'Dancing With the Stars' Recap: Who Got the Last Laugh?

 

Margaret Cho spent the last two weeks of this competition trying to come back from her rather disastrous debut waltz, but she just couldn’t stick the landing. Her rainbow-fringed cha-cha was a real improvement over her previous two routines, but it just wasn’t enough. The "notorious" comedian was a good sport as she talked about how much she enjoyed the show, and she and Louis gamely twirled around a bit as the band played "You Can’t Always Get What You Want." (It was certainly less dramatic than last week, when Michael Bolton made quite the farewell speech.)

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This was the first truly tough elimination of the season, and it's only going to get tougher from here on out.

 

Here’s how everyone else did this week:

 

Audrina Patridge

Our reality star edged Jennifer out of first place with a mesmerizing and moving waltz: Tony and Audrina achieved a perfect balance of emotion and technique. Audrina has come a long way in just three weeks and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

 

Kurt Warner

Kurt and Anna's sunny-side up foxtrot was spectacular. Kurt’s posture was great -- his shoulders were neither too loose or too tight -- and his rhythm and footwork were pretty good too. There was a little slip-up when Anna was coming out of a spin, but hey, this was week three.

 

Jennifer Grey

Second place! Derek and Jennifer's high kicking, twirl-happy samba was action packed, though Carrie Ann complained that the pair was out of sync during the middle of the routine. Eh, it was a fluke. They'll knock us dead next week.

 

Brandy

Brandy and Maks put their differences aside to show us all a thing or two about samba. Her hip work was nothing short of fantastic -- crucial in a samba -- but her arm movements were a bit gawky for my taste. Still, at this point in the competition solid footwork and good rhythm should be enough to keep her dancing for quite a while yet.

 

The Situation

It seemed like the judges hated this unconventional foxtrot, but they picked it for this week's encore! Maybe they just wanted ABC to have to pay twice to fire up the ol' fog machine. The Situation's footwork was decent but his posture was poor and his head wasn’t in the dance at all. But at least he’s having fun with it.

 

Florence Henderson
I love Team Florky, but Florence's footwork during this week's waltz was more than a little shaky. Of course, the waltz is one of the more emotional ballroom dances, and Florence brought a touching solemnity to the routine.

 

Kyle Massey

His waltz was technically quite a coup -- Kyle’s lines are perfect and he actually does lead, unlike some of our gentleman waltzers -- but it had a little too much of the cheese factor for me. Len, always the stickler, did point out that Kyle’s footwork is lacking. The waltz wasn’t Kyle's best dance to date, but it was still pretty awesome.

 

Rick Fox

Who says NBA stars can't samba? Certainly not me. Rick absolutely sizzled out on the floor. His hip action was loose in all the right ways. He and Cheryl dance well together in spite of their rather ridiculous difference in height. Watch out, Kurt ... and everyone else, actually.

 

Bristol Palin

Mark and Bristol's halting, off-kilter foxtrot was tough to watch. Three weeks in Bristol still hasn't hit her stride. She squeaked by this week, and anything can happen next week.

 

Who won the week? Audrina, Jennifer, and Brandy
Who needs to step it up? Bristol, The Situation and Florence