The Little Mermaid has finally made a splash in cinemas, and opinions are absolutely sweeping the nation; indeed, the good, the bad, the poor faith, the ambivalent, and every take in between and beyond seems to be populating the internet at record speeds.
Some opinions seem to be more popular than others; Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy both delivered on the prophecy by serving up a pair of powerfully kinetic performances, Jonah Hauer-King proved to be a refreshing piece of a full upgrade on the character of Prince Eric, and it looks like everyone’s agreeing that Awkwafina should stick to rapping as a human rather than as a bird.
But there’s one rousing consensus that seems to have snuck up on everyone, and that’s Jessica Alexander‘s short-lived but memorable turn as Vanessa, the human identity taken by Ursula as she attempts to steal Eric’s heart from Ariel. Given all the attention that’s been on the more front-and-center characters, Alexander’s casting as Vanessa hasn’t been much of a talking point, but with the film finally making its theatrical rounds, we all got to bear witness to what we now know was a criminally underhyped performance.
Indeed, she may have had a fraction of the screentime as some of her castmates had, but when her chances came, she sold them with all the raw wickedness we could ever hope for.
For whatever criticisms one may have about the movie, it’s hard to deny that the casting director hit almost every nail on the head, and Alexander may just be the happiest surprise of the whole movie.
The Little Mermaid is now playing in theaters.