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Roirpi•
Princesses joins the Bravo reality
(unreality?) lineup — and fits right in.
Jana Banin
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
p
rincesses: Long Island,
the new reality show on
Bravo, appears to be as bad
for the Jews as we had feared.
Like some other cultural gems
on the network, such as the Real
Housewives franchise and Shahs of
Sunset, the new offering centers on
a few spunky, wealthy women — all
college-educated — who live to shop,
date and throw tantrums.
These princesses live in a magi-
cal land called Long Island, where
20-something Jewish women wait for
Jewish men to arrive from Wall Street
and sweep them off their feet and out
of their parents' suburban castles.
On the premiere episode, "You Had
Me at Shalom:' that aired June 2, the
Jewish angle was established almost
immediately: The camera panned
to welcome signs for Jewishly dense
towns like Great Neck and Roslyn,
along with images of a synagogue and
Judaica store.
First we meet Chanel, a "Modern
Orthodox" 27-year-old.
"We keep kosher, keep Shabbos, and
we live at home until we're married:'
she says of her religious affiliation.
Chanel is having a hard time. Not
only is she dealing with the breakup
with her boyfriend of 10 months —
who left her for a 19-year-old — her
24-year-old sister is getting mar-
ried. Chanel also is a friend of Erica,
who in high school was known as "the
hottest girl on Long Island"
Next up is Ashlee, whom we meet
while she is having a pedicure with
her adoring dad, who laughs at every
awful comment that comes out of her
mouth. "My father is amazing:' the
29-year-old gushes.
Enter Amanda, 26, who lives with
her overbearing, co-dependent moth-
er, Barbara, who "thinks she's my best
friend:' Amanda is one of the lucky
ones — she's in a serious relationship
with Jeff, a 38-year-old guy she met on
the Long Island Rail Road.
Amanda's familial and romantic
relationships are the source of some of
Above: Ashlee White, left, and
Amanda Bertoncini, cast members
of Bravo's reality show Princesses:
Long Island in a scene from the show
the show's juiciest material. She is cer-
tain she's going to marry Jeff, and she
talks about it — a lot.
Meanwhile, her meddling mother
is calling in the middle of the couple's
"hot" date and tagging along when he
takes Amanda shopping for bathing
suits (Mom tries them on, too!). "Jeff
loves to see me in a bathing suit, and
I'm bringing my mom so she can pay:'
Amanda says.
Jeff, who speaks in the same whiny
Long Island drawl as his girlfriend and
her friends, has a creepy vibe. At a
pool party Erica throws at her cousin's
"ridonculous" mansion, a sassy woman
named Sarah accosts the happy couple
and pisses off Amanda by announcing
she is Facebook friends with Jeff.
It turns out the Sarah-Jeff relation-
ship online isn't so innocent. Jeff, like,
totally stalked Sarah on Facebook, and
he is, she confirms, a freak. Then Sarah
describes him using a gay slur, and all
hell breaks loose. Insults are hurled,
tears are shed, drinks are thrown.
The party not only permits the
requisite reality show drama, it's also
a device to convey the geography and
class distinctions of the area. Sarah is
a "typical South Shore girl" while the
main characters hail from the much
more upscale North Shore. Sarah was
invited to the party by fellow South
Shore resident Joey, who we met ear-
lier when Ashlee picked up Sarah for a
shopping trip.
"Oy, I'm in Freeport, and it's not
what I'm used to:' Ashlee exclaims
over the phone to her dad as she
drives through Joey's neighborhood.
He calms his daughter by telling her to
appreciate what she has.
"I know people don't live like us:'
she says. "I want to give everyone a
hug and then get the hell out:'
❑
New episodes of Princesses:
Long Island debut at 9 p.m.
Sundays, with many repeat
showings.
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June 13 • 2013
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