A farce to be reckoned with

The show's called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and it plays on Bravo TV. I can't criticize the show itself until I actually watch it, but I think the premise is positively inane: a team consisting of five gay men, each with their own respectable style forte, makeover straight men -- all while chatting innocuously about how "this is horrible" and "this was so last season" when gawking at their furniture or even their closet full of clothes. If you like watching those "When Animals Attack" shows, then chances are you'll love the brute, viperous criticisms these queers dish out.

Personally, I think a show like this tarnishes the gay image by presenting yet another sterotypical version of the gay man. It's a step in the wrong direction, as far as opening minds goes. From an entertainment perspective, however, I think it blends right in with the rest of the Gay makeover-type shows.

These queer guys look an awful lot like another set of queer guys. I like the Kids better.

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Just heard a segment on this show on NPR. They referenced Tom Shales' negative Washington Post review, in which he writes, "Things change -- or do they?" The Portland Tribune was also unimpressed.

There's a long-ish write-up over at CNN, in which the creator thinks big: "We're hoping to break down some walls," he says. Over at the Boston Globe, a review of the show's marketing strategy. Finally, John Sellers shares his true tale of going under the "Queer Eye" knife.

I can't watch the show, so I can't pass judgement. But from what I've read, I can't see why it's any more or less innocuous or offensive than, say, "Will & Grace" or "Queer As Folk." I mean, there are sitcoms starring white people or black people making even bigger asses of themselves, and apart from a few "COPS" jokes, no one really cares.

I didn't actually see the show either but I read a review and it seemed interesting to me at least because I will often call a gay friend of mine to come with me if I need to go shopping for a business suit or something like that. He's awesome, like taking the fashion sense of a woman and combining it with the "let's get what we came here for and get out of the mall" mentality of a man. Anyway, the woman who wrote the review described it as "fabulous." I don't know, guess I'll have to watch it to see for myself.

I watched both episodes, and I have to say I really enjoyed the show. I made V watch with me, and I caught him giggling and snorting more than a few times, so I think he liked it too.

What's fun about it is that it's part Food Network, part "Trading Spaces", part makeover, and part MST3K. The gay angle isn't really the focus, though it's the basis for more than a few jokes.

And more than the shows it borrows from, you get a sense that the Fab 5 really care about the guy and want him to look his best and feel good about himself. They're not doing it to show off or for the shock value, and if they sometimes miss the mark (foie gras?? what were they thinking??) they mean well. Even their vicious comments aren't really mean-spirited.

There may be stereotypes, but I didn't find the show offensive, and I thought the gay angle was more a gimmick than anything else.

:O)

I looked up the credentials of the Fab 5, pretty amazing!

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