The Simple Life Review

“The Simple Life” is Simply Too Scripted.

“The Simple Life” is a reality television show starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie that aired on December 2, 2003. Paris Hilton is the heiress of the Hilton hotel fortune, and Nicole Richie, the daughter of Lionel Richie. Both girls are spoiled rotten and have absolutely no idea what living as an average American is like. The girls are transported from their lavish lifestyles in Los Angeles to a little town in Altus, Arkansas. I will be reviewing the first season of the show, because the first season is simply the best one. In the first episode of the first season, Paris and Nicole are boarded onto a private jet with absolutely no idea where they are going. The only information they have is that they will be living with a family in a small town for a month. They have no cell phones, no credit cards, and no idea where they are going. They land in Arkansas and see nothing but an empty tarmac and a busted pickup truck. They load up their Louis Vuitton luggage into the bed of the truck and follow their directions to the Leding family’s farm. This is the family that they will be living with for a month. 

The Ledings are a traditional hardworking family who have strict rules and expectations for Paris and Nicole. They have a curfew of midnight every night, and are expected to help out around the house and do chores, something that they are not used to doing. The Leding family has three generations living in the same house, and are very modest. 

The Ledings are creepily tense on camera. They are not natural at all. It seems like almost everything they say when they give testimonials and interviews in the camera was scripted for them. Of course, this family has never filmed a reality show before, but they are still speak as if they are reading directly from a script. 

Throughout their time in Arkansas, they must work for their money, something that neither of them had ever done in their lives. They work at a dairy farm, the local Sonic, a gas station, an auctioneer’s, and a fisherman’s operation. Every single job they get, they get fired from. The jobs are extremely entertaining, but very, very scripted. It is clear that both the employers and the girls are told what situations are going to happen during filming at the work sites. The employers seem even more scripted than the girls during the working scenes. They purposefully put the girls in situations where they can’t help but fail. 

The part of the show that is the most obviously scripted is the phone calls from various members of the community to the Leding family to essentially tell on Paris and Nicole when they do something wrong. They explain what Paris and Nicole did wrong in perfect specific terms that make it easy to use the video clips of the calls in recap shots, commercials, and trailers. What a coincidence.

The scripting is entertaining. I won’t argue with that. But the concept of the show was completely original when it aired, and the situation they had created foe the show didn’t need all that scripting. I mean, Paris and Nicole were completely unaware of how the other 99% lived. On the first night the girls stayed in Arkansas, Paris asked the Ledings what Walmart was. Walmart. Arguably the most popular affordable superstore chain in the nation. Nicole doesn’t have a driver’s license in the show because she always has a chauffeur drive her around in Los Angeles. These girls may live in the same country as the Ledings, but they live in completely different worlds. The show had a great foundation to survive on its own, without all the scripting. Two L.A. socialites in small town Arkansas would have created enough funny situations on their own without all of the scripting. 

Sources

Pratt, B. (2003, December 2). The Simple Life - TV Review. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-simple-life

Paulsen, W. (n.d.). How "real" is 'The Simple Life'? Retrieved from https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/how-real-is-the-simple-life-2082.php