Smile, Baby is the ironic title of one of the most provocative comedy shows at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival. In it, five actresses take turns in poking wicked fun at male entitlement. In a series of black-out sketches, the actresses play a wide range of women who are constantly being hit on by vain and boastful men. But instead of reacting in traditional fashion by being flattered and impressed, these 21st-century females not only see through the con but find ways to satirize it.
Whether wielding pepper-spray, or even pistols, when being sexually harassed in public, or outwitting the opposite gender on game shows, the women in Smile, Baby show just how rude and outrageous girl power can be. A case in point is the fashion-show sketch. Instead of a model strutting down the cat-walk in a skimpy dress meant to turn men on, Smile, Baby gives us a hulking woman wearing a dress entirely made up of blood-stained menstrual pads!
Smile, Baby moves boldly and snappily from beginning to end, thanks to its gifted cast (all of whom have honed their craft in various L.A. improv groups). The show’s writer and director also deserve praise for their high level of work.
