It’s Friday, might as well get a little deep, right? Who needs to go into the weekend free-spirited and feathery.

Not I says the bear.

Since the movie Precious hit theaters, everybody (literally) has been talking about the performances of two people, Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe (Gabby). She’s graced magazine covers and done the talk show circuit, even making it to Oprah. She was even nominated for a best lead actress Oscar that was handed to Sandra Bullock for playing a white person saving a Black person who also happens to be saving a white person.

I love magical Negroes. Bagger Vance.

Back to Gabby. America loves an underdog. And she is an underdog. But she is however, a very very talented actress. Thing is, she’s competing in an industry where Keanu Reeves still gets work. Which begs the question, does talent really win out in Hollywood. Such was the discussion on Howard Stern’s show the other day that caused somewhat of an uproar amongst the Black community (well, I don’t know many white people so its possible white people were up in arms too) as people couldn’t believe how ignorant and shortsighted Howard Stern and Robin could be regarding Gabby. But his comments got people to thinking and talking. To wit:

During Howard Stern’s Sirius satellite show on Monday morning, co-host Robin Quivers commented that Sidibe should have looked around at the Oscars and noticed that none of the other working actresses looked like her.

“What movie could she play in?” Stern questioned on his live broadcast. “You feel bad because everyone pretends that she’s part of show business, and she’s never going to be in another movie.”

While his premise is clearly flawed (she’s already been tapped for another movie and has a recurring role on a cable TV show), his point of major mainstream success and role-floodgates opening isn’t so far fetched. I mean, face it, there are only so many roles for Black women period and they keep going to the same people. She’s not classically pretty and she’s a rather big girl. She just so happens to have the personality and charm to win people over. But it’s still a business built on selling pretty people to people who want to be the pretty people.

I think that she has a future in movies, just not mainstream America movies. And I also think that she’s been exploited a little bit lately. We all love a good story of somebody making it despite the odds. The thing is, we have really short attention spans and the next person to make it despite the odds will knock her right off the front pages. I like to hope not, but Howard and Robin weren’t necessarily so wrong. Not in Hollywood anyway.

Then again, there is always Maggie Gyllenhall, a woman who is about as attractive as my left shoe but people find roles for her to play. Then again, she’s tall, thin, and white. I think the optimist in all of us wants to believe that there are big things in the future for her (no pun intended…seriously, I wasn’t trying to take a shot…no, for real), but reality is a motherf*cker.

So I bring it to you, my good pals of VSB, is there a place for Gabby at the table in Hollywood? Or have we seen the last of her (outside of a Tyler Perry movie and indy films and documentaries)?

What it be like?

(By the way, I know everybody loves her. That has nothing to do with anything here. If skills sold truth be told…well, you know the rest.)

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3