Few shows on television have so far surpassed that from which they were spun off, while at the same time rendering that statement so meaningless. The City, Whitney Port's break from The Hills to New York City follows the young starlet as she tries to become a designer while working for Kelly Cutrone at People's Revolution, a company that does something very stressful, but hard to describe.
Due to some manner of superficial contact, we also follow Olivia at Elle magazine, mainly because such shows are as nothing without someone to hate, and MTV and Elle worked out some sort of deal where they would say each other's names a lot.
From a show that perfected blank stares as dialog, and in the end rather boldly admitted that it was all scripted nonsense (thanks for watching, suckers), to a show that throws unscriptable people under its wheels, The City pulls us in by way of the interest in collateral damage... let's say. As much as Whitney's pained sighs and expressionless air fascinate the inner anthropologist in all of us, and though there is some cliffhanger appeal to the idea that at any moment some insight may be revealed as to what the hell it is she does that somehow constitutes "a job," it's the people on the fringes of the inner focus that keep people watching.
Like poor Erin over at Elle magazine. Erin, who has a job at the magazine, and I'm fairly certain she "has a job" in a sense that doesn't require the producers to wink at her whenever they mention it. Erin is saddled with Olivia, whose job description is apparently to show up whenever she wants, and walk around like she owns the place. Erin pleads with boss Joe Zee to fire Olivia, but Joe cheerfully points out the contract to Erin which states that Elle agrees to keep this noodle working until the producers come up with a better scheme.
Meanwhile, MTV told Whitney that she was friends with someone named Roxy, and after a few episodes Whitney even started getting her name right. Whitney gave Roxy a place to live, and got her job working alongside her, a fact which led to many a Kelly Cutrone explosion.
The culmination of years of perfecting the art of train-wreckiness, it's hard to turn away from this guilty pleasure.
The DVD features all 12 episodes of the second season, plus the bonus The City's Guide to NYC.
Own it on DVD today!
Win it!
Leave a comment below, and you are entered to win your very own copy of the DVD release. U.S. only. Winner will be randomly selected September 1st. Knock yourself out.
This season on The City, Whitney, Roxy, Olivia and Erin will learn that in New York City, climbing your way to the top means doing it alongside both friends and enemies. Whitney gets a last-minute chance of a lifetime -- a show at New York Fashion Week. After the chaos and fanfare subsides, Whitney has more than ever to do to prove herself as a designer.
First up is creating a new line for the new season, and learning from Kelly Cutrone how to promote herself and her brand. She's still got Roxy in her corner, and Roxy owes her, both for a place to crash and the job at People's Revolution. But Roxy is learning that she's too strong-minded to live in Whitney's shadow.
At ELLE Magazine, Olivia and Erin are tasked by Joe Zee to find some way to get along. However, their competition is far from over as Olivia is offered an on-camera job by Joe. But Erin is at the top of her game, and sees through Olivia now more than ever.
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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