If there is one thing Bravo knows how to do, it's find a group of girls with mega-big personalities and bring them together to highlight each for their Breakfast Club stereotypes. But wait, Bravo doesn't keep it that simple! Throughout each season of their various series, the girls shatter those very same stereotypes and we see every problem a woman could face played out on at least one of the shows (breast cancer, infertility, divorce, alcoholism, etc.). Princesses: Long Island does this with finesse, comedy, parents, Judaism and style! It is so entertaining to watch and takes me through a roller coaster of emotions that no housewives' show has ever done. This series is based on six women nearing 30 who are used to living with their parents (and off their money) until they marry. So with each coming birthday the pressure is on to find Mr. Right and begin their own life. Bravo puts us right into that critical time with these women on the prowl to get married and make a name for themselves along the way. Here is a breakdown of the cast, their stereotypes, and the main drama we have seen so far in the first 3 episodes of Princesses: Long Island, enjoy!
Chanel (CoCo) - The Perfectionist is the centerpiece of the group who strives as their leader to make everyone happy and get along. She understands and practices her religion much more than the others which confused me because the premise of the show is that these girls live by Jewish tradition, so why did the others not know the components of a Shabbat dinner? Channel is the only cast member that really feels the pressure to get married, even more so after her younger sister got hitched and is out of their parents home and wallet. She strives for perfection but in everything around her, making CoCo her own worst critic. Because she hasn't yet reached her goals and, as hard as she tries, can't make everyone get along she feels like a failure. CoCo is kind hearted, fun spirited and has good intentions but we are yet to see her angry or fighting with any of her cast mates because of her need to keep the peace. We also see her relationship with her ex-boyfriend in the newest episode, due to the pressure on her to marry she is struggling with letting herself settle for someone who doesn't treat her right. I think that she probably muffles her feelings to avoid confrontation and we might just see her explode at some point. Even the perfectionist must come to the realization that the world isn't perfect and that every story doesn't have a happy ending.
Amanda - The New Jersey Barbie seems nice and definitely energetic but is not my cup of tea, something about her just rubs me the wrong way. She doesn't seem to have any depth, she's just clueless. While the others are trolling for men, she has a boyfriend, Jeff - The New Jersey Ken. He is quirky, strange and has no depth either, making them the perfect couple. Most of their conversation is simply "I love you baby" back and forth over and over again. So far, their activities revolve around the sexual aspects of a relationship and him dressing her up. Suiting their personalities, their relationship lacks any visible meaning. In addition Jeff comes off as a bit creepy. He is something like 15 years older than her, which I have no problem with, but when he went on a duel bathing suit shopping trip with Amanda's mom, Babs (who is closer to Jeff's age), constantly complimenting them both and commenting on how turned on he is, it made my jaw drop. The whole thing is just strange! I have to say that in the latest episode I was happy to see Amanda embrace her mom's need for party time and have a girls night. She also showed character by choosing to have a good time out, but still be faithful to her boyfriend. She also voiced disapproval at Erica's behavior which showed a good moral fiber that we hadn't seen before. I doubt that Amanda will surprise me and really show off some intellect this season but we might get a taste of conflict that makes her relatable, you never know.
Ashlee - The Little Princess is adorable, genuine and funny. However these qualities are not helping her get hitched any faster and I am not entirely sold that she wants too. She is extremely close to her father, Hal, they even go get mani-pedi's together and when she describes her perfect man it seems like she's just looking for a daddy replacement. In their trip to the Hamptons she had some faux-pas during courting as she started the conversation with a potential suitor by telling him he forgot to take the sticker off his glasses, after he informed her that the apparent name brand isn't removable (weird!) she moved on to endless compliments about his looks claiming that he resembled a superhero and came off a bit ditsy when she called Clark Kent Edward Kent. Then midst the conversation called her parents to describe him, on speaker, in front of him! When another cast mate, Joey, went off on her, still in front of the Clark Kent potential, claiming she was breaking "all the girl rules" Ashlee explained herself and she did it well, with confidence and respect. While she might not be attracting all the hot guys, I totally understand where she is coming from and I truly hope that there is that perfect guy out there that will fall in love with her charm and personality for who she is rather than abiding by some ridiculous "girl rules".
