Holly, Bridget & Kendra: "The Girls Next Door"

The Girls Next Door is a comedy reality series which premiered in August 2005 on the E! Television network. The supposed “reality” show loosely follows the life of Playboy conglomerate Hugh Hefner, and is based on his three (much younger) blonde and extremely tan girlfriends. Each episode generally concentrates on the events of a typical day at the Playboy mansion, ranging from the preparation for several well-known, annually held costume parties, including Hugh Hefner’s 80th Birthday party along with the infamous “Midsummer Night’s Dream” party; to the girls participating in a celebrity-sponsored golf tournament, or the planning of various pictorials for the magazine. The show allows viewers inside the private gates of the mansion and exposes them to Hefner’s world through the eyes of his current three girlfriends. Each show begins with a paper animation of each girl doing what it is that distinguishes her from the next. For example, Kendra is considered to be the “athletic” one of the three, so in the opening credits she kicks a soccer ball into a net. Prior to Kendra’s clip, Holly is seen cheerleading, and Bridget is seen playing with her dogs and cats.

Between the actual footage of scenes are quick, bubbly interviews in which each of the girls separately offer spunky descriptions of the events which took place at the time of the taping, “walking” the viewer through the incident. Each episode also offers further insight into each girls’ personality, which have all become understood by loyal viewers. For example, Holly, also known as “Hef’s #1” girlfriend, is the only girlfriend to share a bedroom with Hef. She often nags him to plan a marriage (which he is visibly reluctant to hear about) and having a baby. Holly is the “organized” one and enjoys planning parties and events. Bridget is a college student; a Halloween-enthusiast; and is generally thought of as the silliest of the three. Several episodes involve her dogs and cats (which whom she regularly conducts full conversations with). Kendra is the youngest (a mere twenty years old), and is the most outgoing, energetic, and craziest of the girls. Considered more of a “tomboy”, Kendra is known mostly for her swearing, raunchy dancing in her room, and a very limited use of the English language. Each episode features the girls, either together or individually, going about their daily business and doing various tasks in their minuscule and sometimes questionable attire. Taglines introducing different characters and people in the show appear inside pink blocks with floral designs at the edges. Furthermore, the music chosen for the opening theme is “Come on A My House” –an upbeat, catchy tune which immediately becomes cemented into the viewer’s mind. These features ultimately give the viewer an impression of a fun, stress-free, and very “girly” lifestyle.

Analysis

As a whole, the Girls Next Door gives off a bubbly, easy-going, and positive vibe. In between clichéd “hot girl” pillow fights, the girls come across as both oblivious and rather innocent (with the exception of Kendra, who is irritatingly dense…see clip), which is somewhat contradicting, considering their lifestyles and “careers” (If they can in fact be called careers).

Though I have several criticisms of E!’s program (and although I’m somewhat ashamed to admit it), I have found The Girls Next Door to be one of my favorite “guilty pleasures”. From the carefree attitudes of the girls, to mocking product placements in various episodes, to being entertained by stereotypical conversations of young blonde Californians, I always find the program to be light relief from everyday stress. However, while this “light relief” is refreshing and free of stimulating thought, I often become simultaneously outraged by the program and its triviality. While I agree it is a “reality”-based show and loosely documents some truth of their lifestyles, average viewers do not share the same reality as the beautiful and monetarily-comfortable girlfriends of Mr. Hefner. On the surface, the girls have each a distinct personality and separate opinions from one another. But although there is no script, the dialogues of Holly, Bridget, and Kendra are so similar that the three could basically be considered identical. The show covers the attitudes of three California-blonde; tan; wealthy women who are fortunate in their “assets”; women who happen to be girlfriends of the legendary Playboy creator. So, although each girl on the show has a distinguished personality to the viewer, I will make the assumption that each girl in life is likely very similar to the next.

Another main concept of the show is that it is produced to feed into the stereotypical Playboy image: attractive, ditzy, blondes who just want to have fun. While the girls’ actions and comments are lacking in intelligence to begin with, it is almost certain that for the purpose of entertainment producers aim to make the girls appear even more so clueless. The events and issues on the show are all trivial, and the conversations shallow, which may be the easy-going appeal to the everyday viewer. In my opinion, the goal of producers of the show is to aim for easy and instant entertainment which the viewer can chose to either roll their eyes at or to laugh along with the girls.

I know we're all tired of this issue because it exists everywhere in the media, but one more thing to consider on the program is the issue of female body-image. While the voluptuous girlfriends dance around in tiny ensembles, girls as young as 7 or 8 years old sit attached to their TVs idolizing their favorite Girl. Younger girls, and even teenage-girls (which remains a vast part of the targeted audience) aside, even women in their twenties and thirties buy into the Playboy image and begin to wish they could afford lavish lifestyles and various plastic surgeries. In addition, GND memorabilia and products serve the interests of females and males alike –including posters, coffee, mugs, calendars, and T-shirts.

Viewer ratings of the show span from near perfect to mediocre to “abysmal.” Individual opinions aside, the show has been one of the most watched “reality” series on the E! network. The show has been such a success in part because of its appeal to both genders and multiple age groups. For me personally, while the program has served as an amusing deflection from the stress of everyday life, it has likewise been a catalyst for extreme annoyance and outrage as well.

(Finally, I would like to warn that the clip below is likely a huge waste of your time and may drive you to your wit’s end. I caution that you not watch it unless you have absolutely nothing else to do, and even in that case you may regret wasting seven minutes of your life on the following).