Jessica Simpson's Price of Beauty Premiers on VH1 to Tepid Reviews

After former Newlyweds star and singer Jessica Simpson was made fun of on TV and in tabloids for her weight gain last year, she decided to fight back. Yes, she dropped those dreaded ten pounds, but she also decided to embark on a quest to find out what beauty really means in different parts of the world. But this is VH1, not CNN, so her team consists of friend and former personal assistant Cacee Cobb, and hairstylist Kevin Paves (not exactly the dream team for changing the world, but what do you expect?). The result? Jessica Simpson's Price Of Beauty on VH1, a so-called investigative program that showcases painful beauty regimens around the world and throws in some classic Jessica "duh!" moments to keep viewers entertained. The premiere was on March 15^th, and while some see it as a noble concept, the overall feedback is that the show falls short.

No More Than a Reality TV Gag
While the premise of Price of Beauty seems like something worthwhile, casting Simpson in the lead role turns it into nothing more than The Amazing Race meets I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! with some ditsy Newlyweds-esque moments thrown in. Hank Stuever from the Washington Post states, "Simpson is just another innocent broad abroad, gamely participating in [planned activities]. . . . it's clear that Simpson and her friends are on a trip around the world to make jokes and get free spa treatments."

She and her team are put in crazy situations such as eating bugs that supposedly boost metabolism and using face cream made out of bird poop. And while viewers may get a laugh or two a-la Fear Factor, the VH1 show doesn't go any deeper to try and change things or make a true social statement. Simpson tries a disgusting thing, giggles, and moves on (in designer clothes to a five star hotel at the end of the day, no doubt). It's no secret that expecting Jessica Simpson to go on reality TV is expecting these antics, but in the context of what this show is supposed to be, it's embarrassing.

Making Fun of Culture
The show might have some merit if Simpson seemed to really care about the cultures she visits by learning about them ahead of time and truly immersing herself in what they have to offer (read: attempting to eat a bug for thirty seconds in a marketplace is not immersion). Instead, Simpson treats Price of Beauty on VH1 as a child might EPCOT's World Showcase: "this is interesting for five minutes (yawn), can we go visit the pretty princesses at the castle now?"

As David Hinckley from the NY Daily News observes of Beauty, "Imagine what kind of movie Legally Blonde would have been if the Reese Witherspoon character, underneath that ditsy blonde façade, had actually been ditsy." And while Jessica Simpson doesn't purposefully make fun of culture on Price of Beauty, she doesn't stop her giggles in a meditation session with a Buddhist monk, something she should really take more seriously. But when you make your millions being stupid on reality TV as Jessica Simpson did, then I suppose she feels she has the right. And while I'm not Buddhist or Thai, I would imagine that many would find her antics offensive, not sweet and charming. As Stuever asserts, "Simpson's naïveté about the world beyond her own crosses a line from mildly clueless to patently offensive. . . . if we're talking about real beauty, this sort of ignorance looks unattractive on a woman her age."

Show Has Some Merit
Despite the harsh criticism, some reviewers have a soft spot for Simpson, declaring growth from her Newlyweds days. Karla Peterson from Sign On San Diego calls Jessica Simpson "a game hostess," "likeable" and "real" on Price of Beauty. Linda Stasi from The New York Post says that "sometimes [Price of Beauty] works . . . beautifully." Even James Poniewozik from Time states that "Within its parameters . . . Beauty's first episode had a certain geeky charm, and made some points about beauty pressures on women that you rarely see in the beauty-normative, product-placement happy world of The Bachelor and Project Runway." And while most concur that even at its worst, Beauty is a welcome change from most of the superficial and horrid reality TV out there, only time will tell whether or not Jessica Simpson's Price of Beauty on VH1 will be remembered for bringing terrible and painful beauty regimens to light, or just for more of her dumb-blonde gags.

Sources:
Hank Stuever Reviews Jessica Simpson's "The Price of Beauty"
"Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty:" Quickie Review
Jessica Simpson Eats Bugs, Stays Ditsy
"The Price of Beauty" in the Eye of the Beholder
The World According to Jessica Simpson
"Price of Beauty"