Whitney Sudler-Smith: Dilettante Buffoon

[jumper sage]

Thanks to the person who mentioned Whitney's documentary on Netflix - Halston. It was fabulous and weird all at the same time. Whitney was Whitney as we see him today. When Whitney makes himself the star of the documentary, you know it has to be "good". His hair color changes frequently and his interview skills and research on the topic were terrible but in a "good" way. My favorite part was when he was interviewing Andre Leon Talley and his cell phone rang with the ringtone of Dixie and had no idea why Andre was pissed. lol

I would have put this post in Whitney's thread but I don't see a thread for Whitney.

[RedHawk]

Someone please make a fun thread title for Whitney!

 

My favorite part was when he was interviewing Andre Leon Talley and his cell phone rang with the ringtone of Dixie and had no idea why Andre was pissed.  lol

 

Oh. MY. GOD. Now I absolutely have to see this.

 

Anyone catch the name of Whitney's restaurant? I see in the season previews that it will be shown at some point. I want to check the reviews on TripAdvisor, if it's even still in operation. Loved his mother quizzing him about it and how he handled her -- as if it definitely wasn't the first time she'd pointed out to him his shortcomings. Yes, I think she'd trade him for Shep in a heartbeat!

[SFoster21]

Thanks to the person who mentioned Whitney's documentary on Netflix - Halston. It was fabulous and weird all at the same time. Whitney was Whitney as we see him today. When Whitney makes himself the star of the documentary, you know it has to be "good". His hair color changes frequently and his interview skills and research on the topic were terrible but in a "good" way. My favorite part was when he was interviewing Andre Leon Talley and his cell phone rang with the ringtone of Dixie and had no idea why Andre was pissed. lol

I would have put this post in Whitney's thread but I don't see a thread for Whitney.

I watched it because of Halston, but suddenly I thought, "I know that guy," and then I saw Patricia. It's very informative. Used to own a Halston that I got on sale. Gave it away; no longer fits.

[Chrissytd]

Someone please make a fun thread title for Whitney!

 

Oh. MY. GOD. Now I absolutely have to see this.

 

Anyone catch the name of Whitney's restaurant? I see in the season previews that it will be shown at some point. I want to check the reviews on TripAdvisor, if it's even still in operation. Loved his mother quizzing him about it and how he handled her -- as if it definitely wasn't the first time she'd pointed out to him his shortcomings. Yes, I think she'd trade him for Shep in a heartbeat!

Generalísimo

http://charleston.eater.com/2015/3/16/8181997/first-look-at-rendering-of-french-mexican-restaurant-generalisimo

[cooksdelight]

French-Mexican? A taco with brie? Guacamole with truffles? WTF?

[larapu2000]

His documentary was terrible. I really enjoyed when he got verbally bitch slapped by Andre Leon Talley and Liza Minnelli. Lol

[bosawks]

Whitney's hair issues have migrated down to his eyebrows.

[methodwriter85]

Whitney looks better with facial hair. I'm glad he seems to be rocking the stubble look this year. Although really, his wig/hair whatever the hell it is just looks ridiculous. He looks like an early 2000's rocker.

 

I like Whitney best when he's at his most self-aware, such as his joke-but-not-really about how he's like Norman Bates.

Edited March 22, 2015 by methodwriter85

[pasdetrois]

I saw Whitney's documentary when it first became available on DVD. I watched it because of Halston's fashion (I also once owned a marked-down Halston gown) and because of the 70s disco scene (Studio 54). I have absolutely no memory of Whitney.

 

If Whitney would get a decent haircut, he could rock the aging-Jason-Bateman look. I think Whitney has severe body issues. And I blame Patricia. She's the kind who eats her young.

[larapu2000]

Whitney's band is worse than his documentary.

[Albanyguy]

And the band's name..."Renob" ("Boner" spelled backwards). How old is he, fourteen?

 

Speaking of age, did anybody notice that the other guys in the band are young enough to be his kids?

[missy jo]

Still cringing from second-hand embarrassment re: Renob. Props to the editors for cutting from them all wondering why Whitney was late to him "rocking out" on the guitar. Laughed. Out. Loud.

[Booger666]

Just watched the documentary on Netflix - thanks for the tip. Loved Liza schooling him on the simple basics of making a documentary. What most interested me was that everytime he reacted to someone you could tell it was an effort on his part and he had no genuine feeling. I'm not sure if Whitney is just a soulless waste of skin or complete sociopath.

[cooksdelight]

Sociopath. And God only knows what else. If one day way in the future there are unsolved murders in Charleston....well.....I'm just sayin.....

[Alison]

Whitney reminds me of Amy Poehler's "cool mom" in Mean Girls, obviously trying so hard to kick it with the cool kids that are young enough to be his children, in some cases.

[foo]

Whitney really isn't very likeable, but I feel like at one point he had some potential.  I, too, blame Patricia.  She's entertaining as hell, but the worst possible kind of mother figure. 

