JESSICA SIMPSON'S THE PRICE OF BEAUTY

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what does it mean to beholders from different countries? This is the idea that's explored -- somewhat -- in the show Jessica Simpson: The Price of Beauty.

The premise of this show is pretty simple. Jessica Simpson, along with her friend Cacee Cobb and stylist Ken Paves, travels to different countries, finding out about what is considered beautiful in those countries and taking part in some of their beauty rituals. The first episode had the trip visiting Thailand; future episodes will feature visits to France, Mumbai, Uganda, Morocco, Japan, Brazil, and finally the United States.

Jessica Simpson is an interesting choice to host this show -- and I'm using the word "interesting" in the positive and negative sense of the word. Simpson has been famous for both her great looks and infamous for every deviation from that physical ideal, so she knows the perks and perils that come with an interest in physical beauty. But she's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, and for a lot of Jessica Simpson: The Price of Beauty she comes across as a gawking tourist instead of explorer.

The show is, from the first episode, fairly superficial. In Thailand, for example, they reduce national beauty to three areas: pale skin (and a woman whose skin was destroyed by toxic makeup), Buddhist beliefs (since the country is mainly Buddhist; I didn't get the connection myself), and a tribe where necks elongated through neck rings are found attractive. There's very little history or discussion of these trends; just Jessica and pals talking to a few people, participating in native dress (they try on the neck rings, briefly) and customs (eating cooked insects), and repeatedly saying how beautiful and lovely everything is.

Jessica Simpson: The Price of Beauty is more reality show than documentary. To its credit, the show does keep an open mind, with Jessica and her companions listening and looking instead of comparing everything to their own standards. (I am curious to see how the show's approach works in the U.S.) In the end, though, this show is a famous and attractive toutist sightseeing.

Overall grade: C
Reviewed by James Lynch

Employee of the Month (2006)

Cinema takes on “big block” retailing in Employee of the Month, which was recently released on DVD. Most of the action takes place at a Shopper’s Club, which is a thinly disguised Costco. On the one hand, we have Zack, played by Dane Cook, who is a bottom of the food chain “boxboy” whose only ambition in life is to do as little as possible. On the other hand, we have Vince, played by Dax Shephard who is the obnoxious star employee who has been the employee of the month for the last seventeen months. Number eighteen will put him on the fast track to a career in management. Enter beautiful coworker Amy, played by Jessica Simpson (who thankfully doesn’t break into song…), and as fast as you can say “Price check on register one!” we have the major makings of a love triangle.

Employee of the Month successfully walks the line between entertaining comedy and silliness. It’s always just on the verge of degenerating past silliness to stupid, but in my view, it stays out of that abyss. While this film brought back a few personal memories of a summer spent in the grocery industry, I enjoyed it quite much. While a lot of films bill themselves as a romantic comedy and are almost devoid of any humor, Employee of the Month delivers a larger share of comedy than romance. With that in mind, it’s an enjoyable ninety minute diversion that doesn’t take anything too seriously, and focuses simply on entertainment.

Overall Grade: B+