"Top Design" 10/22/08 - contains spoilers

One thing I have not addressed on this blog thus far is my love for all things Bravo-related (I am not ready to discuss the move of "Project Runway" to Lifetime). So it should not be suprising that I follow all of their reality competitions. The edition on tv right now is "Top Design" - a design competition for interior designers. My husband and I faithfully watched the first season (Go Matt!) and have followed suit with the second season. I like it - but do not love it as much. I believe the changes have been somewhat detrimental and they follow as such:

1 - Todd Oldham has been demoted (in my opinion) to only a mentor and not host + mentor. He has wonderful insight and is one of the most prominent designers (again in my opinion as a Target shopper) in the country right now. Mr. Oldham is currently relegated to about 5 minutes per episode, if that. Shame.
2 - The addition of India Hicks as host and possibly head judge. My husband hates her accent and, according to Wikipedia, her father was a designer. This fact seems to be her main qualification for the show, although they did mention this week that she has some design books - did not know that before. A sidenote to this point, if she is the head judge that means that Jonathan Adler is not - which would also be a shame. As with Todd Oldham, he has a great eye and he is hilarious!
3 - The sheer volume of team challenges. I really feel like the first individual challenge was the First Annual Top Design Triathalon (3 episodes ago). What a relief that episode was! Finally the designers could stand on their own merits and not whine about how inept their teammates were at life in general.
4 - No carpenters. I miss the carpenters that were featured heavily along with the contestants last season. I thought they were a realistic addition that represented all of the work that goes along with a great design and a great room. Plus they provided my favorite line from last season, courtesy of Carissa: "This is 'Top Design,' not 'Top Karl'!" Priceless.

Onto this week's episode!!!

First of all - this challenge hearkened back to what I loved about the first season of "Top Design." Each contestant had their own 3-walled room down one hallway, not a corner as with previous challenges. They were given their largest budget yet and beautiful Swarovski crystal chandeliers with which to work. We got to see their painting ideas and watch them shop for furniture in showrooms I will never shop in. There was the rush to finish and the examination by the judges - though all with a little less drama. Plus the guest judge was Jonathan Adler's husband, Simon Doonan who is the creative director at Barney's - I know and love him from "I Love the 70's'" on vh-1.

But what I didn't like and what I want to spend the rest of this post examining is my issue with Andrea. Andrea, if you didn't know (which would be unimaginable because it was the first thing she ever said on the show ever and what she mentions at least once every episode), is married to Rick Schroeder of "Silver Spoons," "Lonesome Dove," and "NYPD Blue" fame. I have seen none of these. She put her family first and is only now realizing her dream of becoming an interior desiginer. She has done ok on the show. As Margaret Russell (judge and editor of "Elle Decor" magazine) pointed out last night, she has scraped her way into the Top 5. She is in the bottom two almost every week - "demoralizing," Ms. Russell called it. Each week she laments about missing her 4 kids and husband and how all of her responsibilities at home are what she's really about and she feels guilty taking time for herself. That very well may be, but you're here - make the best of it! Now, in all fairness, I thought her room was awesome this week. She had this gorgeous emerald column chandelier that she built a vintage Hollywood glam room around. She got slammed for her lack of proficiency in styling, but my husband and I didn't notice that (we're amateurs). When the contestants assembled in front of the judges, she completely fell apart, went into this family sob story, and kind of uloaded on Margaret Russell. Ms. Russell gave her some inspiring words and then the judges settled into make their decision. THIS IS CRAZY how it ended up! They gave her the option to stay or go! She was in the bottom two due to her styling limitations, but the judeges really felt she did justice to the chandelier (which is what the challenge was about). So their decision was to send Ondine home. HOWEVER, they let Andrea choose whether or not she wanted to stay and Ondine just had to stand there and take it. Andrea decided to go back to her family, not before asking Ondine for her opinion (are you kidding?!). I mean good for Ondine because she wanted to stay, but I still have a few questions.

1 - You're in the Top 5. Last season they whittled it down to two and then gave them months to prepare for the final challenge at home. So you would have to stay for like 5 more days - max - right?
2 - And then also - aren't all of the contestants sequestered after they are kicked off for confidentiality reasons? Or is that just for the "Amazing Race" and "Survivor"?
3 - What does this mean for the notion of women being able (or not being able) to have it all? Can you be an attentive mother and wife plus have a career of your own? I felt like her decision to leave was a setback in that "have it all" ideal. I would hope (for my own life) that having it all would include a family that supported my career or other aspirations and would understand my absence. That's not to say that Andrea doesn't have that, but she did seem to lack the confidence to strike it out on her own. I don't think I will solve this conundrum on this blog.

Either way, you couldn't stick it out for just a very few more days?!

On a related note, if you saw the challenge where they worked with the "Project Runway" designers, you remember that Andrea worked with Daniel from seasons 1 & 2 and they styled a window around a pretty serious yellow dress. Did you know that Andrea wore it to the Emmy's? She looked good, I must say.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I caught this movie on Friday night at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. My husband and I barely sneaked in for the sold-out 7:20pm showing, thanks to a very sweet and helpful Drafthouse employee. Thank you!

Well, I really enjoyed this movie, but before I get to that - here is one thing to keep in mind: this movie is a romantic comedy (or rom-com, a term I learned this week). It is cleverly disguised as your typical Judd Apatow movie (and it is just as raunchy), but be present with the fact that the basic formula is rom-com (like how I used that already?!).

Now...to my thoughts...

• HILARIOUS. I have not laughed this much in a theatre probably since I saw "Superbad" last year. It is really funny and Jason Segel's attention to detail really makes the movie flow and that makes for a lot of enjoyment. Definitely super-quotable.
• COMMITMENT. The actors really committed to their characters, even though they were somewhat stereotypical (stuck-up tv actress; over-sexed, pantheistic British alt-rock frontman; slacker). I was really convinced of realness of the characters - in part to the attention to detail I mentioned earlier and quality performances from the actors involved.
• HONESTY. I thought this movie really provided and honest insight into what happens after (and during) the break-up of a significant relationship. It does not gloss over the why or the how - I appreciated that they could stick with some reality through all of the shtick.

Cautionary thoughts...

• My husband enjoyed the movie as much as I did, but he did find it predictable (see romantic comedy comment above).
• I read a review that asked why the movie was not rated NC-17. There is nudity and copious language. Just a forewarning.

I say - go see it! We'll probably buy it on DVD when it comes out.

Welcome!

This blog marks my first foray into actual blogging (myspace doesn't count!).  I'm going to try out a blog of reviews - of things I do.  Movies and TV shows I watch, music I listen to, books I read, events I attend, restaurants I eat at and such.  I think you get it.  I've been searching for blog inspirations for at least a year now, so I'm pretty excited about this new venture. I hope you enjoy what you find!

Some reviews to expect in the near future:

• "Lars and the Real Girl"
• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" ~ Stephen Chbosky
• "Raise the Dead" ~ Phantom Planet