How to Look Good Naked: No boys allowed
Posted by Dan
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:22am
In The Gays
Carson Kressley has this new show called How To Look Good Naked.
Will you enjoy it? Well, it’s on Lifetime. That’s your first clue.
I’ll start by saying this — How To Look Good Naked shouldn’t be viewed by men. And that includes gay boys (yes, even you way in the back with the pocket square). Lifetime is not Oxygen (or TLC, or whatever). Lifetime is for real women with real uteri. Oxygen and TLC are meant for people who like Roseanne reruns and the occasional romantic comedy. I can watch a What Not To Wear with my girlfriends like a champ, but this is a completely different ball game (excuse the sports reference).
The premise of the show is that Carson visits gals who are plus-sized, helps them embrace their figure, and then gets them to dress in the most flattering way possible. Like Queer Eye, the show has a very positive vibe and is all about self-actualization. On that note, while I don’t want to sound like a douchebag, here goes: I appreciate the show’s good intentions in promoting self-love regardless of size, but I’m also wary of selling the message that people should just give up and accept unhealthy weights. Which is something I feel the show does.
But on an entertainment level, if you’re expecting the rollicking good times of Queer Eye in its heyday, you’re likely to be disappointed. Carson can’t carry on that kind of ruckus by himself, no matter how hard he tries. Much of the fun of that show was based on the fact that they were usually dealing with a big lug of a guy and they didn’t necessarily have to worry that much about teasing him. How To Look Good Naked replaces sarcastic teasing with Cosmo Girl style tips and the result, for me at least, is not watchable.
Furthermore, based on the pilot, I’m a little curious to see how they’re going to make a series out of this. How many different ways can you tell a woman to get a bra that fits and that peasant skirts are flattering on any figure? Shrug.
Has Carson Kressley ever seen a naked woman? Would he want to? Why does this exist?
Aww…I thought it was a nice, kind-hearted show compared to What Not to Wear. (Fair enough on how long they can keep it going on, though.) And I think that if they were taking morbidly obese women, that would be one thing, but I would argue that these weights aren’t especially unhealthy so much as normal.
That said, I don’t know why the hell Carson is involved. And it’s not really something I’d watch for fun. But I do appreciate that it’s more than a makeover show, and actually attempts to make the women happy with who they ARE, with less “new makeup, hair, and wardrobe” emphasis than other makeover shows. Entertaining television? Maybe not. Actively damaging the psyches of women everywhere? Definitely not. So I’m relatively on board.
I could have gone further with the “damaging message” thing, but decided not to. I do think there is a bit of murky messaging, but I also don’t think that a weekly half hour on Lifetime will bring about a new public health crisis in America.
[...] Dan had some misgivings about Carson Kressley’s tepid new show How to Look Good Naked. (TiFaux) [...]
Well maybe as one episode.
But I bought a Season Pass from iTunes, because I live in Buenos Aires and don’t get new American TV.
And week after week of the same gimmicks, exactly the same but with different contestants, is BORING.
Carson is totally wasted.
Bravo for the positive idea, but no kudos for a boring execution.
well ithink you look good but you nneed a super boyfreind!!