Recently I have watched a couple of documentaries about celebrities where they were mostly executive producers as well and when I discussed it with some people,it appears people have very strong opinions about it. Like ‘reality’ tv, people tend to question weather documentaries about celebrities where they are also executive producer is in fact real? 

I have written in a post about ‘guilty pleasures’ that I do watch so-called ‘bad tv’ aka ‘reality tv’. At this day and age everyone and their aunt knows it’s not exactly REAL, but it’s either entertaining or good background noise, otherwise why even putting it on?

 My first ‘reality’ ( yes, I will be putting them all in quotation marks due to the fact they’re mostly not real per se) show I watched and saw it through was Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive! If you’re googling it, you’re not alone. I was watching it in Europe and it was about offsprings of filthy rich(American celebrities). Some last names did ring a bell, but I still needed to google every single one of them! Then most of their parents were indeed famous in their own right, but if they were famous for American sports they were most likely unknown to an average European ( and I dare to say people from any other continent) viewer.  As far as I remember only one of them went on to have a successful career in ‘reality tv’: no other than Kourtney Kardashian! To be honest she was the only female that stood out out of the bunch ( looks wise and willingness to participate) and the guys at this point all blend into one ( it’s been a minute). If I’m not wrong Fabian Basabe was the most spoiled of the bunch and seen as the ‘villain’ for… oh,so many inappropriate things,comments and such( I would have to rewatch it to be sure, so apologies if I named the wrong privileged boy). At this point I was under belief that what I watched was real being in the brand new genre of: reality tv.  

The next few a watched, but not exactly religiously were : Simple Life ( I was aware how privileged they were but it was another level, so I gave them a benefit of a doubt that it must be edited to make them extra clueless) , The Hills ( team Lauren : ‘ you know what you did’) and Girls Next Door!  The last one might come as a surprise to those who know me because I am so far removed from anything Playboy, which was the exact thing that drew me into watching it. Again, very early into ‘reality’ genre, so I saw it as very entertaining as it’s something I’d never even consider partaking in ( never really read it, never aspired to be a Playmate, might have some ‘daddy’ issues but not to the point of 40+ age gap in a relationship). Now I’m following Girls Next Level podcast with Holly and Bridget ( there was always something endearing about Bridget) and realizing the extremes to which it was scripted, faked and edited to make it as entertaining as it was. Apparently it could be quite sinister and dark behind the scenes. Then the biggest ‘reality’ blockbuster came with the Kardashian family. I started watching it while I was still in Europe ( before people were trying to catch up with them and started going mental over them and the show), but couldn’t keep up with the who is who to each member of  the family so gave up on it pretty early on. Then I came to the USA and they were everywhere! Gave it another go, but didn’t last more than few episodes. Now I watch the clips of things that end up in the news!!! so I can keep up with small talk. 

Then we got flooded with everything under the sun with ‘reality’ as a genre. I will try to stay in positive lane,so not addressing some of this shows that make me cringe. Even if I fundamentally disagree with a concept it’s part of our ‘culture’  and I will take a look so I have an actual reason why I can’t watch it.  One of those are The Bachelor and The Bachelorette shows! The concept is beyond my comprehension, so I couldn’t even force myself to watch it. Then it got so big I decided to watch one of each. It is so cringe to me that I was watching it and covering my eyes and ears at times. Not sure what happens there but it sure made the contestants on the show prepare to be one of the best in another  ‘reality’ show ‘Special Forces’.  Makes you think what kind of abuse they went through that they would be so good at something extremely hard for regular folks. Thought I watched ( using this term loosely, cause there was a lot of fast forwarding) these two and made me sad for our future in finding love department, there was a fully scripted show based on it , called UnREAL , that explained the craziness that occurs behind the scene to create such entertainment. That one I did watch all 4 season, because it was a relief to know it was scripted and no hearts and souls were damaged in the process and gave us an idea of what makes a show like that. 

