When you're Mariah Carey, a self-professed "diva" with a dictionary of "mariah-isms," there comes a point where you aren't really a person, per se, but rather just pure liquid camp poured into a mini-dress. At that point, you can go in one of two directions: drowning in a bathtub full of pink Hello Kitty paraphernalia, or embracing the camp with a lighthearted send-up of your image.
With her latest video, "Touch My Body," Mariah, aka Mimi, aka Ms. Butterfly, chose the latter—which, for her, is an excellent choice. This way, she gets to answer the door in lingerie, roll around in a schoolgirl outfit, walk through a mist in a metallic mini-dress, and lead a unicorn around the grounds of her mansion, and it's ok because it's a "joke." The plot of the video seems to suggest that all that camp is the fantasy of uber-nerd, Jack McBrayer—but I think we know exactly whose fantasy is being played out here:
You have to hand it to Ms. Mimi Butterfly Carey, that song is hilarious. And catchy. And if she had gone with a straightforward video, perhaps involving Eric Roberts, it would have been unbearable. Instead, she brought in the funniest dork she could find and camped it up. Now Jack McBrayer can join the pantheon of comedians, like Zach Galifianakis and, uh, Dustin Diamond, whose appearances in music videos have single-handedly proved the singer's sense of humor.