sleekandchic

I know! Like he's the only person in the world who's had to juggle work, school and family responsibilities. Either Jason is full of crap, or else he never had any intention of going past the contracted 5-week mark. I'm betting he never even told his sick mother of his involvement in this show and that's why he never told Cortney his mother's name, let alone introduce them.There's something wrong with all six of these newlyweds (don't get me started on the experts, either) . Even Cortney, who is the only one with a little bit of sincerity, is obviously deluded and kookooluks. I don't find Jamie beautiful or even pretty. To me, she's got a real witchy look to her nose, mouth and teeth. But beauty is in the eye, of course. However, Doug's puppy-dog BS is often attributed to the fact that he can't believe a beauty like Jamie was paired with him. I don't get it! I want to see a couple of his exes. Were they trolls? Did they all look like his mother? What?! And the stand-up comedy business is obviously the real reason Doug took part in this "experiment." We ain't stupid, people. No matter how this show ends now, no matter who might decide to "stay married" now, I won't believe a word of it. This thing was a big old piece of sham-apalooza from the outset. Maybe even the "experts" were conned. They seem awfully naive and unworldly to me. Like simpletons.

I'm probably remembering incorrectly, but I thought there was some narration ( maybe by Monet?) that Vaughn had requested alone time with his mother and that's why Monet made other plans? I'm not sure though.I know Vaughn' s mother has been well-received, but I don't care for her. I mean she seems lovely and articulate, but telling your faux daughter-in-law that she should play pretend and go along to get along is dopey and insulting advice, in my opinion. I think Mama Vaughn is a more genteel, stealth version of Marie Barone. IOW, a PITA. I also think Mama Vaughn contributed to the special-snowflake mindset that Vaughn possesses. I definitely respect and can agree in theory with the viewpoint that Monet has her issues and has contributed to the failure of her marriage. But I feel sorry for her because I think she was totally blindsided and truly confused by Vaughns behaviors toward her. On their wedding day, both M and V were happy and excited. V reacted well when he first laid eyes on M, and M was the anti-Jamie. Monet was delighted with Vaughn. The wedding day, the reception, the photo session and the getting to know you stuff were all happy, optimistic experiences. Then the audience was told the couple consummated the marriage on the first night, so obviously there was heat and attraction between the two. They were were off to a promising start. The first day or days of the honeymoon also seemed happy. But then as they took a stroll Vaughn started to complain. He told Monet she wasn't attentive enough or demonstrative enough. He outright REFUSED to hold her hand as they strolled. His criticism and standoffishness seemed to come out of nowhere, and it happened so early in the process. I think Monet was hurt and confused, and, in some ways, never bounced back. In my opinion, Vaughn is unreachable because he really doesn't care for Monet and he checked out very early in the game. Nothing she can do or say will change his mind. That's why, I believe, he latched on to complimenting himself this episode about his being civil. I thought he was trying to say, Hey cooperate with me! I'm giving you a gift! Let's just be civil til this BS is over with. I can understand why Monet is acting skittish and impatient, even angry. She THOUGHT the marriage might still have a chance, but his "civil" comment brought home to her that he's only biding his time. -- and probably has been doing that since the honeymoon. So while I do agree that Monet has said a couple of hurtful, insulting things to Vaughn, I believe she's thrown up her defense mechanisms cause she realizes the guy never even TRIED to respect the spirit of the experiment. P.S. I noticed Vaughn patted himself on the back a couple of times (once or twice in the therapy sessions) for picking up Monet at her surgeon's office. But did you catch his snide remark as the receptionist led him back to Monets recovery room? The woman commented, I think she's back here, and V replied well if you hear someone talking and talking, that's her. (Paraphrasing) He can't help himself.

See, I don't think Marisa was a legit Push/Tiger Mom at all. I think she just used Austen as a hook to get a spot on this show for her acting ambitions for herself and now, it seems, for her son.So all those supposed million lessons are soon forgotten and easily dismissed. She'll rationalize that show biz is THE best classroom of all. Can I say how much I hate that the Eisenbergs want to pursue a career for Austen? It's a real shame for that lovely child.

Jamie is on stage at all times in my estimation. It's as though these shows are her auditions for future work. Case in point: During their joint therapy session, Jamie sat thigh to thigh with Doug. And she locked into his gaze with such loving devotion that anyone watching the show for the first time would easily think, wow, now that's True Love! She loves the camera and adores being center-stage. With Jamie, everything she says and does is calculated. Very little rings true to me.

Man. I knew this episode felt like a vanity pilot. But Marisa actually wants to put Austen in show biz, too?! It's official...she's NUTZ!

I agree with you, Ohwell. It's telling to me that there hasn't been a party or a celebratory night out with Vaughn' s friends and Monet. Instead, he ran back to NJ the first chance he got.

