmicks for her follow-up performance, and in this most gimmicky of art (?) forms, it’s spectacular. She performs “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas, amid some legitimately colorful wind. (Which is foreshadowed by the fact that she puts on a pair of goggles before she begins lip syncing.)
As she sings the schmaltzy Disney anthem, everything from bursts of water to glitter to leaves to stuffed birds fly in her direction, fully realizing the song’s visuals. If you always felt there was something missing to the Disney movie — besides, of course, any semblance of historical truth — perhaps it was this.
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