Bravo publicity insists this new series is "no mere carbon copy" of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Okay, we'll call it a reasonable facsimile.
Rather than the all-male Fab Five, this show's makeover specialists are the four Gal Pals, comprising gay men Robbie Laughlin, Danny Teeson and Damon Pease and lesbian style expert Honey Labrador. And each week it's a hetero gal who'll receive an upgrade in wardrobe, living quarters, etc. But the presentation is almost identical to that of Straight Guy: At the start of the Jan. 12 premiere, subject Nicole dresses down to the extreme, and her domicile looks as if a pack of wild animals just passed through. As Nicole's transformation progresses in the runup to her 30th-birthday party, she often says, "Oh my God!" In a positive way, of course.
Laughlin appears ticketed for the chief quipster's role, though he lacks the waspish wit of Straight Guy's Carson Kressley. Labrador is buff and sexy, and Teeson has a New Age slant that suggests he's about inner peace as well as party planning. The cast is adequate, but the show comes off as a calculated Queer Eye brand extension.
REALITY
