(Okay, first, I apologize for my absence. Summer in Minnesota is interfering with my reality TV viewing. It'll get better in the fall.)
I just finished hour three of Real Housewives of New York City reunion special insanity, and I had a brainwave.
You know why I like these crappy TV shows so much? Because they make me feel so wonderful and normal by comparison.
Three hours of watching grown women yell at each other like they're on the 5th grade playground has done it. I can count on one hand (without using many fingers!) the number of screaming, yelling fights I've had with a friend after the age of 18. I really can. Friendships aren't about fighting and cattiness and bitterness; they're about finding like-minded people or people whose viewpoints you had never even considered and loving it and (I hate to use a phrase Kelly Bensimon uses) celebrating the people who land in your life.
And these Housewives claim they're all such good friends, but, man, if I found out that my friends were talking about me or found myself talking about them the way those women talk about each other, I would just have to give up and sequester myself in my house with my cat and never go outside again.
It's all about the lowest common denominator. I've believed this since my first casting gig in reality TV and I believe it to this day: the kind of people who would reveal their lives to that degree in such a public forum have something wrong in their heads. I would die if I was on national TV looking the way I look first thing in the morning, or the way I am when I'm crying and snotty and irrational, or the way I act when I've had a few too many. But these people put it all out there, and whether it's brave or foolhardy, it really puts things into perspective.
I mean, okay, sometimes I have disagreements with people. But at least my disagreements aren't replayed on Saturday marathons on national TV. And sometimes you say and do things you only mean in one instant that you regret the next, but at least it's not captured on film for all time. My moments of anger and unkindness and sadness are private, and only I have to relive the discomfort of that time where I really wasn't the best person I could be.
So when I'm feeling particularly low, all I have to do is click on my TV and watch someone who signed a release form they probably didn't really read do something they regret and I can think, "Hey! It's not so bad! At least my life isn't a TV show and I don't have to watch this for the rest of my life anywhere but inside of my head!"
In a weird way, thanks, Housewives, for letting yourselves be exploited. It reminds me that even though my clothes may not be as fabulous and my hair might not be as shiny, at least I'm emotionally stable, which is better then any piece of incredible footwear.
(Even though I'd sign on for one day of complete and total reality TV humiliation to get my hands on Jill Zarin's amazing teal shoes from the reunion show. Did you see those? Hello.)
Showing posts with label RH:NYC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RH:NYC. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
Um, what the hell happened on Real Housewives of New York last night? I thought last week's episode was bananapants, but Kelly Bensimon has clearly and totally lost her mind.
It was funny for a while, but then it got really, really disturbing. And this is where, for me, the reality TV line of "so bad it's good" and "wait...this is not okay" got crossed. Kelly, from what was presented on last night's episode, is obviously having some kind of mental break. Whether it's drugs or brain chemistry or what, something really messed up is going on in her head, and this is a woman with two small children to raise. According to Bethenny's blog, what we saw on-air was "tame" compared to what really happened, and all the women were scared for Kelly's safety. Clearly exposing her life on TV is not a healthy thing for Kelly to do. There's nothing Bravo can do about it now - this season is shot and edited, and she signed the releases and the episodes are going to air. But I'm curious to see if Kelly will be returning to the franchise if there's a season 4. She's kind of unhinged, in a way that's not super fun to watch anymore. I'm sure Andy Cohen has a huge reality TV boner thinking about the ratings and the buzz the last two episodes have generated right about now.
On a lighter note, there was a moment in last night's episode where Ramona was handed another glass of wine and took it without even looking at it, which made me die laughing. Jezebel has a clip of it here. You know things are getting rough in RHONYC land when crazy-eyed Ramona is the sane one.
To recap: Ramona is renewing her wedding vows (because 17 years is a milestone, and it's not a season of Real Housewives without some big ridiculous event at the end of the season), and to celebrate, she is re-living her bachelorette weekend in St. John's with Alex, Bethenny, Kelly, and new girl Sonja. Last week the ladies were on a yacht, where Kelly oddly blew up at Bethenny about being a cook instead of a chef, then called her a ho-bag, the ladies found a Hooters yacht to hang out on, and everything seemed to be okay.
Until this week. The ladies departed the yacht and moved the crazy action to a villa. Bethenny brings a gift bag for each of the women (sure, it's SkinnyGirl branded, but who doesn't love a gift bag?) which brings Kelly to tears of rage. Kelly also brought down a pad of paper to breakfast and announced everyone should write down their complaints on it. And then after a weird photo shoot session on the beach, Bethenny makes dinner for all the women and...whoa.
Whoa.
Whoa.
Slow your roll, Kelly. Whether she was tweaking out from too much coke/not enough coke/having an actual mental breakdown/whatever...what was this nonsense? She called Alex a vampire, said Bethenny was trying to kill her, started randomly yelling "Al Sharpton! Al Sharpton!", was shoveling Gummi Bears into her mouth at an alarmingly rapid pace (for someone who claims to not eat high fructose corn syrup), among other things.
It was funny for a while, but then it got really, really disturbing. And this is where, for me, the reality TV line of "so bad it's good" and "wait...this is not okay" got crossed. Kelly, from what was presented on last night's episode, is obviously having some kind of mental break. Whether it's drugs or brain chemistry or what, something really messed up is going on in her head, and this is a woman with two small children to raise. According to Bethenny's blog, what we saw on-air was "tame" compared to what really happened, and all the women were scared for Kelly's safety. Clearly exposing her life on TV is not a healthy thing for Kelly to do. There's nothing Bravo can do about it now - this season is shot and edited, and she signed the releases and the episodes are going to air. But I'm curious to see if Kelly will be returning to the franchise if there's a season 4. She's kind of unhinged, in a way that's not super fun to watch anymore. I'm sure Andy Cohen has a huge reality TV boner thinking about the ratings and the buzz the last two episodes have generated right about now.
On a lighter note, there was a moment in last night's episode where Ramona was handed another glass of wine and took it without even looking at it, which made me die laughing. Jezebel has a clip of it here. You know things are getting rough in RHONYC land when crazy-eyed Ramona is the sane one.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
My favorite Real Housewife
In four franchises and numerous seasons of Bravo's Real Housewives, one's alliances are bound to change. One season you hate Vicki of Orange County. The next season you love her. One episode NeNe in Atlanta is the greatest, the next week you're wanting to throw things at the TV because of the sheer stupidity of the things coming out of her mouth.
But one Housewife has always had my affection, and I think that will never change: Bethenny Frankel. In the past few years, I have had the opportunity to meet a fair amount of weirdly famous people, and I am not even kidding when I say meeting Bethenny was definitely a highlight.
Look, proof! (I wish I owned that necklace. I borrowed it for the evening and whenever I see this picture I'm like...oh, man, I LOVE THAT NECKLACE.)
Here's what I love about Bethenny: that person you see on Real Housewives? That's exactly. how. she. is. in. real. life. The voice and the impressions and the gestures, I mean, it's hysterical. As a fan and student of reality TV, I know what editing can do. I've been manipulated by it into hating the villain, loving the hero, rooting for the underdog, and even though I'm aware of it, I can't help it. But Bethenny, I think, doesn't have much of a TV veneer, and whether you love it or hate it, hey, that's who she is.
I think that's why I love watching her. Real Housewives of New York City definitely has a different tone then the other franchises. The women have this veneer of high society and there's definitely some serious money rolling through their bank accounts. But as catty and immature as all the women of all the cities are, there's something way more Mean Girls about the way the Manhattan-ites deal with each other. With the other cities, you get the sense these women just kind of hang out while they're filming and forget about all the feuds until they start filming again. But it just keeps going in New York. They've got some Page Six-shaped weapons and they're not afraid to use them, and the machinations and manipulations are just fascinating.
And in the middle of it is Bethenny, with a sarcastic comment and an eye roll and the "Seriously, WTF is up with these crazy harpies?" attitude. She seems so self-aware of what reality TV is and how characters are made and portrayed.
Plus, she's freaking hilarious. Gold comes falling out of her mouth every week. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Follow Bethenny on Twitter @Bethenny
Check out Real Housewives on Bravo
But one Housewife has always had my affection, and I think that will never change: Bethenny Frankel. In the past few years, I have had the opportunity to meet a fair amount of weirdly famous people, and I am not even kidding when I say meeting Bethenny was definitely a highlight.
Here's what I love about Bethenny: that person you see on Real Housewives? That's exactly. how. she. is. in. real. life. The voice and the impressions and the gestures, I mean, it's hysterical. As a fan and student of reality TV, I know what editing can do. I've been manipulated by it into hating the villain, loving the hero, rooting for the underdog, and even though I'm aware of it, I can't help it. But Bethenny, I think, doesn't have much of a TV veneer, and whether you love it or hate it, hey, that's who she is.
I think that's why I love watching her. Real Housewives of New York City definitely has a different tone then the other franchises. The women have this veneer of high society and there's definitely some serious money rolling through their bank accounts. But as catty and immature as all the women of all the cities are, there's something way more Mean Girls about the way the Manhattan-ites deal with each other. With the other cities, you get the sense these women just kind of hang out while they're filming and forget about all the feuds until they start filming again. But it just keeps going in New York. They've got some Page Six-shaped weapons and they're not afraid to use them, and the machinations and manipulations are just fascinating.
And in the middle of it is Bethenny, with a sarcastic comment and an eye roll and the "Seriously, WTF is up with these crazy harpies?" attitude. She seems so self-aware of what reality TV is and how characters are made and portrayed.
Plus, she's freaking hilarious. Gold comes falling out of her mouth every week. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Follow Bethenny on Twitter @Bethenny
Check out Real Housewives on Bravo
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