There was something about the trailer to Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of a musical adaptation of a Fellini film, Nine, that just didn’t sit right with me. I mean, the cast includes the actors behind two of the best performances of 1997 (Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood and Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose), screen legend Sophia Loren, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and Dame Judi Dench. But there was something about that song—which I now know is called “Be Italian”—that was a distraction from this talent-packed Oscar shoo-in.
Enter Fergie, aka Stacy Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas. I guess I missed the quick shots of her in the trailer, but it turns out that Fergie is playing the role of Saraghina, the Italian seductress of Day-Lewis’ Guido Contini and singer of “Be Italian.”
Fergie’s vocal acrobatics aren’t bad and she does have previous acting experience (in Poseidon and an episode of “Mr. Belvedere”), but this performance is a bit melodramatic for my taste. What do you think? Listen to the full song hereor embedded below: