Bai golly!

Whatever happened to Bai Ling? Back in the 90s, she was touted as the next big Chinese star in the US, pretty much like what Ziyi Zhang is today. She appeared in a number of A-list Hollywood films like "Red Corner" with Richard Gere, "The Crow" with the late Brandon Lee, and one of my favorite films, "Anna & the King" with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat.

I remember how mesmerized I was with her performance in "Anna & the King." She essayed the role of one of the concubines of the king, and she was carrying on a secret affair with the man he truly loved. Ling nailed that role, playing it with vulnerability, strength and a lot of grace.



But it seems like all that grace has gone out the window these days. Now, she essays roles that are mostly insane, trashy and left-field. I was viewing the trailer of "Crank: High Voltage" on the net and saw that she was there. And her role? A trash-talking, crazy stripper. That's obviously eons away from playing a doomed princess.

Add to that, she's always the butt of fashion jokes because of her outrageous sense of style. And whenever I see her photo on omg or some other Hollywood site, she's playing the part of trashy girl down pat.



Whenever I see photos like these, I can't help but wonder, "where's the wonderfully talented and extremely elegant Bai Ling I knew." She's got loads of talent in her, and I feel bad that its wasted on D-list films. Someone should tell her to clean up her act, so she can go back to her "Anna & the King" glory days.

Someone get this girl a new manager. (And a stylist while you're at it.)