Jennifer Coolidge’s ‘Life and Beth’ Cameo Is, Unsurprisingly, a Must-See
There’s simply no stopping Jennifer Coolidge. She’s outstanding in everything she does, whether in a scene-stealing role like in Legally Blonde or as a lead in The White Lotus. Coolidge’s latest appearance is a small role in the latest season of Life and Beth—and this time, she doesn’t just steal the scene, but the whole damn episode.
In the second season of Life and Beth, things are on the up-and-up for Beth (Amy Schumer). In Episode 3, it’s the day after her marriage to John (Michael Cera), and she’s ready to keep her life on the right track. But curious about what the future holds, she takes John with her to see a psychic. John has no interest and bails, leaving Beth to attend the session herself. But Beth is ready to take on the world, and nothing’s gonna get her down—even if she has to do it alone.
When Beth arrives for her appointment, she finds her wedding planner (Amy Sedaris) waiting for her. She wants to bond with Beth (it’s a whole thing) and hypes her up for the psychic, which leads to this hysterical/ominous exchange:
“Remember January 6th?” the wedding planner asks.
“She predicted that?” Beth responds, clearly impressed.
Not quite, the planner says. “She was there.”
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Before Beth has time to process this, the one and only Jennifer Coolidge enters. She is Madame de Merde (“merde” is French for shit—a red flag of a name if there ever was one). If you conjured images of a disheveled psychic in your mind, you’d probably come pretty close to how Coolidge looks here. She’s sporting a ludicrous short curly light-brown wig with a cavernous part in the middle. No sensible person would style their hair this way, nor would they wear her tacky flowery dress. But nothing about Merde is sensible—she’s hilariously illogical.
Immediately, she sows seeds of doubt in Beth’s mind, going on a ridiculous tirade about how angry she would have been if Beth hadn’t shown up. “If they don’t show up, I’m never going to speak to them… I’ll hate their fucking guts forever,” she delivers in a low, gravely grumble. It has nothing to do with Beth, who’s on the clock; Merde exists entirely in her own mesmerizing world.
As Merde, Coolidge is monumental, navigating between deadpan delivery and complete hysterics. She is perfect at throwing Beth—and us—off guard at every moment. There’s an electricity to her performance, a complete unpredictability that makes you wish the scene played out for an entire episode.
Just when it seems that Beth has wasted her time and money, Coolidge connects with Beth’s dead mother, which feels authentic to Beth. Merde didn’t ask any leading questions, but somehow, she knows Beth’s mother’s name—even without, as per a common medium trick, Beth telling her the first letter. It’s a hugely emotional moment for Beth, who’s ecstatic to reconnect with her mother, and Schumer’s emotional sincerity only heightens the comic delight of Coolidge’s performance.
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While Beth is pouring her heart out to her mother, Merde isn’t exactly helpful. She’s not communicating a single thing that Beth’s mother may be saying back to her. Instead, Coolidge delicately places her hand on her mouth (wearing ridiculous black see-through gloves, naturally) and reveals, with the perfect amount of dramatic flair, “Oh no. Your mother left.” Beth is stunned, looking hopeless at Merde as goes on to say Beth’s mother was with a man. Then, worse, she gets alarmingly horny about this man-ghost: “If I had my wish, I’d have him pull down his pants and just sit on my face.”
As Beth makes her exit, Merde gets in one final lament. “For some reason in my life,” she says, “I’ve never, ever had repeat business,” Frankly, it makes perfect sense—but Coolidge creates such a hysterical character in Merde so effortlessly that I’d sign up for a second visit in a heartbeat.
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