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TV -- Falling for ’Can’t Get a Date’ |
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Written by asap
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Tuesday, 11 July 2006 |
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You’d think that by now we’ve seen every iteration of the reality show and the makeover show and the reality/makeover show. You’d be hard pressed to summon a pitch for a show that seems completely fresh. On paper, VH1’s “Can’t Get a Date” sounds like the rest: a person who’s unlucky in love gets some advice, some new duds and is then shoved out to catch the prize.
But it’s different. Really different. By using an auteur’s eye for stylized shots, innovative narration and creative casting, CGAD effectively takes a genre known for its base instincts and turns it into a scrumptiously crafted extravaganza. It stands out not because it has come up with a yet-to-be-exploited schtick (“Dancing with Remodelers!”) but, rather, because it acutely pays attention to the details and summons the courage to make something, well, beautiful.
A CGAD episode usually begins with a character we know as The Host talking about the Can’t Dater, a person we see in front of a stark white backdrop. The Host is speaking in the confident tenor of faraway narrators, but then we quickly realize he’s not doing a voice-over -- he’s actually speaking in the same shot as the subject. And the Can’t Dater speaks back to The Host. This is immediately jarring but in a completely compelling way.
As we follow our Can’t Dater through the remodeling process, this person speaks directly to the camera, but the camera isn’t just a camera here: It’s The Host’s eyes. We follow the story almost fully through The Host’s perspective. Narrative flourishes include beautiful time-lapse shots of our daters, 360 degree wizardry and seamless tracking shots.
While other reality shows such “Big Brother” and “Trading Spaces” try to demonstrate how very real they are by employing low production values, CGAD takes a modified Brechtian approach to reality. Brecht, a dead German playwright, famously argued for exposing the artifice of performance, so a Brechtian play might feature characters speaking directly to the audience. CGAD rather smartly exposes the fakeness in reality shows by using a cinematic approach. By making the show highly stylized, the creators of CGAD are sort of admitting that reality shows aren’t documentaries -- they are efforts of fanciful storytelling. Filming a reality show in a flat documentary style tries to mask that fact, but it’s a bit like dressing a billionaire in rags.
None of this would be the least bit interesting if the show didn’t feature people we care about. While this show, like most reality programs, seems to recruit entertainment wannabes (after all, performers are more willing and able to expose themselves), the DNA of these folks are completely different. No buffbots here. We have aspiring toy designers, aspiring comedians, aspiring dancers, all with more than a little New York attitude hammered into them. They are cranky, neurotic, off-kilter and coo-coo.
Take Morgan. He lives with his parents, pees in a jar because his mom takes too long in the bathroom and antagonizes possible dates. We see him get smoothed out and go after a girl named Jenny Doom because her name reminds him of a comic book character. We’re with him all the way. It’s like watching a short by indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. But with a happy ending.
Sadly, it seems like the reality viewing public would rather watch people eating horse brains than some artfully conceived program. Thus far, there’s been no word whether CGAD will be back for another season. But I’m rooting for CGAD, just like I root for the people who can’t get a date.
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More info on the show:
You can watch “Can’t Get a Date” episodes in their entirety on VSpot, the video-on-demand channel at VH1.com.
Episodes featuring gay and lesbian participants are running currently on the Logo channel.
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Caryn Brooks is asap’s arts and entertainment editor.
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