clockwise, from left: Johnny Weir (US,) Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland,) Evgeni Plushcenko (Russia,) Samuel Contesti (Italy)

Last week I visited my dear friend Shirley in LA, and we got absolutely hooked on men’s figure skating. We were on the edge of our seats; would Plushenko master his quadruple jump? Would Weir do something racy and controversial? But more importantly, what will the next guy be wearing? Each outfit was outlandish, inspired, or just plain bizarre (spandex coveralls anyone?) Inspirations ranged from Michael Jackson band jackets to Vivienne Westwood corsets to the current Woodsman/hillbilly trend. Surprisingly, most of these men really butched it up in their performances, and I was yearning for a bit more swishiness. Enter, Johnny Weir (who has his his own reality show on Sundance.) His performance was masterful, creative, expressive and highly entertaining–he came in 6th, and I agree with all that controversy about his score being politically-motivated. I was shocked to see how low he scored, after he seemed to have nailed all the spins and jumps perfectly, with more style than the rest. Russian skater Plushenko was my second favorite, and the American winner Evan Lycasek? He was technically excellent but really a bit boring.