[woodscommaelle]

Whitney reminds me of a cross between Seth Aaron Henderson (Project Runway) and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco). 

[larapu2000]

I keep thinking that maybe Whitney isn't in love with Thomas, but wants him for his daddy? Twice as creepy.

[RedHawk]

Whitney saying that he didn't want Thomas to make another huge mistake (referencing Kathryn) and then going on to say at the dinner that he would film Thomas' campaign commercials. HUGE mistake, Whitney. HUGE. 

 

I get the feeling Whitney wants to BE Thomas and kinda hates him at the same time. Like a frienemy situation. It must have killed Whitney how the show spun out of his control when Thomas fell into bed and a relationship with Kathryn in the first season, taking most of the focus. On the one hand, it had a big part in making the show a hit, but I think Whitney hates it gave Kathryn a central role in Thomas' life, and more access to him than Whitney has!

[Albanyguy]

I agree. I'm sure that Whitney intended this to be "The Whitney Show" with the others as supporting players, showcasing his sparkling personality and many talents and jumpstarting his show-biz career. Now, he's the producer of a successful TV show (which is no small accomplishment), but because of Thomas and Katherine hogging the spotlight, it's probably not as much fun as he thought it would be.

 

Whitney really isn't very likeable, but I feel like at one point he had some potential.  I, too, blame Patricia.  She's entertaining as hell, but the worst possible kind of mother figure.

 

She's kept him a perpetual teenager out of pure selfishness, to provide her with attention and companionship. Horrible.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Albanyguy

[wootza]

i saw this on wikipedia and thought it was interesting:

Whitney Sudley-Smith currently directs and stars in Southern Charm, a reality show on Bravo that chronicles the social life of Charleston, SC...

 

why does he continually show himself in such an unflattering light?

[cooksdelight]

I think his idea of flattering and unflattering where his own persona is concerned is totally out of whack.

[methodwriter85]

I agree. I'm sure that Whitney intended this to be "The Whitney Show" with the others as supporting players, showcasing his sparkling personality and many talents and jumpstarting his show-biz career. Now, he's the producer of a successful TV show (which is no small accomplishment), but because of Thomas and Katherine hogging the spotlight, it's probably not as much fun as he thought it would be.

 

She's kept him a perpetual teenager out of pure selfishness, to provide her with attention and companionship. Horrible.

 

Yeah. The basic idea seemed to be that Whitney and his buddies were going to be the stars, and I think that included Jenna. But then Kathryn took over the show's storyline, which is why this show got a second season. He's pretty resentful of her for that.

 

Whitney seems to realize it, as well, going by his joke-but-not-really about how he and his mother are like Norman and Norma Bates.

[cooksdelight]

Without the dinner party revelations or the baby drama at the end of last season, I am not sure this show would have been asked back for a second. Whitney should be thanking Thomas and Kathryn. And for further confirmation, look at the number of people posting about the show this season vs. last season.

[Lola16]

Bravo pulled together a bunch of Patricia clips from Season 1:

 

http://www.bravotv.com/southern-charm/season-1/videos/the-best-of-whitneys-mom?clip=2768935

 

Some really choice clips!

[OnceSane]

i saw this on wikipedia and thought it was interesting:

Whitney Sudley-Smith currently directs and stars in Southern Charm, a reality show on Bravo that chronicles the social life of Charleston, SC...

 

why does he continually show himself in such an unflattering light?

I think Whitney believes he looks super cool.

[methodwriter85]

I feel like Whitney is what a character from a Brett Easton Ellis book/film would have wound up as being by mid-life. Right down to the sexually ambiguous vibe.

 

 

Without the dinner party revelations or the baby drama at the end of last season, I am not sure this show would have been asked back for a second. Whitney should be thanking Thomas and Kathryn.

 

He should, but I still think he's pissed that the show didn't turn out the way he envisioned.

[wovenloaf]

I feel like Whitney is what a character from a Brett Easton Ellis book/film would have wound up as being by mid-life. Right down to the sexually ambiguous vibe.

Oh my god, YES. THIS. 

 

 

I actually didn't even realize Whitney was 48 (isn't that what Kathryn said)? Knowing he's approaching 50 really drives home how lame that guy is. 

Edited March 28, 2015 by wovenloaf

[bosawks]

He'll be jammin' to that midlife crisis, Bro.

[RedHawk]

Oh, please, send us a scene of Whitney and his amazing band, Renob, playing at some bar and Whitney chatting up young female fans, who behind his back roll their eyes at the "old guy" trying to be rock 'n' roll cool.

[methodwriter85]

Oh my god, YES. THIS. 

 

 

I actually didn't even realize Whitney was 48 (isn't that what Kathryn said)? Knowing he's approaching 50 really drives home how lame that guy is. 

 

I know, right? A young Whitney would have fit right into the Brett Easton Ellis verse. I can totally see it- a fashion-obsessed musician dabbling with student film-making with an overbearing rich mother trading up in husbands and a sexually ambiguous vibe to him.

