“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (* * * *] (four stars)
Tomorrow night at 10 on Bravo
———-
WHAT could be better than a TV show that gives ordinary people the opportunity to make changes that will improve their lives?
That’s what “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is all about.
This made-for-Bravo series – about a group of five gay men who provide advice on styling, fashion, food, culture and décor to straight men who feel their lives could be enhanced with this kind of help – was the most talked-about new show of last summer.
Far too few episodes were produced for a series that wound up attracting so much positive attention – i.e., the highest ratings in the history of Bravo. So it’s been a while since we’ve seen any new shows – a situation which is about to change tomorrow night with the first of a bunch of new installments.
Last summer, much of the commentary, pro and con, centered on this show’s representation of gay men. Some gay men in particular felt the Fab Five (as the show’s five style mavens are called) were offensively stereotypical. Others were delighted to see the gay lifestyle and gay points-of-view represented so positively in a popular television show.
I’m not gay and possibly not as sensitive on the issue of gay stereotypes.
Having said that, I tend to embrace the latter view. And tomorrow night’s “Queer Eye” serves only to reinforce my opinion that this show stands on its own merits. It does not deserve to be used as a lightning rod in any debates, which some people still insist on having, on the issue of homosexuality and how it is represented in the media.
This is a very pleasant show. Why ruin the experience by arguing over its social significance?
In tomorrow night’s show, the Fab Five – Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez, Ted Allen and Kyan Douglas – hop into their SUV for a trip to Oak Ridge, N.J., where their mission is to make over Jeff Toale, 45, a postal worker with long hair past his shoulders and a beard and mustache he’s had for something like 30 years.
Unlike most of the makeover subjects we’ve seen previously, Jeff does not live in a pig sty. He has a lovely home and a wonderful family. And he’s a sensitive, artistic guy whose hobbies include playing guitar in a blues band, fishing, wood-carving and taxidermy.
What he needed was someone to come along and gently persuade him that the long hair and beard have to go, along with some of the clothes and furnishings he’s clung to a bit too long.
The end result might be the most touching “Queer Eye” yet.
The return of the Fab Five has been long overdue and, happily, it is well worth the wait.