Before we start, we have a very special personal message going out to Veronica Webb. Girl, what the hell is UP with your hair and makeup? You best be handing out the slaps this morning to whomever is responsible. The hair was way too severe and the makeup was Kabuki-level. You are GORGEOUS. It takes some real work to make you look as bad as you did last night. Take a tip from Naomi and beat someone with your cell phone over this.Now.
Aren't we all just a little relieved that it's not a What Not To Wear ripoff? Oh sure, the basic template is there, but props need to be handed out for configuring the show in such a way as to not immediately make one think of Stacey and Clinton. First off, neither Tim nor Veronica are as bitchy as those two, but more importantly, there seems to have been much more of a concerted effort to make this a more educational experience for the client and the viewer.
Of course, the educational aspect may have been just a bit overdone. Those full-body shots of Tim standing in front of way-too-busy graphics prissily lecturing to us about style do NOT play to his strengths. Tim is wonderful and warm in one-on-one situations and the show needs more of them and less of Professor Gunn. As we said, it's good that the show has an educational tone to it, but a weekly lecture is not going to keep the audience coming back.
Veronica on the other hand...kind of a disappointment. She came across surprisingly stiff and cold on camera. Surprising (to us anyway) because she has quite a bit of on-camera experience and she's always come across as funny, smart and articulate. It felt like she was "over-directed" last night. She and Tim need to find their footing and learn to play off each other better.
As for the format, it could also use a little tweaking. There's an awful lot going on in this process and if we have to watch the same thing week after week (The Optitex, the underwear fitting, the choosing of an icon, the weeding out of the closet, the shopping, the makeover, etc.) it's going to get old real quick. Also, Jared, the "Lifestylist?" Lose him. Now. We were cringing in our seats last night throughout his painful segment. You made a girl with low self esteem parade around in front of a camera wearing a trash bag? Come kneel in front of me so I don't have to get up to slap you.
One thing that we suppose we HAVE to put up with is the producer-enhanced "emotional" stuff. The engagement ring? Bleh. That was just nausea-inducing. Even moreso because she's all weepy and "Oh, honey!" as he's making his little speech to her about how special she is and we're sitting there thinking "Tim Gunn just took that ring out of the closet 5 minutes ago and handed it to you. What are you doing standing there and soaking up all the adoration for something you were told to do?"
Catherine Malandrino? Fabulous. Put her on every week, we say. Lorenzo was practically in tears at the sight of her. Actually, the designer segment is one of the best ideas out of the whole show. We look forward to seeing who else shows up during the season.
All in all, despite our reservations, it's a promising start and we're looking forward to seeing how the show evolves over time.
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