Yes! And that's why I wish we saw the incident as it happened, rather than getting the rehash. It's hard for me to accept that Doug is foolish enough to believe his SO wouldn't smell smoke on him. You know, those two people exhaust me. Jamie is a whirling dervish of need and excuses, while Doug's lapdog act is increasingly hard to watch and harder to take.Doug has been in long-term relationships before, right? I wish one of those women would pop up to tell us about Real Doug. And speaking of former SOs, Vaughn wants me to believe that all his old gfs coddled him and nurtured him and waited on him? Ok. It's actually hard for me to accept that he ever had a long-term gf at all. But, if so, what went wrong with all those Stepfords he's waxing nostalgic about? What I remember Vaughn specifying about his preferences was that a woman should have an ample butt and curves. I don't recall the thick thighs reference, but I could have missed it. I also remember a TH in the Honeymoon episode that was, to me, revelatory. While Monet, in her swimsuit, stood upright on her board paddling in the background, we saw and heard Vaughn wistfully address the camera (likely responding to a producer): "well yeah, I DID say I wanted curves, and she sure has those...." (paraphrasing to the best of my memory). I was pretty sure we were about to hear "BUT...." because, to me, he sounded and looked Vaughn™- disappointed.

I wonder why the audience didn't get to see the moment when Doug got busted for smoking, then lied and swore on his mother's life? Instead, we got the rehash and backlash and one-on-ones with the camera.. I'm so suspicious of the machinations here, at first I thought Jamie might be fibbing when she complained that Doug swore on his mother. But, later, Doug was in the room when Jamie repeated the allegation. Still, I would have liked to see the blowup go down as it happened. On a superficial note, I've read criticisms of Doug's hair but I never really paid attention. Tonight though, as he was hanging his head in shame, I did notice that crazy maze of combover he's attempting. Swept to the right, swooped the the left, layered in the center?! Wacky. His desire to please Jamie is sad and scary and unrealistic to me. He's gotta get out of this mess. After this series, he won't have any trouble dating and getting serious with a better match.

I think the true title of the episode came out in Monet' s confessional: when talking about Vaughn, she proclaimed, "You insensitive jackass...." Well yeah. Like a thousand times yeah. I've said it before, and I haven't changed my mind: Vaughn mentally checked out on the honeymoon trip when he saw his wife in a swimsuit. She did not measure up to the supermodel body type that Vaughan thinks he deserves, in my opinion. The End. So even if she were a gourmet chef making him three meals a day, he'd find another excuse to hate on her. Btw, that "she doesn't want to cook for me"-bs and the "she doesn't compliment me enough"-crap are so very lame and embarrassing. That's the best Vaughn can come up with? Doug is a serious amateur athlete so the cigarettes are surprising. Even more surprising was swearing to his lie on his mother's life! That did catch me up short. His sainted MOM!!? Ha. But I dislike Jamie here to such an extent that my sympathy meter just couldn't' engage fully. And she went on and on and on. Man. She was just dying for ANY excuse to extricate herself from the marriage, so she grabbed onto Doug's lie like my dog with a pull toy. . I feel that Jamie is as big a phony as Vaughn in her unique way. And using your alleged sad, deprived childhood to excuse and explain your reactions every single opportunity makes it seem not honest to me. Cortney is kinda making me sad.. Based on what I see here, I think Cortney is absolutely sincere in her feelings for and expectations of Jason. But Jason looks to be having second thoughts about marriage itself. I don't understand why a guy with a dying mother and a crazy work schedule got involved in this wackadoodle experiment in the first place. Did they get a nice paycheck? But he is acting scared to death. Of course, the previews and overall editing, not to mention FB and the twatting (yeah, that's right!), are confusing as hell to me so I am prepared for any and all ridiculous endings.

Yes, I felt Tyler and Wendy were disingenuous in how they portrayed their lifestyle as freedom-loving, hippie nomads. The only things that struck me as authentic in the episode were the kids' confusion and despair.And, btw, in my experience, professional photographers usually get up close and personal with their subjects. I sure hope Mr Whitacre' s hygiene routine is better than what it seemed. Also, dude, change your underwear daily! That dirty-laundry bag that Wendy wielded looked awfully empty to me.

The guncles seemed so humorless and joyless to me. But that had to be somewhat of an act because Simone is a happy, joyful kid. For all their hovering and supposed micromanaging of Simone' s welfare, those guys lost it in the car when Simone had a meltdown over her too-hot fries! The guncle-daddies needed a puff of Shira' s aromamagicalstinkaroo. The editing monkeys missed a golden opportunity there.

