Twelve years ago, MTV began what was then a fresh new genre of
television. With the first season of ‘The Real World,’ reality TV
was born. Since then, seven strangers have given birth to five
wannabe boy-band stars, 16 money-hungry survivors, 25 eligible
bachelors and bachelorettes and now one ‘Big Fat Obnoxious
Fianc?.”
- Janna Hutz
- Welcome to my world, sweetheart. (Courtesy of FOX)
FOX”s latest attempt at original programming takes the now tired
idea of ‘reality’ and subjects Randi, a schoolteacher from Arizona,
to 12 days of engagement to the most obnoxious man imaginable.
Duped from the beginning, Randi has no idea what the premise of her
reality nightmare will be and is shocked to learn she must pretend
to be in love with a perfect stranger. She is even more surprised
that the show purposely found a mismatch for her in the overweight
and unmannered Steve.
Randi and Steve must convince Randi”s family that they met on a
reality TV show, have fallen in love and plan to get married. If
they can make it to the altar and through the ceremony with all of
Randi”s family present and without objection, Randi will win
$500,000. What she doesn”t know is that Steve is an actor hired by
FOX to annoy Randi and her family throughout the engagement, to
sabotage her chances at winning and potentially to ruin her
life.
The premise is ridiculous but brings some laughs to counteract
the many tears Randi is bound to cry throughout the course of show.
Her gullibility is the biggest outrage of the melodrama as she
accepts each of Steve”s bizarre and outrageous actions as genuine
attempts to win her love and impress her folks. The audience may
initially feel sorry for her, but remember, she was stupid enough
to sign up for a mystery reality TV show.
Confessionals with Steve reveal his arrogant attitude about
Randi, which will make it even easier for her to hate him in the
end. The quality of his acting skills is debatable but he is
certainly willing to be overly obnoxious and even shed clothing
when necessary.
The host of this reality disaster, Claudia, is of course
frustratingly overdramatic but adds something past reality hosts
have lacked: several pounds of make-up. The over-the-top face paint
is a sharp contrast to the soft tones of the show”s beautiful star
and makes ‘My Big Fat Obnoxious Fianc?’ even more unbearable.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars.