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Who Was The Better 3rd Wheel: Tai or Amber?

posted 12 years ago by Takedi21
3 replies | jump to latest

Who was the better 3rd wheel in the Cher/Dionne friendship: Tai in the movie or Amber in the TV series?

Even though I love Tai, I'm going to have to go with Amber in the TV series. I'm rewatching the whole series on youtube, and I like Amber's chemistry with Cher & Dionne alot better than their chemistry with Tai. I think that Amber in general is my favorite character in the TV series canon because the other characters are just too damn bland IMHO (especially the main character herself Cher ). Amber's hilarious as hell with her witty one-liners and bitchy snark. She's the only character that makes this series entertaining IMO. But back to the topic, I like how Amber plays off on Cher & Dionne. She acts as a foil to Cher's character & a rival to Dionne's yet at the same time she fits in with their intimate social circle, and all 3 of them feel like genuine friends who really care about each other. In the movie even though Amber's character had "belonged" to Cher's social clique she was distant from them, and Cher & Dionne had felt like enemies towards her (& vice versa) rather than friends; their relationship felt rather cold towards each other. Whereas in the TV series even though they're playfully catty with each other with their quips you can tell that Cher & Dionne really care about Amber, and that Amber really cares about them too in return. Cher is always nice to Amber & always gives her a chance. I think that with Cher's relationship with Amber, the reason why she gives her chance after chance is because she sees what I see in the character: someone who in reality behind the gaudy, tacky, flamboyant, over-the-top, and bitchy facade is just a lonely, sad girl who deep down inside really just wants close friends, but doesn't know the right way to gain them; she isn't very comfortable with and/or knows the right way to articulate emotionally and verbally those feelings of her need for friendship. And even though Dionne fights with Amber all the time it feels more like two sisters fighting with each other (but still caring about each other at the end of the day) over enemies fighting with each other.

With Tai's relationship to Cher & Dionne in the movie it felt like she was just an experiment for them (hell Cher even flat out says to Dionne about Tai in the movie "Oooo! Project!"). Tai felt more like Cher & Dionne's pet dog rather than as an equal. Even around the end of the movie it never really felt like Tai was on equal footing with Cher & Dionne in the friendship (at least it didn't IMHO). Besides being a project for Cher, Tai in general just felt really mentally slower than Cher & Dionne. Even though they wouldn't do this, I wouldn't be surprised at all if in the movie canon, post-movie Cher & Dionne had continued to take advantage of Tai due to the girl being more clueless than they were. Don't get me wrong! I love Tai in general, and her friendship with Cher & Dionne did have it's cute moments here and there, like Cher & Dionne comforting her in the lockerroom after Tai realizes that Elton doesn't like her, the diner scene, and all 3 of them planning their weddings at the end of the movie. But overall their friendship had made me feel a little tiny bit uncomfortable because it felt like normal kids taking advantage of a special child IMO from my perspective . It felt like Tai was a fool most of the time. Even when she did become more popular than Cher around the end of the movie, it still felt like she was a fool and that she wasn't really genuinely popular. With Amber on the other hand in the TV series she was on Cher & Dionne's intellectual level, and she damn sure wouldn't of been their project.

Bed Intruder Song sung by Andrew Garfield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuY92Jwrppg

[–] SillyGayBoy 10 years ago

Yeah her getting popular in the movie was weird awkward and based on lies.

[–] PopSixSquish 8 years ago

I agree. I remember reading the little novels even more than watching this show, but Amber was always easily my favorite character. She was the most like a (slightly?) exaggerated version of myself. XD (Also, I would've killed for many of their outfits, and Amber had even more favorites of mine than either of the others. PLUS, she was a gorgeous fellow redhead who had a Dandie Dinmont Terrier, which is worth major points as well.)

Funko made Cher, De, & Amber figures, which is cool--I'm just disappointed in the outfit they put on Amber. She looks like a referee. Couldn't they have used the citrus-top look, or the shaggy or pleather fuchsia ones, or the yellow feathery one or the daisies or the fringy neon orange ensemble orrrr......? She had practically the greatest fashion sense of anyone ever, and they stick her in those black-and-white vertical stripes?! What's up with that? I'd get the Barbie doll instead if I weren't soooo over dolls. Most have even more trouble standing up than Funkos do, and once you've got them perfectly positioned...don't touch 'em! All it's good for is standing there...forever...x___x

ANYHOWS. I liked Tai and the movie, but remember wishing that Amber were in it.

[–] SydneyIz 8 years ago

In some sense, Amber does work better considering the setting of show and the premise. Her character fits a little more naturally in the the context of the movie or show. On the other hand, I think Tai seems more realistic as a third wheel, "awkward," "tomboyish," and "not as refined as the other girls."