Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this British makeover show, like many American reality series, centers around a group of so-called misfits attempting to make themselves over into swans. In this case, a group of loud, party-loving British tomboys attempt to learn social graces through a series of "home-ec" challenges. While the show can entertaining -- and the truth is that the contestants can use a bit of edge-polishing -- it raises some questions about the cultural definition of femininity and what it means to be a "lady."
Families can discuss the appeal of makeover shows. Why do we like watching people get transformed on TV? Do all (or any) of the people on these shows need to be made over? Who decides what the ideal is when it comes to others' behavior, appearance, and dress? How is that ideal different for men and women? What tests would you use to "prove" that someone is a lady?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Lucy Maher
In the British makeover series LADETTE TO LADY, a group of loud, promiscuous, party-loving young women enroll in finishing school, hoping to emerge as refined ladies.
The hard-living girls -- called "ladettes" in England because they behave more like "lads" than "ladies" -- go through a five-week course at Eggleston Hall that aims to change their bad habits. They wear tweed suits, heels, and pearl necklaces and are instructed in cooking, needlework, elocution, etiquette, and flower arranging.
In each episode, one ladette is expelled; the contestants' instructors choose the final winner (grand prize? a sports car). Also in each episode, the ladettes must complete a challenge, such as preparing a Swiss ski chalet for incoming guests or enrolling in a debutante ball. Needless to say, these challenges prove difficult, and the girls' shortcomings at executing them provide each episode's comedic fodder.
Though the contestants are endearing (it's hard not to feel sorry for them when they fail at simple tasks like cooking and cleaning), most of them aren't exactly role models. One ladette has, by her estimation, slept with 100 men, and another owns up to being a binge drinker.
But some parents' eyebrows may be raised even higher by the show's central concept -- the idea that in order to be a good, proper woman, you need to dress conservatively and know how to sew. If nothing else, it might make for good discussion fodder with teens.
Fans might also like Cover Shot, Extreme Makeover, and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentSeveral of the ladettes are promiscuous; one talks about the 100 men she's slept with. |
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Language"F--k" is bleeped; "crap" and "s--t" aren't. |
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Social BehaviorRaises questions about stereotypical assumptions of what a woman "should" be. While the contestants' attempts at refinement are earnest, some of them fail at what should be easy tasks. And they have some pretty bad habits to begin with, from swearing to partying. |
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CommercialismIn one episode, a Corona bottle can be seen. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoThe girls like to hit the local pubs and drink. |
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