Wordiezett
So much average
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Ginger
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Kayden
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
eggnoglover-27582
I heard about this show through word of mouth and I must admit I had some preconceived notions about what it would be like. I don't know; I think I expected it to have a little more, how you say, depth. I expected a cast of honest, lively characters. I expected there to be bigger problems that who's dating whom. I did not expect that the parents would be played by professional hand models and appear just whenever the kids (who are obviously in their mid-twenties) needed to borrow a credit card. I expected that if they did go nuts with the card, there would be some consequences. I expected at least one character to be the moral center of the group, to talk them out of this silliness and say "I told you so" if they didn't listen. But most of all, I expected this show (being the "Real Orange County" and all) to try and teach kids that being a stuck-up rich kid from California is NOT the solution to all of life's problems. I guess this is what you come to expect after decades of watching GOOD TV. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound like some old curmudgeon complaining about offensive material on TV; personally I enjoy it in small doses. And this show was not "offensive" to me in the traditional sense, at least not the few episodes I saw. I just think it sends a bad message, lacks substance, and is overall very painful to watch. It was apparent when I saw this that the Golden Age of Television was at its bitter end. So you may call me a "naysayer" if you wish, but I feel there are certain things that need to be said. Speaking as a veteran TV-watcher, I've seen some crap in my day, but this, as they say, "takes the cake." Goodnight, folks.
liquidcelluloid-1
Network: MTV; Genre: Reality/Drama; Content Rating: TV-PG (some language and suggested sex involving teens); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 – 4); Seasons Reviewed: 2 seasons Any adult that voluntarily watches MTV's pseudo-reality series "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" is going to get exactly what they expect. The show hones in on its target demographic and gives them exactly what they want in a glitzy package. For me to sit here high and mighty and decry MTV for feeding the ego of a handful of Orange County families - taking a group of spoiled in-crowd teenagers and turning them into basic cable TV stars for being everything that has made their life so easy up until that moment - would be irrelevant to the show's audience and its cynical producers.Those corporate stooges here are creator Liz Gateley and developer Adam Davolla. "Laguna Beach" is trash. But it's hyper-stylized trash. Cameras capture events with angles impossible to have taken all at once and show is shaped into a such-as-it-is narrative structure. And there in lies the rub and, you might argue, the evil genius on MTV's part. The show falls in a surreal valley for the viewer: to technically polished to be real, yet so frivolous, so lazy, about so little, that who in their right mind would go to the trouble to fake or script it.Supposedly the seasons were shot over the course of 6 months, the people, situations and "drama"… are real - as real as the real orange county (take that Josh Schwartz). The "drama" is all inconsequential relationship entanglements that the characters voluntarily bring upon themselves. Those characters - a group of barely distinguishable sun worshipers who continually swap partners amongst their own incestuous group, then gossip and cry about who is with who now. They do nothing in the world but sit in the hot tub, shop, party and gossip. The girl's vocabulary consists of saying everything is "cute" and the guys have almost no vocabulary at all – struggling to grunt out monosyllabic expressions amid blank stares and silence. Aren't they cute? But even if the bubbliest teenage girl doesn't mind being pandered to, if they step back and look at it they might realize that "Laguna" violates law of inevitability # 1 for why reality shows don't work: real people are usually not very interesting – and it doesn't matter how many times they go to Cabo, how many times their car stalls in the street, how many times they get cheated on, or how many beach bonfires they go to. Having been pampered their entire lives has prevented the "Laguna" gang from growing a sense of humor. The guy's idea of a practical joke is to dress up in a bear costume and crawl into a tent, or don ski masks and stalk outside a girl's poker party smearing fake blood on the window.The bear costume comedy genius: Stephen (Stephen Colletti), who is presented through the show and the eyes of LC (Lauren Conrad) and her friends as God's gift to women. They sit around for hours talking about this guy and with feet-sweeping one-liners like "You're a hottie with a body" how can they not. The other series "stud", particularly in season 2 is Jason, whose half of the conversation is consists of sitting in silence and answering questions with questions. My favorite is when he says he's mad at his girlfriend for the look on her face. She responds "How do I look?" and