Janney's performance is laugh out loud funny, but as befits her character, every laugh is tinged with darkness. As an audience, we're laughing with (at?) a woman whose hard edges are more than just a cover for a soft heart. When she's not berating Tonya to push harder, do better, she's stabbing her in the arm with a knife and kicking her out of the house. Janney also had to transform her appearance for the role, and in fact, the blunt-banged wig she sports throughout the film could have been distracting were it not for the strength of her acting.