Shametown, U.S.A.

Posted by Dan April 10th, 2007 at 03:06pm In Guilty Pleasures Reality

After catching the first two episodes of the season this weekend, I’ve decided that I’m now obsessed with the show Work Out on Bravo.

There’s nothing you can say to me that will make me feel any worse about liking it, so please curb your hostility. Please.

The show focuses on personal trainer/entrepreneur/lesbian extraordinaire Jackie Warner and her gym full of hard-bodied employees.

The good thing about Work Out is that I actually like Jackie. The closest cousin to this show is Blow Out, starring the utterly ridiculous Jonathan Antin, and that show was sabotaged by Antin’s narcissism and trying-too-hard-ishness. Jackie, on the other hand, is plainspoken and professional, but fun and spunky (as you can tell by her hair).

There cast is rounded out by:

Jesse, the young gay trainer who is actually ‘ha ha’ funny much of the time.

Brian, the young straight trainer who is very southern and a magnet for conflict — particularly with Jackie. Jesse and Brian have that sort of weirdo relationship where they tease each other all the time out of love, but deep down you kind of get the feeling that they hate each other. It’s this sandwich of animosity, comeraderie and then more animosity on top.

Zen, the aspiring comedian and reluctant sportswear model.

Gregg, who used to date Zen, and weirdly asked her to come to his trial for punching a guy. Just seems like a bizarre thing to ask a former romantic interest — as if she’d say “Sounds like fun! I’ll bring the Fiddle Faddle!”

On the finale of season one, we were lead to believe that Jackie had cut all ties with her batshit crazy girlfriend Mimi — a hot Brazilian firecracker prone to biting and throwing glass instead of using her words. The season premiere found them back at square one — having apparently phenomenal sex but hating each other the rest of the time. They did one of those ethically questionable camera-in-the-therapy-session things (a la Breaking Bonaduce) to show just how much it wasn’t going to work out.

Now Jackie’s officially playing the field, with dates ranging from a chick named Tiffany (who beat Jackie’s ass at the batting cages — and I still can’t tell if she was mildly turned on by that, maddened by it or a combination of the two) to trainer Rebecca (a former Amazing Race contestant) who has decided to become a recreational lesbian the way other people might dabble in intramural floor hockey or pottery classes.

Tonight’s episode promises to be quite heavy, though. Back in January, trainer Doug Blasdell died of kidney failure at the age of 44. Doug was the gay father-figure of the gym and I half don’t want to watch tonight’s episode for fear of getting upset — but I know I don’t have that kind of resolve.