Thirteen years after her first show, All American Girl, was a near-legendary flop, Margaret Cho is back on teevee with a VH1 “reality-sitcom” called The Cho Show. So, it’s kind of like The Two Coreys, except VH1 admits most of it is made up.
Although Cho’s husband Al is nowhere to be found (in an interview with Radar Cho said “We want to stay married, okay? That’s our life, no one else’s. We want that to remain private.”), everyone else is playing themselves. In addition to Margaret–who opens the show with a blatant vadge flash as she’s exiting a car, letting us know right off what the tone of the show will be–there are her parents; the coterie of hair, make-up, and wardrobe gay men who keep her looking fabulous; and her personal assistant and BFF, the 3′10″ burlesque queen Selene Luna. She’s sure to be this show’s New York-style hit, only without the crack whore aspects that term implies.
The cute-awkward moments with her traditional parents (”I keep them around because old people are a really good source of prescription medication”) are the show’s best. Seeing an older Asian man admit to smoking marijuana and saying he knows his daughter “isn’t a ‘breeder’”? That’s excellent television. Cho tries her damndest to shock them, like when she models a “dress” that’s basically nothing but body paint and a shitload of glued-on crystals; but they’re too busy beaming with pride to care. They also seem to think that the diminutive Selene is their granddaughter, and take her shopping for a traditional Korean hanbok. At one point Cho’s mother is clearly holding her hand. Adorable!
It’s good to see the feisty comedianne back on the air. Thursdays at 11/10 Central, people! Although, don’t sweat it, because VH1 is sure to rerun it several thousand times a week.
I heart Cho so much but I wish the show was just about leaving the cameras rolling while she hangs with her gays and Korean parents. I’m not digging all the pre-fabricated shenanigans that seem to be the bane of all reality shows now.
“I’m not digging all the pre-fabricated shenanigans that seem to be the bane of all reality shows now.”
Gene Simmons’ “Family Jewels” is definitely scripted. He jumped the shark when he jacked off the bull. I was thinking, oh, this is bullshit. I get it. Kind of like how most of Kiss’s music lacks any real depth. I would like to see more shows about trannies all the same. I don’t mean fabricated shows, but an honest to God docu-reality-drama. Perfect example of a good trannie show is Sundance’s “Trans-generation”. Only after seeing that show did I really begin to believe that some people are spiritually opposite of their physical gender. I know, it’s a break through for me because I am southern.
As for Cho, I’ve always really liked her. I think she even did saturday morning commercials when I was a kid. It was like, it’s OK to be a friend to the Asians. They really like America and…. and I was like: Will they teach me how to do kung fu?
You see what I mean? It’s like she’s here to debunk the myths about Asians. I’m into that. Still, I don’t know if others are…. I think if she gets away from the Asian-centric comedy and just relaxes a litle more, then see, it’ll be Kathy Griffin all over again. She’s really clever, smart, and full of spark. Though, she makes mention of her own self confidence issues. She almost turns herself inside out at times. It can be really serious to hear her talk about how she thought it was a joke that she was chosen as “Korean of the year”. She mentions that a lot of the more affluent Korean Americans used to despise her because of her comedy. She’s really too concerned with how she is perceived by others.
The irony is that it is this over concern that she wears on her sleeve, it’s that that turns people off. It’s not the actual issues she worries about. She’s almost in a catch 22 of sorts. If she does that in this show it will tank. We want to be entertained, not feel uncomfortable or re-live our own self esteem issues. She could do a whole show just on that dynamic and put it to rest. No, fuck it Margaret, do a whole goddamn show about that. Get all out. Tell us, and wrap it up in a single episode or two, about what it’s like to be an Asian girl in America with the self esteem issues. That’s the way to open it up. Don’t wear it on your sleeve.
Oh, and more trannies please. I don’t want glittery trannies that are there as a side show. I want honest to God Trans-gender people whom are candidates for sexual re-assignment. Now that, that’s fascinating.
Perahps it’s because I don’t actually watch that much reality teevee, but I find I don’t mind the invented hijinks so much as long as they’re up front about it. Which is why I made a dig at the The Two Corys, because A&E seriously asks people to accept that shit ain’t scripted? Bitch, please.
The Two Coreys, in my opinion, is of this model:
Everyone is in on it except Haim. His actual love of prescription meds is just something the rest of them sit around and pick at until he comes un-glued. Though later, when he talks to the director, he’s like: Oh, did you think that was dramatic enough? Can you get me more Vicodin?
The Director is like: Yes and Yes.
The rumor is that Haim was offered a more lucrative deal for Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. That’s why there’s no certainty about whether or not there will be a new season of the show. There will be, but it’s postponed until he gets through with Celebrity Rehab.