Friday, October 16, 2009

man shops boring

i finally watched man shops globe on the sundance channel yesterday. the highly anticipated man shops globe. i might take a lot of heat for this but i thought this show was a complete snooze fest. i mean there is no question this man has the most awesome job on the whole fucking planet. travel all over the world and pick out pretty stuff to sell at anthropologie. hello dream job. and the idea of a tv show presenting him travelling all over the world buying said pretty seems like a dream tv show for me..us...right? and when i started watching it i was very excited...(i missed the first episode so for all i know it could have been awesome) my heart started to race a bit and little beads of sweat started to appear on my forehead like the time i put too much russian dressing on my salad in 7th grade. what is it about russian dressing?? anyway...there was keith in south africa hunting down "that amazing find that's gonna blow me away". he found some beaded animals, pretty pottery, a few chairs blah blah blah...but not that great big amazeballs thing. then he goes into a shop where two guys make cool shit out of recycled garbage. he wasn't very impressed with most of it (I WAS!!!) until he saw a massive chandelier big enough for mmmm...say.....the white house? it was pretty amazing. and that is pretty much it. apart from a pleasantly scored background and looking at what to me might be the most beautiful place on earth, south africa, the whole show was pretty anti-climactic. and we don't need to see every meeting over breakfast in your snazzy hotel with your south african rep. i think we would have rather seen the rooms in the hotel thank you very much. and is it just me or is there always a smug look on his face? or is it a pa..pa...pa...pa..poker face? i can't tell. maybe it's just a gay face.


OHHH...don't get me wrong!!! i will continue to watch this show in the hopes it gets better and even if it doesn't i will still get some enjoyment out of it. but right now it plays like a segment (a long one) on 60 minutes. perhaps we will see interviews from the depths of this keith johnson home...



i am hopeful...
images via sundance channel and elle decor

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, there's something about the pacing of the show that's a bit off. The review I read said that he didn't have an interesting show biz personality, which might be the problem. I focused on the finds, though, and still managed to enjoy it. But, yeah, his personality isn't really ready for prime time.

Dumbwit Tellher said...

Taped but have not watched..need to get on the schtick! Thanks for your comment yesterday, very appreciated.

Great weekend to you ~

Petunia Face said...

Sadly I don't get the Sundance channel so I haven't seen it, bbut just by the pics he looks like he is always vaguely underwhelmed, a terrible trait in anybody let alone a guy who gets to shop the world.

anita said...

So, a new shop is opening next door to mine (the french antiques guy moved to another spot in our building) and get this - the owner is doing this exact thing! she has way too much money and not enough to do, so she's going back to all the places she's traveled to and buying stuff to put in her shop. Big huge planter pots from mexico, stuff from greece and her next trip is to africa!!
sigh.

The Townhouselady said...

You nailed it. I fell asleep two separate times trying to get through this.

Then I hit delete.

Done.

susieq said...

I loved the first episode, but totally lost interest in the 2nd. The first seemed well paced, while the 2nd dragged. Also, I didn't find the merch as interesting in the 2nd show. You’re right, he looks a little smug or bored. But, hell, he's seen it ALL. He's probably just jaded.

Rachel said...

Haven't seen this yet, but I agree, from the pics he looks a little bored and smug. Of course, if that was my job, I'd probably get bored and smug after a while as well.

nelya said...

Yeah, second episode was a total snooze. The first one was better, but not that much. Hell, if it was me travelling the globe on someone else's dime I'd be peeing myself with excitement! He could perk up just a bit...it's not rocket science...he's being paid to SHOP!

Anonymous said...

I agree, the 2nd episode was really boring. There is something about him that is really really annoying to me. Definitely Mr. Smug. Kind of sad, I think because there is SO MUCH more they could be doing with this show.

my two cents.
kat

Oona Johnson said...

We don't have tv, so I didn't see it. But he does look vaguely smug and bitchy. I'm sure he needs to seem unimpressed in order to get great deals, but still....

Is it a sign that my secret code is "cansel"?

bluehydrangea said...

Like it, didn't love it...still excited and hoping for better stuff next show/trip. Maybe he would let you tag along to add some personality!!

Visual Vamp said...

I must be the only one on the face of the decor planet who is underwhelmed by Anthro. The stores bore me, and the merch is over priced.
I won't be watching the rich guy among the natives throwing them a bone so he can sell it for big bucks in the states and on the internet.
Since when did owning a shop and stocking inventory become an art form?
The New York Times did a piece on the absurd idea of using the word curate in reference to shop owners "curating their collections" (among other ridiculous examples). If you can't find the Times article, the queen of underwhelming, Decorno, blogged on it.
We are suckers.
Sorry for the rant...
You know I love you and this post.
xo xo

muranogirl said...

I too was looking forward to it but alas, he is a complete yawn job!

LFM said...

Haven't seen the show and this is going to sound mean, but why is this pudgy greying middle age dude frumping through OUR dream job ladies? Why don't they have a team of Stylista Blogger Amazons running around the world getting excited about shiz? THAT would be relate-able tv.

susan said so said...

"gay face"...is he homosexual, thereby making his face permanently "gay"?? or by gay did you mean...something else?

Ragamuffin said...

i'd be way more interested in interviews with the anthro designers and display coordinators who take his worldly finds and make something of them.