Edited March 31, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Albanyguy]

The sight of Whitney sitting on the edge of the bed in the beach house, wearing his baseball cap backwards, cradling his guitar and talking about throwing a party with "no fat chicks" was like watching a Twilight Zone episode about a fourteen-year-old trapped in a cosmic time warp. The amazing thing is that he's in charge of this show; does he have no idea how ridiculous he looks? How deep does the self-delusion run?

Edited March 31, 2015 by Albanyguy

[cooksdelight]

As deep as the vaults at Fort Knox, apparently.

[walnutqueen]

Well, his comments about Kathryn show me that he's as snide and catty as his mother, and just as much of a poseur.

[RedHawk]

Whitney's lameness continues: The margarita machine at the beach house party. He said it was a trick he "discovered in college". Whitney was in college 25 years ago! 

[cooksdelight]

Whitney's lameness continues: The margarita machine at the beach house party. He said it was a trick he "discovered in college". Whitney was in college 25 years ago!

Unless he decided to keep enrolling in classes every year so he could hang with the cool kids.

[RedHawk]

Unless he decided to keep enrolling in classes every year so he could hang with the cool kids.

 

 

Except that he would have thought it was so the cool kids could hang with him.

Edited March 31, 2015 by RedHawk

[larapu2000]

I would DIE to hear Patricia's opinion on margarita machines.

[OnceSane]

"Margarita Machine" is what she calls the assistant butler.

[cooksdelight]

"Why, they're just horrible, that's what they are! So déclassé! I cannot believe a son of mine would use such a contraption. Well, I guess if it helps him get girls, then there is some side benefit to the thing."

[Booger666]

Since Whitney is bragging about his film making success I thought I would share this quote from a review of Ultrasuede by Rodrigo Perez for The Playlist. He describes Whitney as "an irritating charisma vacuum of a personality, incapable of possessing chemistry with an interview subject ". Perez also says the film is "Inept, amateurish and . . . generally an embarrassing effort. Not because its subject isn’t worth documenting (quite the opposite actually), but because its creator is a dilettante buffoon; a clownish self-involved figure who inexplicably positions himself as the focus of the film, and yet has no business making movies of any kind." Perez nailed it!

[cooksdelight]

I am changing the name of his thread.... LOL

[cooksdelight]

My sister was here today, watching the recording of this week's episode. When she saw the picture of young Whitney, she said, "OMG, he looks like that Omen kid, Damien!"

Well....he does hang upside down at night, right?

[nexxie]

Whitney and his mother are two overindulged peas in a velvet-lined pod. Or drunken peas in a gin-soaked pod, depending on how you look at it. lol

Edited April 6, 2015 by nexxie

[Babyfoot]

Whitney and his mother are complete snobs but somehow I still love them - or rather, they're complete snobs I love to watch on TV. Patricia would scare the everlasting shit out of me in real life but her martini swilling, caftan wearing show matriarch is a character I enjoy watching. I'm sure Whitney is insufferable in real life but I find him funny on the show.

I am dying to know more about the Sudler-Smith/Altschul family tree. Who exactly is Whitney's father and how long were he and Pat were married? Who was the Ian Fleming related stepfather? How long did that marriage last? What was Whitney's relationship like with his most recent stepfather, billionaire Arthur Altschul? Does Patricia maintain any relationships with his children, including former MTV and current CBS correspondent Serena Altschul? Why do I care so much?

[Bossa Nova]

All great questions, Babyfoot.. Me too, inquiring minds want to know all that stuff. I want back story. 

[nexxie]

Whitney saying that he didn't want Thomas to make another huge mistake (referencing Kathryn) and then going on to say at the dinner that he would film Thomas' campaign commercials. HUGE mistake, Whitney. HUGE.

I get the feeling Whitney wants to BE Thomas and kinda hates him at the same time. Like a frienemy situation. It must have killed Whitney how the show spun out of his control when Thomas fell into bed and a relationship with Kathryn in the first season, taking most of the focus. On the one hand, it had a big part in making the show a hit, but I think Whitney hates it gave Kathryn a central role in Thomas' life, and more access to him than Whitney has!

And it was Whitney who introduced the group to Kathryn - he probably regrets that move.

It could also be that he wanted Kathryn for himself (for more than one night).

Edited April 7, 2015 by nexxie

[OnceSane]

I think Whitney's pissed that no one considers him the cream of the crop…except his mother and even she's meh on it.

[cooksdelight]

Whitney discusses the commercials:

http://www.bravotv.com/southern-charm/season-2/blogs/whitney-sudler-smith/whitney-we-had-to-embrace-thomas-past?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5529216a04d3010493000001&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook

[fliptopbox]

Has Whitney ever discussed why he's named Whitney? Was Patricia expecting a daughter? Seems like she played a cruel joke on him. His name is worse than being named Stacy, Robin, or Leslie and being a guy.

 

I also kind of don't blame him for being a total asshole, look who his mother is. If I grew up with Patricia as my parent I'd probably have a personality disorder too.