I’m somewhat saddened to have to be the one to blog about this.  Other kulturbloggers have carved out their niches of expertise.  Susan is our music goddess extraordinaire.  D. is our movie expert with the library to back him up.  I seem to have staked my claim to sci-fi and reality tv.  Jeez.  I know how it looks folks, but I swear I’m at least marginally cool in person. 

Which brings me to Kathy Griffin…

I’ve been a fan of hers since catching some particularly funny zingers on some red carpet on E! at some point, but my fandom has cemented since watching a comedy special on Bravo earlier this year.  Kathy Griffin’s schtick is that she is backstage during celebrity events, and then she dishes about them during her comedy routine, with perhaps quasi-cruel, but bitingly accurate observations.  After I listened to her story about Anna Nicole Smith and Little Richard during lunch backstage at Hollywood Squares I thought, hey I’ve gotta keep an eye on this woman.  Well now, thanks to a Bravo Reality Show "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" I can keep an eye on her a whole lot because she has a camera crew following her. 

Now let’s get this out of the way–a disclaimer to you culture snobs.  The genius of reality t.v. is not the concept of the show, rather the human foibles and truths that surface unbidden during the madness.   We can learn from reality tv.  Most importantly, we can feel morally superior to the people who choose to be on reality tv.  It’s an ego-stroking, knee slapping extravaganza of humanity.  And Kathy Griffin, bless her soul, has sacrificed herself for our ego-stroking, knee-slapping benefit.  The fact that she’s perfectly aware that she’s mocking herself by being on a reality tv show, and that she’s unabashadly doing it for fame and money is simply precious.  I love that kind of honesty.   (Let’s also get this out of the way–she can be crass, although it’s bleeped for basic cable–you’ve been warned.) 

Okay, here’s what I’ve learned from Kathy Griffin.     When you’re a big hollywood star you’re given the keys to the kingdom–the kingdom of swag, that is.  Without batting an eyelash, KG throws a charity party, and makes it perfectly clear that she hopes to get her house redecorated for free because of it.  Her focus, in the lead up to the party, is to get as many famous people as possible to the party so the gossip rags will cover it, so the furniture people will get advertising, so she can keep their stuff.  We also learn that when you throw a party like that, you open your house up to famewhores…my favorite being the pushy trainer from The Biggest Loser.  We learn that Jay Leno is a jerk, and the talk show circuit not as friendly as it seems.  He basically calls KG ugly on the air, she cries after the show, and gets banned for life from it–not the first talk show she’s been banned from.   We see the lengths she goes to to sell her DVD, and the fact that she had to convince her family to buy extra copies at a book signing so she wouldn’t be sitting there with nothing to do.  My personal favorite moment is KG admitting that she can’t afford to get her makeup done as often as she’d like, so she puts a towel on her pillow and lies perfectly still on her back to sleep, so she can get two days wear out of it. 

The point is, this particular reality show is heads above the rest of the current crop.  Endearing and hilarious.  Watch it.  Wednesday nights on Bravo…with endless repeats throughout the week.