Feb 24 2009
Whitney Port: Is she still lost in the city?
It’s hard not to draw a few comparisons between “The Hills” and “The City”, partly because; one show gave birth to the other. Whitney Port seemed like a likely candidate for a “Hills” spin off show. She is very likable, naive, and knows what it takes; having a major production crew invade your life.
A few critics claim The City just another “The Hills”, but with New York playing out as the backdrop. Is this show really as generically the same as it’s mother? They both come from the same gene pool.
The production values between the west coast and east coast shows are “branded” the same. Also, the drama is almost as much in New York, as it is in The Hills. Whitney Port seems to be lost in The City, much like Lauren Conrad would get lost in The Hills. And then, there are those “City” men versus The Hills guys.
Whitney insists that these New York guys have panache. New York men know who they are. The Hills boys, are just that: “Boys.” These Hollywood Hills boys seem as aimless as the show they are in. Yet, these City guys seem to know what they want?
Whitney Port has had an easy time making friends in The City, yet one of her so-called friends seems to be of the opinion that Whitney is not making friends with class distinction in mind.
As in any large city, there is an uptown crowd, an east town crowd, a downtown crowd and an upper class crowd. Olivia Palermo thinks Whitney has chosen her crowd unwisely. Olivia does not approve of her friends and is crossing that line, not really approving of Whitney now either.
Whitney Port would have made friends easily, wherever she turned up. Although, when you have an MTV production crew following you around, filming your every move; making real friends can be illusionary as an MTV reality show. Some of Whitney’s new friends might have very ulterior motives for wanting to be Whitney’s newest bestest friend, or even boyfriend.
Take Jay, Whitney’s “The City” boyfriend. Jay seems to have fallen into a real crack in the city sidewalk and is trying desperately to climb out. First it was just his best friend that Jay was covering for. Now Jay is scrambling around, to cover up the fact that he had sex with his ex-girlfriend.
In the latest episode, Jay even gets his ex-girlfriend to lie to Whitney Port, telling her that nothing happened between her and Jay. What’s in it for Jay? Is he just postponing the inevitable, when Whitney watches this episode of The CIty, then dumps him? Or, does boyfriend Jay have a mastermind plan to save himself and still be with Whitney, after she knows the truth?
Whitney Port was just on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” earlier last week. She confirmed that Jay and her are real boyfriend/girlfriend. The City is filmed weeks in advance. At this junction, Whitney must have known what Jay and his ex were up too, from a few weeks prior to her appearance on Kimmel’s live show.
I am a big believer in MTV blurring the lines between reality and fiction. When Whitney claims that The City is not scripted , this is really her personal definition of what “scripting” really is. Was Jay and his ex-girlfriend’s tryst just some scripted drama for The City?
It does seem that Whitney Port has found a home in New York City. She will never be “That Girl”, with a nerdy boyfriend named Donald, while she is in search of her career. Even Marlo Thomas had a real career, as an actress playing a role in a situation comedy. Is Whitney Port just playing out a role in a MTV show about her?