Other ‘reality’ I follow but not religiously or from the start are some of the Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules for a couple of seasons during COVID (so I was aware of the characters involved in Scandoval that was a topic of conversation with surprising people this year), Selling Sunset ( entertaining and cringe at the same time) and Below Deck ( mostly Mediterranean, because besides the drama I also was familiar with  some of the locations). If I was to recommend any to actually watch I’d probably go with the competition of sorts like The Traitors ( if you’re in US I’d suggest go with that version) and Claim To Fame ( I really enjoyed season 2) and a feel good one that got me crying at times: Welcome To Wrexham! If you liked Ted Lasso, you grew up with football ( soccer for Americans) and are cheering for the underdog the last one has everything you need to get you hooked. 

Now to the subject of celebrity documentaries. I have seen quite a few recently so I’ll focus on that cause if you’re interested in it after reading it will be easy to find and look it up. The saga of the Sussexes! In case you just joined our Misfits party, allow me to bring you up to speed. I grew up in Europe and I’m around the same age as the princes so as a joke my generation of girls were asked: do you like William or Harry? Like any of us is actually gonna go off to merry one of them, but it was asked for celebrities who were just as unattainable,so why not. Thought even if that was an option I’m not big on following rules and big families so never daydreamed about that exactly, but when I thought of what a princess would be it was always someone like Kate, princess of Wales. To me she checks all the boxes: the looks, the fashion, the family values, grace, interests in everything from arts, music to charity. If you’re aware of the royals your whole life, like myself, you’ll also appreciate late Queen’s: ’never complain,never explain’. Katie has changed so much within the Firm in a very smart, slow and strategic way and with no fuss whatsoever. To me that’s class and something to admire. Then came the chaos that are Harry and Megan. Did I watch the Oprah interview? Yes. Did I then cave and watched the Netflix ‘special’? Yes again. I’ll keep this short: I do believe that those two believe the narrative portrayed in it, but I also believe that ‘recollections may vary’ due to the fact they knew we’d never hear the other side. This is obviously my humble opinion and I might be wrong, but for a documentary: math just wasn’t adding up. 

Other celebrity documentary I recently watched was ‘Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields’. From what I got Brooke was not one of the producers on it so I find in favor of a proper documentary told objectively by a third party.  Wouldn’t call myself exactly a fan of her as a person or of her work, but also not a hater who dislikes someone for no reason, so I watched it with an open mind to find out more on someone I have known of my whole life. It was actually quite sad to see her personal story as well as her highs and lows professionally. All in all a good watch. Another one of those examples would be ‘Tina’ documentary. She was also not one of the producers and even if you saw the movie and read about her in the papers, this is a well done personal story of a survivor, mother, wife, artist and a woman behind the name. Tina’s documentary didn’t seam to make waves or form any strong opinions or criticism.  

One of the latest ones I watched was ‘Beckham’ . It is the story of one of the most famous footballer, mostly told by the main character : David himself. Full disclosure: I love me Posh and Becks( in Victoria’s voice). It’s mainly his story starting from birth to now, but being married for over 20 years it’s also a love story and story of a family. Is it all in there? I don’t know. Is it interesting? One hundred percent! Those who know me are aware of my lack of interest in any sport, but this story is more than just a player, though it is a huge part of his identity. What surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed watching him play. Just because I have no interest in sports it doesn’t mean you don’t see the talent if you’re familiar with the game. You don’t have to be an actor to see talent in a play or a movie, or a painter to see the greatness in famous artists work. That’s what caught me off guard: the way he played the game. Their story, their children,his looks, the brand that are  Beckhams are things I was always familiar and aware of, but his dedication to the game, loyalty to Manchester United and the hate he got for that red card were all new to me. The question I mostly find myself disagreeing with people on this subject is his alleged infidelity. Did he or didn’t he? In my opinion there’s only one person that deserves an answer to that: his wife. Never found myself invested in other people’s relationships and marriage. What works for me may not work for you and vice versa. My take on this one: haters will hate and people like myself will be entertained, educated and happy to see family standing up for each other and encouraging each other in any and all of their interests and passion.

 If any of this got you interested in watching some ‘guilty pleasures’, looking into something different then I hope you enjoy it and if you’re hate reading it so you can judge…it won’t land on fertile ground, because I have no shame in watching and exploring anything and everything on visual media.

*** ‘Something Beautiful’ Robbie Williams and ‘Stop’ by Spice Girls