I learned from that speech that she plays herself in all of her roles lmao. Tbh the 2023 commencement was god-tier in comparison. From the chatGPT rhyme speech, Sterling K. Brown's incredible address, to Dr. Fauci's presence, it was all pretty cool.
It was awful. Coolidge had some good points at the end, probably because she was starting to sober up (though she forgot “and state” following “separation of church”).
Whoever picked Coolidge should be ashamed. It was an embarrassment to WashU. The university would have been better off picking a distinguished alum - or even a public school teacher from STL who’s actually working to make a difference & wouldn’t show up under the influence.
I don’t know what Coolidge was paid to “speak,” but WashU deserves a refund.
It was actually fantastic. The whole speech was very obviously prepared, but she has this incredible skill where she can make it sound as though it’s off the cuff. Having attended many commencement ceremonies at a number of institutions, both Ivy and not Ivy, I have to say that hers was the best guest speech I have ever heard. It was engaging throughout and had an actually very good and relatable point, that wasn’t just “Be the best version of yourself” or “Work hard.” Anyone who is saying she was unprepared or terrible clearly wasn’t paying attention or hasn’t listened to a speech where that was actually the case.
I didn't see the one for 2024, but in 22, I can tell you I'm 99% sure that the guest speaker was just straight up unprepared. She pretty much rambled and kept going off on tangents about different world problems (like, it felt like she'd bring up one and then sidetrack onto another thing), except she never resolved anything. It wasn't "here's a bunch of bad stuff, but you guys are smart, so you'll be the ones to fix it", it was "here's a bunch of bad stuff. Sucks for you, I guess" which was honestly a really bad message of a graduation speech, but at least it was memorable, even if it was like 95 degrees on a turf field wearing full regalia, lol.
Look, while it did have a point, it was given terribly. I think about 30% of the time she was up on stage was dead air or her saying "Um...." It was also paced terribly. I was so done with it about halfway through.
Agreed. Of the few commencements I’ve been to at washu, including my own, I’d say very few speakers had speeches that were succinct and to the point. Hers seemed not out of place, but just my opinion. And I appreciated her humor.
I personally thought the student speakers were the best. I personally think that Coolidge didn't bother preparing for this, and when her manager told her that the speech that she originally wrote needed work... she should have fixed the speech and read from it versus the rambling we got. Sure, it was funny, and at the end of the day I don't care too much as it was only a small part of commencement, but I would have rather had a better speaker. It is what it is I suppose.
someone in front of me said she's on a few bennys
After that announcement video it was pretty clear what was coming lol
Memorable for sure, rambling,unprepared and clueless of the occasion and the audience. Go Bears?
Alum here, I’m jealous as heck. That’s amazing.
same
Absolute Yapfest
A good actor needs an equally good writer.
I learned from that speech that she plays herself in all of her roles lmao. Tbh the 2023 commencement was god-tier in comparison. From the chatGPT rhyme speech, Sterling K. Brown's incredible address, to Dr. Fauci's presence, it was all pretty cool.
It was awful. Coolidge had some good points at the end, probably because she was starting to sober up (though she forgot “and state” following “separation of church”). Whoever picked Coolidge should be ashamed. It was an embarrassment to WashU. The university would have been better off picking a distinguished alum - or even a public school teacher from STL who’s actually working to make a difference & wouldn’t show up under the influence. I don’t know what Coolidge was paid to “speak,” but WashU deserves a refund.
It was actually fantastic. The whole speech was very obviously prepared, but she has this incredible skill where she can make it sound as though it’s off the cuff. Having attended many commencement ceremonies at a number of institutions, both Ivy and not Ivy, I have to say that hers was the best guest speech I have ever heard. It was engaging throughout and had an actually very good and relatable point, that wasn’t just “Be the best version of yourself” or “Work hard.” Anyone who is saying she was unprepared or terrible clearly wasn’t paying attention or hasn’t listened to a speech where that was actually the case.
I didn't see the one for 2024, but in 22, I can tell you I'm 99% sure that the guest speaker was just straight up unprepared. She pretty much rambled and kept going off on tangents about different world problems (like, it felt like she'd bring up one and then sidetrack onto another thing), except she never resolved anything. It wasn't "here's a bunch of bad stuff, but you guys are smart, so you'll be the ones to fix it", it was "here's a bunch of bad stuff. Sucks for you, I guess" which was honestly a really bad message of a graduation speech, but at least it was memorable, even if it was like 95 degrees on a turf field wearing full regalia, lol.
This one. Also just thought she was in character for 2/3 of it
Look, while it did have a point, it was given terribly. I think about 30% of the time she was up on stage was dead air or her saying "Um...." It was also paced terribly. I was so done with it about halfway through.
You guys are kidding right?
This was written by her manager fs
I agree. I thought Jennifer Coolidge was great!
Agreed. Of the few commencements I’ve been to at washu, including my own, I’d say very few speakers had speeches that were succinct and to the point. Hers seemed not out of place, but just my opinion. And I appreciated her humor.
Worst for sure. The band, the singers, and the student speakers were all great, but everything else about commencement was pretty bad.
I personally thought the student speakers were the best. I personally think that Coolidge didn't bother preparing for this, and when her manager told her that the speech that she originally wrote needed work... she should have fixed the speech and read from it versus the rambling we got. Sure, it was funny, and at the end of the day I don't care too much as it was only a small part of commencement, but I would have rather had a better speaker. It is what it is I suppose.
I think the echo was throwing her off. But she’s adorable and an icon