The Real Housewives of New York City

[AngloAm]

Eh.The house was being renovated, so it's not that big a deal that it was torn up and a mess, and I don't think I'd call it "white trash."
Alex does seem nice and she is educated..Northwestern is a pretty good college last time I checked.
However, I think Simon is holding her back..lol
She seems to fit in with the society types more than he does. Jill and the Countess (ha) took an immediate liking to her, and in this episode we see Bethenny admit to spilling her guts to Alex because she's a good person.

I kinda agree; although I might have foregone the trip to St. Barts to fix up the place before inviting camera crews in. But Alex showed a different side of herself - or rather Bethenny noticed it as you point out. And it is nice to see them so concerned about their children. Simon was rude interrupting Alex and Bethenny's chat but so much is editing - for all we know he'd mentioned the C-A-K-E quietly a few times. It was a bit much for A&S to leave B with the kids but then - she wants 'em.

I nearly died at Ramona's carrying on. How incredibly rude and then to gas on about what is 'class' and 'mannered?' Is she utterly blind to irony? I want to like her but it's so hard. She reminds me of an aunt from Long Island (before said aunt got bariatric surgery and became bitter and angry at not being able to eat - and she was never fat before either but that's another subject).

I loved Jill and her sister. The more I see Jill the more I'd like to meet her. (Hi, Jill, if you're reading this!) You can tell she's capable of functioning and creating a close family.

The more I see of Mario the more I'd like to meet him (but for all the wrong reasons.)

[hanvan2]

Last night's episode was the best, if only because everyone's "true colors" really came out. For Jill and Bethenny, this only made them look like again, they have been being true to themselves the whole time. But Alex & Simon and Ramona and Luann - where do I start? Most everyone has already covered Alex & Simon. I agree he is completely controlling, and I just have to say that forcing your 4-year old to speak a different language when he doesn't want to is a huge mistake and also not the way to go about having your child grow up bilingual. My brother and his wife have a nanny and four kids. The nanny speaks spanish and all of the kids have been fluent in spanish since they could speak. But no one has ever forced them to speak it, they know when addressing the nanny or others who speak it to use it, and they know when addressing their parents and friends they speak English. What is the point of making a child order in French when the waiter can clearly understand him saying "Lemonade please" in English. That was so cringe-worthy, along with the fact that they speak to Francois like he is an adult and not a small child, and the other child is all but ignored. And as others have said, why do they think French immediately makes you classy and European?

Also did anyone notice when Alex invited Bethenny to the party she said there will be tons of alchohol for the adults. First off, I guess she thought this was a sure-fire way to get Bethenny to come to the party, and second, who serves tons of alchohol at a small child's birthday party? She and Simon showed so much inappropriateness and stupidity last night. And Ramona was clearly on something. She has always behaved wildly but she was way over the top dancing at that bar and also at the dinner party. She could not sit still and was very agitated. Also have to agree with others who have said talking about class is not classy. (and neither is demanding that your friends refer to you as Mrs. so & so to the hired help, Luann)

Even with all her faults, I have to love Bethenny because she is real and lays it all out there. And every time I see Jill with a family member I love her more. Also her saying she wasn't popular in high school is why she is successful got to me - me neither Jill!

[AngloAm]

I guess the thing with the Mrs. So-and-So is to preserve 'the line' between the servants and the employer so as not to force the servants into a forced and fake intimacy. Better to respect them by calling them formally and allowing them to be on first-name bases with their real friends. I think in an egalitarian society like ours it's hard have servants and not feel that distance equals haughtiness.

[izdatayat]

Oh, thank GOD I can finally post!!!!! LOL I have read all 55 pages.

Last night:

I don't see why Bethenney has any friends. Snarky, I know... but she's too much: too much drama, too much talking, too much of a control freak... she's so discontented. There is no balance in her life.... everything is full speed ahead. She needs to take up Buddhism and STFU!

LuAnn: I think she's cool BUT I can't believe she has an etiquette show. Good etiquette means NEVER correcting someone. BUT.. Bethenney was wrong there. LuAnn should not have been introduced as LuAnn. It is one thing if they are going to socialize with the driver (? lol?) but they aren't. His job is in a service industry and he knowingly is serving the person hiring him. It's not so much a class thing (though it is), it is a professional thing. Bethenney should have known that and introduced LuAnn correctly. I think Bethenney is a perfectionist and can't handle when people call her on her mistakes and so she tries to turn it around and make it like it is their fault ("get over yourself"). But LuAnn should never have corrected Bethenney. Perhaps she could have said, "Next time I would prefer...." LuAnn was wrong for saying condescending things like "I'm surprised you didn't know that"....

