Ashley Park is a joyful screen presence, even when she’s not doing anything particularly nice on camera. She’s very natural. Girls5Eva must be REALLY sad they cast her to play a dead character — this is not a spoiler, by the way — because she’s so charismatic and talented, and indeed, they found ways to incorporate her via holograms and flashbacks precisely BECAUSE I think they regretted not having her otherwise available to them. (Here’s hoping for another season, in which we learn she faked her death.) Faran Krentcil had a nice conversation with her over lunch which I think will really win you over, if you aren’t familiar.
All of which is to say, somehow the cover photo — and 95 percent of this shoot — has sucked the lightness and fun and bounce out of Ashley Park. It’s not BAD, necessarily, but if there’s any magazine that should be able to take advantage of her sense of whimsy and spirit, it should be this one, and yet this whole shoot takes itself way too seriously. With an ODD choice of backdrops.
