Or, really, Kristen Bell. But she’ll always be Veronica to me. While we may not get to see her delightful smirk, it’s certainly present in her voice as she recants the Upper East Side’s goings-on in the blog of the allknowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl.
GossipGirl premiered last night on TheCW and while I managed to avoid the books — I figured I’d try out the pilot. The clips on YouTube were certainly intriguing and they made the brilliant marketing move of airing it right after the season premiere of America’s Next Top Model — how could I resist?
I couldn’t, and I’m so glad I didn’t. I liked it a lot — a few pegs from loving it (reserved for pilots like My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks) — and the casting was fantastic. Blake Lively, known for her role as Bee in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, stars as Serena — back in town after a sudden and unexplained jettison off to Connecticut. Her best friend Blair (Leighton Meester) seems none too happy that she’s back — which is more of a facade until she finds out a reason to solidify her anger. Ed Westwick is fantastically evil as snarky and presumptuous Chuck, and gets to deliver some of the best one-liners of the show. Then there’s cute boy Penn Badgley who might possibly be the one to whisk Serena away from the drama of the life she used to lead.
It’s delicious candy — both eye and ear. Josh Schwartz’s musical choices are utterly brilliant and there’s no denying the cast is pretty. And can act! Which sometimes is a rarity on teen soaps these days. It’s been a while since I’ve been sucked into a teen drama and I can’t think of a better way to delve back in than with Gossip Girl.
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