This show centers primarily on the lives of a group of shallow, materialistic, narcissistic twenty something years olds whose only dreams are to achieve fame and wealth by any means necessary. Despite it's title and setting the show doesn't really have anything to do with Lisa Vanderpump or the running of her business. Instead, the viewers are given a glimpse into the absolute shallowness and vapidity of the people working there. The casual cruelty and callousness with which the staff treats one another is disgusting to watch and I cannot for the life of me remember a single interesting/positive fact about any one of them. I don't love to hate the show like I do The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I just hate the show.
What I have the most trouble with though, is that Lisa/Bravo would allow something with such a toxic and negative message to air. By giving these people a platform on a national TV show they have granted them legitimacy. However, not once in any of the interviews did I hear any of the cast members say that they loved singing, or acting, or anything else that takes a degree of talent and hard work. All I saw was a bunch of narcissistic essentially empty people claiming that they deserve to be famous for no real reason other than the fact that they are relatively attractive. Their absolute obsession with things like beauty and money is so disheartening to watch because I cannot fathom how empty these people must be to only be able to judge their worth and the worth of others on these arbitrary and hollow standards.
What's even worse is the permissive attitude which reigns in the restaurant. Their behavior is excused because they are "young and passionate" and yet at the same age I am fully aware of what behavior is and isn't appropriate in a work environment and that I must treat other people with a minimum level of respect whether I like them or not. The message that this is sending out to the next generation is that there are never any real repercussions for messing up. None of the staff care to conduct themselves professionally because they know that there aren't going to be any real consequences for their actions.
All in all I am extremely disappointed by this show. Especially, as Lisa presents herself as someone who is so against the cattiness of her cast mates on RHOBH. And yet, she allows the same thing to go on in her own establishment and promotes it by letting it air on national television. In most any other environment these people would be fired on the spot for their behavior. The only reason I give this show 2 stars is for the fact that it is so horrifying I found myself unable to stop watching. I suppose this is what Bravo is relying on to pull in viewers.