I do wish she'd spend more time with her son. I have a clinging vine son also and while there are times that it grates on my nerves I also know he's growing up quickly and I can only have his full attention for so long. So I try to keep it balanced with him: he has to do things on his own but I also spend time with him often.

Ramona: something is up with her. Either she's on Coke, has ADHD, is bipolar (though I never see her in a down mood)... she is always MANIC-- maybe she has borderline personality disorder... Her dancing is straight out of the Summer of Love (like Janis Joplin). I like Mario, though he does seem a little cheesy to me. Avery is a doll and I wish her well in life. I think ramona is emphasizing Avery having her own money and business a little too much. Some of us like the housewife gig and are happily married. I think Avery will make smart choices in her life.

Jill: She's o.k. I don't think she has a whole lot of style (and I HATED that Luca Luca suit). I like Bobby... seems real easygoing and knows no one is happy unless Momma is happy. I love her gay husband and was also LOL about when they left the fashion show and he had to think about how to get her a car or something.... I hate the dog...

Alex and simon... I go back and forth on them. I liked them at first, but now I find them irritating. They are desperate to show Francois off in public (that he can speak french) and instead he says nothing and appears to be a mute. lol. I dont' think Simon is gay: I think he's european effiminate-- I know several of them (and Rob Rey from Dr. 90210 comes to mind). Why did Bethenney go in through the door under the stoop? Is that where their front door is? I also think they are renevating.. and they likely bought a dilapadated house and for all we know it looks much better from when they signed the contract. As for St. Barths, I'm guessing they used frequent flier miles and stayed for free at a sister hotel-- another reason why they go in August. My friend goes every year to St. Johns's on FFM.

Jason: he may have gotten fired from Bethenney telling the whole world that "Jason is going to get lucky tonight" when she was drunk. Also, last night... did he send the company car for her? Maybe he was doing that kind of stuff all the time and that contributed to his firing.

[izdatayat]

Oh, women like Bethenney usually have a spectacular breakdown at some point. You can only go so long with no balance before your brain just melts down-- usually after kids are born. (I am a reformed type A).

And I dont' see the problem naming kids Francois and Johann, especially if they are family names. If Francois can say his own name, then it isn't too hard for other four year olds to say it. It's better than weird names today: Apple, Banjo, Phineas, Schuyler (sorry... I really hate that name)...

And I do like that Simon is always holding Johann. Johann seems very content in Simon's arms.

[livjack]

Johann seems very content in Simon's arms.

Wait until he starts making him speak French.

[tictac]

For reasons a lot of others already pointed out, I am feeling the show is very forced and scripted in the the sense of the plot. The snarking, I believe, is natural and unplanned.

I thought the last time we saw Jill she walked out on Ramona in a huff. What happened in between?

I am still enjoying the show and can't believe the finale is next week because: NOTHING HAS HAPPENED!

The editors are hysterical either on purpose or by accident, I don't know which. Simon half kidding says they will fight off the paparazzi and then the camera cuts to them and they could not look more disinterested if they tried. It was a wonderful and funny moment.

This show has turned out to be more of a spoof and comedy than OC IMO. I will watch another cycle if they do it.

[izdatayat]

Oh, and I can't believe LuAnn sent her son to boarding camp in Switzerland (where they picked up lice). He's the kind of child I think would have a miserable experience at boarding school.

And LOL that LuAnn is "the Count's" FOURTH wife. Kudos for fifteen years, though the count is probably a serial adulterer.

[Poohtz]

I find it somewhat ironic that Ramona and her husband sell FAITH jewelry. She says it is ok to look at other men, she dances like a nut case and is rude to other people's guests. She does seem like a ho on crack or at the very least, a woman with some really major issues.

Oh and that excuse she gave Bethenny about why she left the party seemed like such a lie. I wonder if she knows the meaning of the word morals?

[livjack]

You know, I don't like Ramona any better than the rest of you, but I do think she's getting a bad rap for being less than gracious when Simon showed up for a girls' night. It really does change the tenor of the thing when a man is present, and a man like Simon changes it up even more. His preening and obsequious manners are enough to make anyone feel the nasty slick of oil.

Although it looked like Ramona had a little too much to drink at dinner (see: her attempting to define "class), I still felt like she was right to be disappointed that Mr. Europa showed up. And why make Alex and Simon's tone deaf social skills acceptable?