Lisa Vanderpump is very good at what she does both in the world of hospitality and reality television. vanderpump villa, which now streaming on Huluis his latest show that, presumably, he hopes will capture the same magic that Vanderpump Rules has. The drama has moved from the Los Angeles restaurant scene to a castle in France, and like a stinky cheese, the overseas drama is spicy, raw, unpasteurized… you only need one whiff to know. It’s for you or not.
VANDERPUMP VILLA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: “So what is Vanderpump Village?” an off-camera producer asks Lisa Vanderpump, who then offers a brief introduction to the “dozens of hospitality experiences” she has opened during her career that have led her to this experiment: opening a luxury chateau in the French countryside. . Lisa has designed every last detail and carefully selected staff to provide guests with a world-class experience. And also hoping to give us a new show full of luxury drama!
The essence: Lisa Vanderpump has assembled a staff of about ten people at her French chateau, from bartenders and mixologists to chefs and event coordinators, all carefully selected so they can help give this chateau’s VIP visitors the experience of a lifetime. They have also apparently been carefully selected for their dramatic backstories and delicate sensibilities; This is a crowd that is just looking for ways to connect and/or disconnect. In most cases, the cast are strangers, and as they get to know each other, they size up their castmates to find a partner to flirt or spar with. But in some cases, some of these people already know each other.
…Like, for example, the waiters Marciano and Hannah, who dated for three years. They are now separated, due to the fact that Marciano admits to sleeping with everyone he used to work with, but he claims that he is still in love with Hannah. When he tells his new colleagues at the castle that he is a player, he asks them not to tell Hannah if and when she hooks up with anyone on the premises, but also adds that he would probably be angry if Hannah knew if He got involved with someone. there. He sounds like a very 21st century guy. Marciano also gets into trouble when, after drinking too much the first night, he dismisses Lisa by rolling his eyes and saying “Ehhh,” when she tells the staff that they should be “bright-eyed and bushy.” -queue” when the guests arrive the next morning. She warns him of this, and yet he doubles down on her cowering, careless attitude. I want you to fire him immediately.
The next morning, moments after Lisa tells Telly, one of the bartenders, that the staff should never drink from the bar, Telly and Marciano wait until Lisa leaves the room and take shots, which then leads to Marciano to drop a tray of champagne glasses as the guests’ car arrives. This guy is truly the worst at what he does (and maybe, from what I’ve gathered so far, the worst overall). So if you’re keeping count, that’s already two people drinking at work (eventually, Marciano and Hannah will also drink directly from the bottles behind the bar). The alcohol eventually causes an explosion of shouting between Telly and Marciano within earshot of the guests trying to enjoy a cookout on their first night in a castle that, one assumes, would normally cost a pretty penny to stay there, but, It’s also supposed to make up for it, because so far this staff is a star at best.
The season progresses with new guests coming and going over the course of each episode or two, but their stays are mainly used as a way to frame the staff drama, i.e. there are only a few minutes left before check-in and something terrible has happened. happened. happened! It’s dinner service, but the waiters are nowhere to be found! Nobody knows how the Nespresso machine works! Can they resolve things before chaos breaks out? Sometimes they can, but usually they’re just servants who constantly do themselves a disservice with their ineptitude.
What shows will it remind you of? Villa Vanderpump is the latest show in the long line of “hospitality workers who love drama” shows like Vanderpump Rules, southern hospitalityand Below deck.
Our opinion: There is so much disconnect in programs like Villa Vanderpump and others in this genre of hospitality reality (just made up, trademarked) based on how we expect service industry workers to treat us and how they treat each other. Big personalities with a tendency to say things like “Keep my name out of your mouth” make for great television, we know. But how much do you really want to tip a person who acts like a jerk? Villa Vanderpump is a show that takes that formula of HUGE personalities with a job to do, and has literally trapped these people together; In the second episode, Lisa herself tells her staff that if they weren’t 6,000 miles from home, she would probably fire some of them for their behavior, but alas, we’re stranded in the south of France and no one is going to be taken from there. the facilities yet because then we would have to get work visas for some second-tier employees.
But the most exhausting problem with this show is the way all the participants get easily irritated and indignant. That, combined with the fact that Lisa can’t fire anyone, means we’re stuck with this annoying gang whose competence is constantly being questioned. The drama is juicy but feels especially manufactured, it’s hard to believe anyone’s emotions can go from zero to sixty as quickly as this cast does. Lisa’s ability to put them in her shoes and draw out genuine moments during one-on-one conversations helps a little, but so far, it’s hard to want to remain a guest in this villa.
Sex and skin: Eric, the recently porced castle manager, and Priscila, the waitress, get a little frisky in their swimsuits at the villa pool, but so far there’s not much trouble.
Parting Shot: Marciano and Telly have a shouting match in which he aggressively approaches her face and Telly pushes him away. Manager Eric tries to get her away from him and another of her colleagues, I think Hannah, and then yells, “We’re LABOR“All while hotel guests literally strain to hear what all the fuss is about. Incidentally, among these guests is a woman to whom her boyfriend is supposed to propose marriage the next day, a proposal that Lisa emphasizes must be SECRET. I’m on pins and needles wondering if one of these fools is going to mess it up.
Performance worth seeing: Marciano is the car crash that you can’t help but crane your neck to see more of on the road, putting yourself and everyone in your vehicle at risk because you can’t believe how messed up it is. On the opposite side of things, Andre, the second mixologist, seems like a rule-follower and quiet guy who seems intimidated, in the sweetest way, by Lisa.
Memorable dialogue: “This is not Chateau Shitshow, this is Chateau Rosabelle, which I created, and you two are not going to ruin it!” Lisa tells Marciano and Hannah, after finding out that they were drinking at work even though they had been explicitly told not to.
Our call: SKIP IT. It’s entirely possible that this show and its cast will evolve into a group we want to invest in, but this first season feels tired. You could also hang a DO NOT DISTURB sign on it.
Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show. Chain reaction.
