For me, MTV's new show Paris Hilton's My New BFF is a must-see, because it succeeds in combining two of my guilty pleasures: trashy reality television and Paris Hilton.
I'm a big fan of any kind of "reality" show. I smirk at the loser boyfriends on Parental Control, giggle uncontrollably at the devil-costume-clad, pitchfork-waving man on Hell Date, and sing along to YouTube videos of Paula Abdul's stalker from American Idol.
There's just something about watching other people do embarrassing things that amuses me to no end, even though their antics are most likely staged.
My fixation with Paris is a bit harder to explain. It started when a boy tried to make me mad by informing me, via the misspelled facebook message that passes for communication now, "you act like your Paris Hilton."
My first thought was: "MY Paris Hilton? How is she different from anyone else's?" After realizing that he meant the contraction "you are," I glanced at his list of reasons, which did nothing to convince me that Paris and I are the same person.
Nevertheless, I've felt an odd sort of kinship with her ever since.
I watched the first episode on Wednesday. The show opened with Paris informing us, "I'm Paris Hilton, and I'm an amazing best friend." I can honestly say that I'd rather be friends with Paris than with any of the contestants. Most were bland, catty, and clearly using Paris to achieve, as they put it, "instant celebrityism." I almost felt bad for her.
The best part was probably when Paris had a scary man question her besties-in-training about their motives for wishing to become her BFF. As if those weren't obvious.
The awesome part was that the questioning took place in an abandoned warehouse. And the contestants were blindfolded. It was quite ominous.
After one of the girls was sent home, the credits rolled and I debated if I should go to bed or watch the next episode.
The show brought up one of life's great questions: who do I feel more sorry for, Paris or her wannabe friends? On the one hand, they're using her to get their 15 minutes of fame.
But she's rich and famous, so she probably doesn't even care. On the other hand, those girls are so attention-starved that they've resorted to being on an MTV reality show to get noticed.
But it's working. Granted, people are mostly mocking them, but I guess any publicity is good publicity.
Whatever I decide about Paris and the girls, I'll definitely be tuning in next week. Where else am I going to learn such pearls of wisdom as, "Someone is always judging you. Except when you're judging them."
Plus, Paris dresses way classier than Tila Tequila.
