Best Bad Acting Ever

A classic joke in every genre is when a good actor/dancer/singer pretends to be bad.

Angel imagines dancing badly at a party. Barney insists on singing off-key in Mayberry's choir. And so on.

Usually, these "bad" performances are more campy than bad. Don't get me wrong, Angel's dance is giggle-worthy. Barney's bellowing of "Santa Lucia" is hilarious.

Still, these are the "bad" performances of people who are performing. David Boreanaz, who may in fact be a bad dancer (though he does fine with Bones), is hamming it up. Like most people of his time period, Don Knotts was trained and sings fine with Andy Griffith when they are hanging out on the porch. Even with "Santa Lucia," his Broadway training shows.

But then there's Nancy Travis dancing as Vanessa.

Nancy Travis is a superb actress. What makes her dance with Kyle so mindbendingly funny is that it is actually---

Words can't say. "Two dogs trying to get back into a boat," Ed says, and it's the closest anyone can get.

Nancy Travis has always been high on my list of comediennes, but her "dancing" on Last Man Standing moved her to the very top. It is so truly--something--and so entirely unself-conscious. She is so willing to be truly "bad" without protecting herself with ham or camp. She exists in the moment of the dance and it is bizarre. Kudos, Nancy Travis!