Should Miley Be Tamed?

Miley Cyrus can't seem to keep her name out of the headlines nowadays, and although she vehemently claims that she ignores all of the negative press...everyone knows that she and her doubtlessly massive marketing team are enjoying every minute of it. Since her decidedly risque (but nonetheless great) video for her hit single, Can't Be Tamed, premiered to gasps from parental groups and thunderous applause from pop music junkies, Cyrus seems to have hit her post-Hannah Montana career stride. And, let's face it, until she starts shaving her head and beating up SUV's with umbrellas, nothing she does is going to hurt her. It's her lot in life as an aspiring pop icon. Pop princesses (like the queen of them all, Britney Spears) can do things that other celebrities can't...can go a little wild...can push the boundaries of social decency and, as long as they don't let their lifestyles affect their music, fans will still turn out. Look at them as old-fashioned rock stars...the more wild they get, the more their fans love them. Unfortunately for Miley, she is growing up and, thus, stepping out in the infamous shadow of Britney Spears' epic breakdown. We are still haunted by photos of a shaved Britney sitting on a curb, barefoot and sobbing...and who could forget the awful sight of Britney, grinning insanely, as she was strapped to a gurney and carried from her home under psychiatric hold?

Now, I would be very wrong if I didn't point out that Britney Spears managed to make a full recovery from whatever inner demons plagued her during that time, and she pushed her ailing career into a full-blown comeback. Spears roared back with a vengeance, reclaiming her seat alongside Madonna as true Pop Royalty. But, Miley isn't Britney. Britney always played to her strengths, making unapologetically peppy pop music and loving every minute of it. You would never hear her say that she didn't feel that her music was really her or that she wanted to leave the oh-so-cruel music industry for movies. Sure, Britney made Crossroads, but, when critics slammed her performance, she quickly ditched any notions of winning an Oscar she ever might have had. I didn't see any such reluctance when critics trashed Miley for her performance in The Last Song. Hell, I'm pretty sure she booked a few movies right after. Now, I have to commend Miley for her determination. Clearly, she likes making movies and that's what she wants to pursue, critics be damned. But, what I am worried about is how her good-girl-gone-bad image is going to mesh with her interest in acting. You see, a risque young girl with a rabid fanbase can afford to let loose in the pop music industry...but I'm not so sure the same can be said for one in the movie business. After all, while Britney was staging an epic comeback and taking her career to new heights, Lindsay Lohan is still floundering pathetically.

The difference, I suspect, is that, in music, the talent is the business. No one can come in and sing a Britney Spears song or put on a Britney Spears concert without, you know, the Britney Spears. But, anyone can be cast in a movie role. If Miley drops out of the upcoming LOL: Laughing Out Loud tomorrow, there will be thousands of young starlets eagerly awaiting the role. I fear for Miley now, not because I think she is going to have a Britney-like meltdown (although, it's always possible). I'm worried that she is going to have a hard time reconciling her current music persona with the persona of a serious actress down the road. Until now, Miley has made instantly-disposable pop tunes that featured relatively harmless music videos and very little overt sexuality. But, with Can't Be Tamed, Miley has pushed herself fully into the pop music arena. She has made a leap that cannot be undone and, frankly, I think it's going to be very, very hard for Miley to escape that image of her, clad in feathers, dancing provocatively while surrounded by birdlike backup dancers. Her difficulty is going to be compounded by the fact that she isn't...well, she isn't really anything special in terms of acting talent. I mean, her performance in The Last Song was fine to me...but it wasn't the kind of performance that led me to think she had as much potential as a leading lady as she will need to overcome her soon-to-be pop music past.

