By Laurel Belgreen
Adorably sexy Becca Battoe is ready to star in romantic comedies. As audiences, we are always hungry for a new engagingly lovable, perky-quirky, cute-sexy girl-woman to steal our hearts along with that of the leading man, and Ms. Battoe can arabesque right into that role. A classically trained ballerina, she can put on her toe shoes and daintily step along the fine line between being endearing and annoying.
It’s a difficult task and many good actresses have not been able to find the magic balance. We want The Man to fall in love with The Cute Woman not only despite her silly little ways, but even because of them. The fun is watching them fall in love, and we have to be falling in love with her, too. We have to root for them to get together, and we have to understand why he falls for her. Traditionally, she has to be pretty in a cute way, sexy yet warm and homey, and pert without being irritating. And she has to have spunk! Ms. Battoe can be and do all of that.
In “Head: The Musical,” she played a charmingly sweet nymphomaniac with perfect comedic timing, which is particularly difficult to do in song. Wearing a skimpy red-and-white polka-dot outfit trimmed in lace, she danced and leapt with the delight of a little girl spinning in her first twirly-skirt, and her joyfully bright smile gave ingénue sweetness to the raunchy lyrics. She repeated the same line, and instead of grating on us, we looked forward to the next time. She knew that and paused mischievously – exactly the right length of time – before giving us what we wanted. The result was marvelously tart and sweet, like a lemon martini with sugared rim.
She’s also a well-rounded entertainer who choreographed “Head: The Musical,” performed as the sex-kitten (of course!) in “Cats,” and produced the short political drama “Juche Rules,” which won many awards in the 2010 film festival circuit, including the coveted “overall” title at Moondance. She’s had guest spots on TV shows, including a co-starring role in “Scrubs,” and is currently displaying her effervescent personality in the internet series “The Strippersons.” Her film credits include starring roles in “Misogyny,” “Little Black Dress and Heels,” “Not Quite Hemingway,” and “Spotlight,” and the lead in “Sing” and “The War Within.” Watch for her in the upcoming movie “Walk a Mile in My Pradas” with Tom Arnold and Dee Wallace.
Audiences will fall in love with her most as a charmingly naughty darling with enough sweet tease to capture The Man’s heart and the basic goodness to earn the audience’s affection. When Ms. Battoe smiles, so do we – and we want her to keep making us smile.
Perhaps the reason she can play the cheery Sweetheart perfectly is because she truly IS one. The signature line on her emails is “Turns out the glass is actually full!” Yes, in Ms. Battoe’s case, it’s full of talent.
Let us know what you think. If you haven’t been lucky enough to see her perform yet, take a look at her photos, watch this video, and tell us if you think she sparkles.
Becca Battoe Promo video from Becca Battoe on Vimeo.
copyright Picktainment.com 2010
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