Lindsay Lohan’s comeback stalls on ‘The Tonight Show’

On Monday, “Hunger Games� star Jennifer Lawrence sat down for a chat with Jay Leno to discuss, among other things, her role in “Silver Linings Playbook� – a performance that’s already generating Oscar buzz. Throughout the interview, she did the whole charmingly-unscripted-goofball-trapped-in-the-body-of-an-Amazon thing she’s known for, telling Leno how she caused a fender bender because she thought she saw Honey Boo Boo on the street and apologizing for her previous, over-caffeinated visit to the show.

Tuesday it was Lindsay Lohan’s turn on Jay Leno’s couch, and her appearance could not have been more different. Oh sure, there were some superficial similarities – the body-conscious dress, the recently dyed hair, even the Honey Boo Boo chatter.

But otherwise, it was a study in contrasts. The juxtaposition between the two young actresses was a stark reminder of how Lohan’s promising career might have gone, had it not spun so wildly out of control.

There to promote “Liz & Dick,� the new, destined-to-be-a-camp-classic Lifetime movie, Lohan seemed nervous in a way that was more excruciating than endearing. She was back to a version of her natural hair color -- a tiny step in the right direction -- but otherwise there were few outward signs that she’s destined for a comeback.

Lohan was evasive when asked about her last-minute cancellation on Barbara Walters, saying only “the timing wasn’t right right now.� When it came to the subject of her just-discovered half-sister and estranged father, she was decidedly less so: “I guess I could give her one word of advice: Good luck with my dad.�

Then, in an ill-fated attempt to get Lohan to laugh at her life as a tabloid fixture, Leno whipped out some fake magazines -- with names like “WE� and “Twinkle.� The joke fell flat, mostly because Lohan didn’t seem to realize they weren’t real.

But maybe the saddest part of the conversation was when Leno asked whether she thinks it was a mistake to have started out in showbiz at such a young age.

“No,� she said. “It makes me happy.�

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