When I saw the previews for Austen' s episode last week, I decided not to watch because I knew Mother would make me cocoa for cuckoo puffs. But I am weak! I couldn't' stay away. And much to my surprise, I didn't come away ready to get into the ring with Dr Marisa. And why is that? Well. To me, this episode was really a pilot for The Fab Life of Dr Marisa reality show. The adorable moppet was just the hook. All eyes were on Marisa at all times, and that's really the way this episode was constructed and intended. We had the fit, successful, driven Marisa and her low-key, supportive and hands-on husband/Dad. He plays a decent counterbalance to her supposedly manic Drive for Perfection. Their home, their car, their clothes, their pool, their fitness club -- all fab! There was more than one scene with Mr and Dr Eisenberg confabbing in their to-die-for mega closet, packed with designer beauties. Nice cast of supporting characters too! Marisa' s brother, kind and patient with his little nephew, , firm yet empathetic toward his sis, Dr Marissa. The attractive, driven college girlfriend. The swim instructor, 10x more compassionate and down to earth at age 18, than Mama is at, what, 50?! And a posse of fellow Tiger Moms willing to be shown touring an exclusive, beautiful kids' camp or attending a lecture. Not to mention, the camp supervisor and childcare expert who were more than happy to appear on camera, too. Who knows what other fantastic beautiful people and experts will show up once the series is picked up?! And then the piece de resistance! Dr Marisa' s "breakdown," over her own childhood traumas, her shameful fear of diving (!) and her husband's quiet, but relentless, push to encourage Marisa to OVERCOME HER FEAR! (Sob!..wait....give me a minute, please!) They did disappoint me a little though with the climax.. I was convinced that the entire diving-subplot was leading to Marisa in a sick swimsuit, posed on a diving board, doing an Olympic-worthy plunge. But we really didn't get that. In fact, I thought for one second, wow maybe the subplot was true! Look at her, with only that anemic plop from poolside! But then I realized these people are GOOD! They're saving the next chapter, the dive/the BODY for when the show gets picked up by BRAVO! (Note to Dr M: If you plan on continuing the tragic story of being neglected and overlooked in your childhood, maybe that "diving accident" at age 10 or 12 is not the best way to do it? SOMEBODY cared enough to treat you to pooltime!) Austen? Adorable, smart, sensitive. His parents love him, for sure. I think Marisa played up her manicness for the cameras, but if not, Dad is not going to agree with a lot of her insanity. So I'm hoping the couple stays together, cause a divorce will definitely be the end of Austen's SLIGHT chance for normality. No doubt though that Austen will be spoiled and ruined for any semblance of humility and the reality of everyday life as he grows older. Poor little thing.

I find Jamie to be an insincere phony. She's always "on," playing some kind of part. However, I believe Doug is as authentic as they come. His easy grace playing with the kids was genuine to me, not a show for the camera. These two are a match made in hell. And Vaughn should just admit he didn't care for Monet' s look in a swimsuit during their honeymoon. Yes, he said he wanted curves, just not Monet' s particular body type. She's good enough for five weeks of sex but not good enough for Vaughn' s standards of the supermodel he probably believes he deserves. It really doesn't matter to him what she says, does, agrees to, or compromises with him. Vaughn' s mind was made up by the honeymoon trip. Tonight was the first time I wondered about the genuineness of both Cortney and Jason. I think they're both decent people but not ready for a life together.

I thought that Tyler Whitacre was actually jealous and resentful of his children's enjoying playtime with their peers. As the kids begged for a little more time to be with the new friends -- and Dad quickly refused to budge -- my overall impression of him was cemented. Whatever his reasons or motivations, Tyler wants to be his kids' everything -- the center of their universe. He seems wounded when they ask for life outside of TylerLand. To me, that's an unhealthy and unfair burden to put on your children. In general, I believe that people who raise children should put the kids' overall body/mind/spirit-welfare first and foremost. Maybe Tyler thinks that he's doing that? But all I heard last night was the implicit me, me, me. Their family life was all about what makes Tyler happy. And Wendy is being subversive in enlisting her kids to get Tyler to compromise. It's Wendy's job to advocate for her kids, not the kids' job to learn manipulation and plotting for her purposes. To be fair though, and based on what I saw of the two families profiled last week, this series' aim is to highlight questionable, WTF parenting decisions. To me, "extreme" anything is a potential disaster. Oh, and I'm probably 100 percent wrong, but I can't help thinking that Tyler's surname is actually Whittaker, and the change to Whitacre is to illustrate his special snowflake status -- while also sticking it to his own parents.

Somebody needs to get a copy of this episode to Will Ferrell STAT. Tyler was a bad parody of Will, and I'd love it if Ferrell could memorialize the idiocy that is Mr Whitacre in a a no-holds barred film satire. My guess is Tyler grew up in a home that had all the material comforts that money could buy. But, for whatever reasons, he feels his childhood was devoid of love, attention and support. Poor little rich boy syndrome, maybe? Fine. Go to a shrink for your issues, and leave your innocent kids out of your wallowing self-pity/self-help. Moron. Wife Wendy is just as bad, if not worse, than her husband. She knows better! Yet she's willing to sacrifice her children to her husband's lunacy. I had to wonder about Tyler's whiny pining for the physical closeness of the kids 24/7. Were the couple having sex in their tent, right next to the kids? The little boy was obsessed with material objects and consumerism. Obsessed! Can't the parents see that? Isn't that the polar opposite of what they say they want? And, as an aside, the new puppy was gorgeous. I suppose he could have been a rescue, but somehow I don't think so. Both children are bright and articulate. But I'm not sure their psyches are wholly salvageable at this point.