he goes "You tell me". His jerk tactics work like magic on every girl on the show. In season 2 their world revolves around him.The star of the series is Kristin (Cavalleri) – and arguably LC. Both of whom serve as narrators. Both are the poster children perpetuating MTV's narcissistic lifestyle. Kristin is the "player" of the group who gets away with it with a laugh and a smile from all her friends because she's a girl. Lauren plays the nice girl role that falls for all the jerks, knowing that they are jerks, and ends every first date in the hot tub. I'm all about anti-heroes, always have been. The kids of "Laguna" led by Kristin are prime examples – but there is no way MTV had that in mind when stitching the show together. Instead of ironically mocking them, the show is a slobbering celebration of their life. But it's a life where the girls spend most of their time sitting around being victims to apathetic dudes with a reputation for cheating who then cheat on them. Giving Kristin and LC a complete pass for similar piggish behavior, the inevitable message shaped by "Laguna Beach" becomes simply: boys suck.I'm going to have to admit total lack of comprehension with the show's storyline. The kids of "Laguna Beach" appear to graduate from high school and leave for college twice. The show has a morbid fascination to it, like watching a snake eat a rat or driving past a nasty head-on collision. But if you were able to read this review, you know this much.The show might have worked by putting an ironic or satirical eye on their antics. But MTV wants these kids to be role models to melt the minds of a generation of girls so they will expect nothing more in their entertainment. Without giving away plot lines, Lauren does something completely random and out of character in the final few episodes that gives her a dramatic arc. It's almost as if she's making a play for a spin-off… * / 4
hms-kevinwashia
Look, if you turn to MTV for insightful, revealing programming (save, perhaps, True Life) you need to take a better look at what you're watching. Getting progressively worse, MTV's shows are shallow, materialistic and idiotic. That's not to say shows like this don't have their place (who hasn't siphoned some entertainment at such pitiful classics as Date My Mom, Parental Control or Next?) but my God, you really need to understand what it is you're watching. Laguna Beach is by far the worst excuse for reality television I have ever seen, and I'm not a fan of reality TV to begin with.One: this is not a likely reality in that way that you know it (based on simple economical statistics). These are the airy and hollow social interactions of a bunch of spoiled teenagers who live in their own secluded little world, have everything handed to them on a silver platter, and, out of sheer boredom and listlessness, blow common social problems so far out of proportion that it takes all the will power of the viewer not to pull an Elvis and unload a round into the television. Two: this is not their reality in anyway either since there is an insane amount of editing that takes place between what actually goes on and what you end up seeing.If you're a fan of reality TV and are willing to suspend disbelief for an agonizing half an hour, then you might enjoy this. Otherwise, you'll see this show for what it is- a bunch of snobby brats advertised as genuine everyman/woman characters that most people can relate to and generally pathetic entertainment. Watch at your own risk.
anastasiaveno
I'm pretty bored with the lives of Laguna Beach now. I've catch the show more than 6 times on TV as all they do show here is re-runs. I'm pretty much the show's loyal fan but let's put it this way: Why do they want to put their lives on TV? Don't they have anything better to do? Also, who cares if she stills my boyfriend or he is kissing my girlfriend? I personally think that even though cat fights are a must but can't they fight about something else other than the same things : L.O.V.E. that practically we all know won't happen. In my opinion, I prefer Season 2 a lot because the fights are real. We all go through it once in a while but Season 3 is what makes me mad. The new-school people tend to think they have it all. Especially Cami. Why can't she just leave? Someday, she's gonna realize that life isn't that great. She practically thinks that she's hot and stuff like that but look at this; she's ALEX MURREL's clone. Just a lot more evil. LC's sister is kinda the nobody. I wish she would reveal herself more. Thank goodness Jessica is still there. She reminds me a lot about Season 2 and the REAL Laguna Beach. I also have no idea why Season 3 has to be all about Tessa? I think this time it should be Jessica. Yes, Jessica is dumb for being fooled by Jason or the other way around but Kristin's got enough attention already in the 1st & 2nd season. My wish is to probably see Season 2's cast back for a reunion. If Jessica and Alex M. can do it, why not Kristin & LC. Stephen is actually getting hotter these days. Caught him on TRL re-run and he is cute. I get to see more personality. LC and Jason's relationship on The Hills kinda make me have the whole cool feeling but Laguna Beach or The Hills, everyone has a choice. Any opinions or whatever just mail me at
[email protected] .