|
Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Tv Shows » Reviews » The City » User review

Reality tv show
The City

MTV Reality Show following the life of Whitney Port

< read all 2 reviews

Some thoughts before the season finale of The City

  • Mar 13, 2009
  • by
Rating:
+2
My experience of watching "The City" has been probably the most underwhelming of any TV show this season. It's been so boring that I don't even know if I'm going to watch the season finale this Monday — and that's a first of any reality TV show for me! 

Here's a sum up of my thoughts for this season:

Fashion? Where's the Fashion?
What I was originally excited about the show was seeing glimpse of what working at Diane Von Furstenberg (or DVF, as the re-branding has gone) would be like, but there's been very little of that. Besides one or two cameos of Diane, I haven't seen any fashion insiders whatsoever.  C'mon, with The Hills, at least we got to see Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour, Lisa Love, that annoying former columnist from teenVogue, random hot models, and  (my favorite of all) stylist Venetia Scott! Isn't The City supposed to be about more fashion?

The premiere episode had some pretty exciting outfits (I really loved Whitney's yellow dress and later, her backless black dress), but after that, all the clothing ensembles  seemed pretty tame.

Who's steering this ship?
But that aside, the other problem is that while Whitney is the "star" of the show, the most interesting story lines don't really involve her. Adam cheating on his model girlfriend Allie, and their relationship struggles caught my attention for a few episodes. Or Kelly Kutrone calling out Allie's weight problems raised an eyebrow. Or Olivia Palermo's banter with her cousin Nevan (a nefarious name if there ever was one, foreboding of doom), not to mention that her screwing up royally at the DVF presentation was also fun to watch.

What has Whitney's storyline really been? Hanging out with her new boyfriend and being vaguely suspicious of him? I have no idea. It's kind of like with Ugly Betty. The main character Betty is a likeable but boring entity for other side characters, like the fabulous duo of Mark and Amanda, to play off of.

Whitney doesn't bring on the drama.
While I can't say Lauren Conrad of the Hills was that exciting of a character either, at least almost all of the storylines on the Hills had to do with her — her relationship with Heidi, her breakup with Jason, her mini-breakup with Doug, her strange friendship with Brody, etc etc (I won't go into too much detail, lest it seems like I paid too much attention). The show revolves around Lauren.

With Whitney, that's not the case. Part of the problem is that she's just settling in a new town, so the relationship dynamics haven't really formed well enough with anyone for things to get interesting.  Well, aside from a few minor scale tiffs with Olivia, who should be getting a fatter check for at least trying to bring on the drama (apparently her family is going thru some financial issues).

But at the end of the day...
Sorry, great lighting and pretty, romantic shots of twentysomethings in New York doesn't trump watching middle-aged housewives nearly come to fisticuffs with each other (as in The Real Housewives of New York City, or of the OC, or of Atlanta — your pick!).
Whitney Port

What did you think of this review?

Helpful
19
Thought-Provoking
2
Fun to Read
5
Well-Organized
2
Post a Comment
March 30, 2009
totally unfamiliar with this show but thanks for the review.
 
March 25, 2009
Can "Where's the Fashion?" be your new motto? I really like it. Just saying.
 
March 17, 2009
I can see that I'm not missing much! Whitney's character wasn't that exciting in The Hills, so I was surprised to see that she got her own show.

Hopefully The City will get replaced with something more exciting and drama-filled!
 
March 15, 2009
Man I have some of the same issues! I was wondering if she would be able to carry this show. Man you hit the nail on the head! Where is the Fashion?!?! Rockstar bf using you for exposure? Models using for exposure? Shoot I felt it wasnt about whitney from the opening. Looks like an as the world turns soap opening
March 15, 2009
It DEFINITELY seemed like Jay was using Whitney for fame. And given his tousled hair and hipster outfits, I thought he'd be in some kind of hard emo band. But his band sounds like they just produce mellow, beach-y, folky songs. Laaaame!
 
1
More The City reviews
review by . April 08, 2009
...I'm happy to report that The City is about as far from reality as you can get!    Here are some inconsistencies:  1. Most of us live in Brooklyn! (Or Queens.) Remember the episode where Whitney's shopping for an apartment? It probably costs her $4000 a month.  2. Australian rock star boyfriends who cheat with their ex girlfriends - actually, these probably exist somewhere.  3. Whitney (who is already tall, as am I) walks around in heels! AH! It …
see all The City reviews (2)
About the reviewer

Ranked #46
I'm a curious foodie, a devout fashion gawker, and an unrepentant print nerd. I work at one of the last mainstream commercial magazines that's still printing.      Other things … more
Consider the Source

Use Trust Points to see how much you can rely on this review.

You
LingEatsCake
Your ratings:
The Hills
The Hills
Spencer Pratt
Spencer Pratt
Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef, Season 5
Top Chef, season 5
rate more to improve this
Recent reviews by LingEatsCake
Contemporary art as a pile of candy
a review of Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)
election night
Michelle Obama: secret punk? Nah, just savvy dresser. …
a review of Michelle Obama's Fashion
Stella McCartney
A designer who designs for women, not mannequins
a review of Stella McCartney
see more reviews
About this tv show

Wiki

The City is an MTV spinoff from parent show The Hills. Whitney Port has just been offered a position in the PR department of Diana von Furstenberg in New York City.  She moves across the country to follow her dreams in the fashion industry. Her life and the show in NYC revolves around Olivia, a socialite and coworker at DVF, Erin, her friend whose couch she's currently crashing on, and Jay, her Australian love interest.
view wiki

Tags

Tv Shows, Fashion, Tv, Reality Tv, Reality Television, New York, Mtv, Reality Tv Personalities, The Hills, Reality Tv Personality, Diane Von Furstenburg, Gramercy, Meatpacking District, Whitney Port
see all

Details

Studio: MTV Networks

Lists with this tv show
The Hills
MY TOP GUILTY PLEASURE REALITY TV SHOWS
Ghost Hunters
My DVR List
Top Chef
My DVR List
see all lists (3)
First to Review

"Some thoughts before the season finale of The City"
© 2013 Lunch.com, LLC All Rights Reserved
Lunch.com - Relevant reviews by real people.
()
This is you!
Ranked #
Last login
Member since
reviews
comments
ratings
questions
compliments
lists