Erica - The "It Girl" a decade ago, has fallen far from her throne. She talks a mile a minute and says whatever is in her head at the time, from meditation one second to how she hates the names of all her 900 ex-boyfriends the next. I just don't get her. I have to agree with Casey when she says that its like different worlds with Erica and you never know what you are going to get. She flip-flops back and forth when discussing how she stole cast member Casey's high school love. First she claims she doesn't care if she slept with him five times, then gives a truly heartfelt, yet ridiculous, apology to Casey about how she is a changed person, next we see her telling Channel that it doesn't matter what she did when she was young that everyone goes through shit. So which is it? She mentions seeing her grandmother die at that age, but this "shit" she went through didn't effect her in all her relationships since, and she seems to forget that it was her actions that caused Casey's pain. I am sure if someone murdered her relative that she would harbor resentment towards them for the rest of her life. She is just completely tilted off her axis. I question whether this is related to her problems with drugs and alcohol, which we see in the show, or after a life of being the mistress, a one or two time fling for a number of men, has driven her into her current situation. In the latest episode, she brings up the fact that her boyfriend has trust issues with her, and they are well founded. She is totally inappropriate with the men at the club and hits on everyone in reach, she even lies about having a boyfriend. She is playing into her role as the mistress perfectly; that one time girl who doesn't have any respect for relationships, even her own. I guess we will just have to wait and see if she too can breakthrough the obvious stereotype she has created.
Casey - The Independent Girl is different than the rest of the group, instead of staying home in Long Island she has begun to forge her own path in life as an artist out of NYC. She also doesn't seem as determined to settle down as the other girls and she doesn't troll for men off the street but rather prefers to put the thought out of her mind and let it happen when it happens. This is deeply routed in her past, which I relate to completely, by having a father who cheated on her mother and then at the very impressionable high-school age had a boyfriend ditch her on prom night for another girl (that girl happens to be cast mate, Erica). While much of Joey's opinions on the show are absurd, she hit the nail of the head when describing Casey's heart as being overly blocked off. She has to protect herself from entering a relationship that might end up in the same way. These trust issues are hard to overcome and I really hope that she doesn't miss out on Mr. Right because of her past. While many may think that she is over-reacting in her confrontation with Erica, and I am able to see that perspective, but it is important to remember that even though what Erica did was a decade ago it reverberated the issues with her father from over a decade before that. It's a PTSD issue where the one thing that she feared the most happened to her and amplified her trauma. I think that it is not so much about Erica, but what Erica represents - the mistress, a hated and terrifying person or personality who thinks it's okay to do whatever and then not take responsibility for how their actions effect others. I am a big fan of Casey however she does need a little work on her delivery as her comments go misunderstood or misinterpreted with the other girls. She is the pretty blonde who could get all the guys, but her guarded heart and trust issues keeps all men at bay. Hopefully this group of misfits can get her to let loose and find love.
Joey - The South Beach Girl is taken right off the Jersey shore, her looks and personality to boot. She has an opinion about everything and doesn't seem to understand that it isn't her job to tell everyone else what they should be doing or thinking. Despite this, she does seem to keep her mouth closed, sit back and watch the drama from afar loving the entertainment and taking a bit too much enjoyment from other people's pain. When she brought along a south shore friend to an upscale neighborhood, she simply watched refusing to get involved when no one else could stop her friend from drunkenly harassing Amanda & Jeff about their friendship status on Facebook. I happen to think that if you bring a plus one you have to take some responsibility for them, especially since they are not only embarrassing themselves, which has some say on your personality, but also accosting the other guests. However, Joey doesn't seem to care as her going off about her own made-up "Girl Rules" was not only embarrassing to Ashlee (which she dodged with stunning self-confidence) but surly made the Clark Kent of the situation more uncomfortable than Ashlee and Channel's conversation with Hal. She seems much more interested in the chase then actually settling down and doesn't care if the guy is an idiot or an asshole as long as he is fun right now. There is difference between self-confidence and apathetic cockiness and Joey is definitely the latter. While she doesn't come from as much money as the other girls she far surpasses them with attitude. I have a feeling that this might be a bit of a front she puts on to make up for an insecurity.
These girls couldn't be more unique and polar-opposites and I can't wait to see more! Throughout the season I look forward to seeing which opposites attract and which ones repel as The Princesses of Long Island is a fresh, new spin on Bravo's long list of Housewife-type dramas. There's definitely mishuga, mishpakhe and fargenign in this new hit! (excuse my Yiddish)
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