WIG REVIEW: I, TONYA
So I finally saw I, Tonya you guys! I had previously tweeted that there were many wig horrors to be had in this film but after a full viewing, I was surprised to find some wig wonders! And casting horrors. Let’s discuss:
First off: Margot Robbie was miscast in this role. This remains the elephant in the room for basically the entire film and it was something that I found almost impossible to get past. This is not to say that Robbie is bad - she is quite good and clearly tried to deglam herself in a Charlize Theron in Monster-type Oscar bid. And good for her for trying? However, where Theron lost herself in a role and made herself look like Aileen Wuornos, Robbie never stops looking like a thin actress in a frizzy wig. Her lithe body and chiseled cheekbones are in dire contrast to how Tonya Harding herself looked. She never stops being Margot Robbie trying desperately to be Tonya Harding.
As a reminder, this is Tonya Harding. You are also reminded of how the actual Tonya Harding looked during the credit sequence which really drives home my point. I’m not saying actors in biopics have to look EXACTLY like the people they are portraying but gurlfriend is about 50 pounds lighter and a foot talker than Tonya. Here are some people who could have played this role better: AMY SCHUMER (OH GOD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT), Amy Adams, Kristen Bell, literally 100 other actresses who are not Margot Robbie. Still, we’re not here to talk about casting (since I should just be left in charge of every casting and wig decision, duh) so let’s discuss wigs.
We first see Robbie playing Tonya at the age of 15 (another bizarre choice but?) in this short 80s ‘do. Yes, this is in theory a bad wig but let’s remember teased and dry 80s hair for a minute...this is actually pretty accurate. ‘80s wigs can easily become parodies of themselves (see: Stranger Things, basically anything set in the ‘80s) but this feels legit.
I like that the consistency is random and the seamwork is good. It’s also not TOO fried to make it completely dried out. Along for the ride is Sebastian Stan (aka THE WINTER SOLDIER and let’s call him nothing different) as Jeff Gilloly and dude looks exactly like him. No wig necessary. Bravo!
The early scenes with these two are marked by highwater jeans and white sneakers and belts and vaguely feathered hair and you can almost see why these two idiots got together. Love, amiright?
Then come the early ‘90s. Oof. First off, here are the actual Jeff and Tonya. Sweater game on POINT. Anyway, the wigs soon try to catch up with these lewks.
Tonya is mainly seen with her hair in a ponytail skating to ZZ Top (who else?) and these lewks feel pretty spot-on hair-wise to the actual early ‘90s Tonya years.
The wigs are just the right amount of dried, frizzed, hairsprayed madness.
And the seamwork holds up even through faces like this.
Tonya’s coach has a conservative bob which is fine and totally reminded me of about half my elementary school teachers.
Though most of my teachers did NOT own fabulous fur coats like this. I like the subtle bang spray that screams 1991. Accurate.
When the “incident” as they refer to it as the movie finally occurs, Tonya tries to get serious with this no-bang ‘do and this is the worst the wig looks since the seamwork isn’t masked by the bangs and the lacefront is more visible. Luckily, this is only for a short time and the bangs come back full throttle. Thank the lordt.
It should be noted that just as WINTER SOLDIER was perfectly cast as Jeff, this rando was perfectly cast as Shawn Eckhardt. Apparently his name (I googled it!) is Paul Walter Hauser and he damn near steals the entire movie with no wig assists.
Of course, no one is about to be outdone by Allison Janney EVER IN ANYTHING and she is absolutely on fire as Tonya’s horrible mom, LaVona. Also if there aren’t already like a dozen drag queens named LaVona Golden, I hope there are now. Back to Janney’s wig, this bowl cut of evil is pretty damn good. Solid texture, continuity and seamwork.
And it even ages with her and can withstand a horrible small bird!
Tonya also gets an older age wig (as does WINTER SOLDIER along with some facial prosthetics that make him look like a pudgy Matt Damon). This wig is probably the worst of the lot, but actually pretty on point with how Tonya looks now (please watch the 30 by 30 ESPN documentary on all of this if you haven’t already).
This movie is definitely not perfect (and I won’t mention the bad casting again...oh wait I just did), but the wigs do stand up to triple axels, domestic battery, and the test of time. Therefore:
VERDICT: WURQS
