Entertainment
'Princesses Long Island' Is the Best Reality Show on TV
It's been called offensive and it's been called trash, but we like to call it our reason for getting out of bed Sunday mornings. Bravo's Princesses Long Island is wonderfully watchable and has drawn in plenty of fans who can't get enough of these New York women in their late-twenties and early-thirties whose arrested development is as sad as it is comical, as pathetic as it is heartwarming. Add onto that lots of drinking, lots of, uh, blurred lines, and lots of pressure to meet men and kaboom: it's an explosion of entertainment. Here's why we love the show so very, very much.
Oh My Gaaaaawd The Show Is So Good
It's been called offensive and it's been called trash, but we like to call it our reason for getting out of bed Sunday mornings. Bravo's Princesses Long Island is wonderfully watchable and has drawn in plenty of fans who can't get enough of these New York women in their late-twenties and early-thirties whose arrested development is as sad as it is comical, as pathetic as it is heartwarming. Add onto that lots of drinking, lots of, uh, blurred lines, and lots of pressure to meet men and kaboom: it's an explosion of entertainment. Here's why we love the show so very, very much.
Chanel's Realness
Chanel is the show's centerpiece, and she does an excellent job of being a vulnerable ring leader. One minute she's throwing a lovely Shabbat dinner, the next, she's getting into a physical altercation at a bar, then she's giving a heartfelt speech at her sister's wedding. She's the voice of reason as well as the voice of desperation. "We shop and we party because when you're 27 and unmarried, it's time to panic." She's like your camp counselor, only drunker.
Their Houses
Even though most of the girls live at home in their parents' enormous Long Island McMansions, we couldn't be happier to live in overpriced shoeboxes furnished with second-hand Ikea and that couch someone once peed on in college. They may have nice pools, but we don't have a curfew. So there.
The Parents
Whether it's Amanda's hard partying mom, Erica's enabling mom, Ashlee's insanely over-involved parents, or Joey's unsympathetic dad, we've never been so happy to have normal parents. It makes their calls about the first cherry tomato in the garden so much more appreciated.
Erica's Attitude
There is something so perfectly charismatic about Erica. She drinks a lot, she's unapologetic about her behavior, and she has this really fascinating way of twitching when she talks, which makes everything she says that much more interesting. Add onto that her ability to make her high school poularity still relevant ten years later, and you can't help but tip your hat to the master manipulator.
The Wink, Wink From Producers
Is it just us, or does it seem like the producers and editors of the show are on our side? They linger on awkward moments just long enough to let us know that they know that we know that they know that this scene is absolutely ridiculous.
The Confrontations
By this point, we're all well aware that most of the drama on reality TV is scripted or at least staged, but our Princesses have a great way of expressing real emotion at the end of each fight. Almost each one ends in bonafide tears, which is bad for them, great for us.
This Guy
Amanda's boyfriend/future fiancé Jeff is, hmm, how do we say, um, OK. Let's just say he's the most delightful ball of contradictions that ever was. His easily identifiable voice jumps out of the TV and demands we pay attention as he declares his over-the-top love for Amanda one second, and his over-the-top dilemma in choosing the perfect outfit the next.