Now, Miley could easily overcome all of this by just specializing in making pop music, while acting on the side (like Beyonce). That way, no one is expecting her to give anything more than an average performance. But, Miley has made it very clear that, not only does she not like making her music, she has no intention of continuing to do so. Like it or not, she wants to act. So, what does she have to do to make sure that her career is not going the way of LaLohan's? Well, it's simple...she has to keep her wild child antics reserved strictly to her music career, until she decides to abandon it completely. Yes, Miss Cyrus, I'm talking about keeping your ass off of Adam Shankman's crotch and about keeping your legs stuck together when climbing out of a car. That's the easy part; it isn't difficult to be classy. The other thing you have to do, if you are determined to make it solely in movies, is more difficult: you actually have to learn to act. And no, you're passable performance in The Last Song and your slapstick-heavy role in Hannah Montana do NOT count...sorry, but those are just off-shoots of your music career. Now, you need performances that are not all about maintaining and/or enhancing your off-screen persona. Though you insist that you don't want to be considered one, you are a brand. Good actors cannot really be brands...their careers should be dependent on characters, not themselves.

I know that most people aren't really worried about Miley Cyrus's longevity in show business. They are more concerned about her effect on her prepubescent fans. Gasp, will she cause them to grow up and be sluts? No, morons, their parents will! I don't see the legions of Britney fans now wearing belly shirts and short-shorts while booty-dancing on the hood of a Buick, do you? The fact of the matter is that Miley isn't doing anything more sexual than what the oh-so-dreamy Taylor Lautner did before he turned eighteen. The picture above was taken after he was legal, but there are many more, just as sensual, that were taken before. As weird as it might be, Hollywood is a very sexualized place and, though we are quick to point fingers, we don't really want these young superstars to remain virginal and wholesome for too long, especially when they are as beautiful as Miley or as...um, ripped as Taylor. I don't see anything in Miley's work thus far that makes me think she has gone off the rails. As I said before, she has moved too far into the pop music world to turn back now without a few bumps along the way, but she isn't doing anything that warrants her the label "slutty." Good God, she is wearing more in the Can't Be Tamed music video than most eighteen-year-old girls wear to the beach. So, you will just have to forgive me if I don't call the Southern Baptists and have a prayer meeting for her just yet.

Her antics outside of work (the "lap dance" video does give me the heebie-jeebies) are more disconcerting to me, but I still have some faith that there are legitimate explanations behind her actions. After all, I'm very familiar with Adam Shankman and I highly doubt the dirty dancing between he and Miley we saw was quite as scandalous in the context of the evening. The bad news for Miley is that the times in which we live have now opened the floodgates; celebrities are spotted doing anything and everything, no matter how unsavory. Thus, her nonchalant and too-good-to-care attiude are not likely to help her in the grand scheme of things. Miley, the person, might not care what people think of her...but Miley, the business, must care quite a bit. I hate to keep throwing Lindsay Lohan out there but, as they say, if the alcohol monitoring bracelet fits... So, even if her actions are completely harmless, she must still always think about what is going to get leaked or splashed across the covers of the tabloids. It's sad and definitely not fair, but it is the way things are. Her wild antics are beneficial to her pop star persona, but they distract from her serious acting and, thus, complicate her already difficult transition into a more mature career. She's got to think about that.

The question I pose here is simple: should Miley be tamed? My answer is just as simple: no, but her management might want to sit her down and flesh out what she really wants for her career, discussing all of the ramifications of each choice. You see, Miley is seventeen and her youthful enthusiasm and success thus far has fooled her into thinking she can do whatever she wants and fans will follow. It would be nice if that were the case, but it isn't. Miley has been successful, but her career is relatively young at this point. Fans will stick around for a while based on your past successes, but you have to keep them coming back for more. So far, only your pop music has inspired me to give a damn about what you have to offer...and yet you insist that your time in that venue is coming to a swift (and, in my opinion, premature) end. So, Miley, if you really must focus only on your acting, then you have to do just that: focus...on...your...acting. Take some acting classes, choose some interesting roles, and give it your all. Don't expect fans to show up just because your name is above the movie title. Most of all, take a few supporting roles in movies with really talented actors (I'm talking George Clooney talent) and build up your credentials. I know you aren't going to listen to little ole me, Miley, and that's why you'll probably end up like Hilary Duff. That is, only if you are able to keep your personal life under control...otherwise, I see I Know Who Killed Me in your near future.