I Wanna Marry Harry
This faux-reality show is about 10 years too late with a novelty that will wear off fast.
- Published by David Knox
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US reality show I Wanna Marry Harry is about ten years too late.
The notion that reality television can hoodwink its participants was all the rage around 2003 when Joe Millionaire fooled its females into thinking that its Bachelor beau was loaded, when in fact he was actually a construction worker.
Others followed suit: The Joe Schmo Show, There’s Something about Miriam, Playing it Straight and few assorted also-rans.
Ryan Seacrest, who has been so successful producing Keeping Up with the Kardashians amongst others, takes us back to the genre with this US series in which dumb American girls are fooled with a Prince Harry lookalike.
Harry is actually 25 year old British Environmental Consultant Matt Hicks. He’s an attractive ginger, well-spoken and trim. It’s surprising he’s still single, given he seems such a nice bloke.
For this ruse he is coached in all things royal by a butler (presumably an actor) and society experts: how to speak, how to dine, Harry’s biography etc. It’s a lot to take in.
Meanwhile there are 12 American young ladies who have been whisked to a British mansion, think Downton Abbey, and are giddy with excitement. Dazzled by the opulence and their 15 minutes of fame, they don’t hold back in their hopes for a Prince Charming. They are like schoolgirls on an end of year sojourn.
Eventually ‘Harry’ cleverly arrives via helicopter and security while the ladies are dining outside. As he is whisked away into a chauffered car, they only catch him as a distant figure. It send them into a spiral.
Later they meet him up close but at a masked ball, again concealing his identity. ‘Harry’ deflects direct questions about who he is. Most think he’s the real deal, but one or two are suspicious. ‘Harry’ comes to learn that American girls are attractive but extremely noisy.
The ‘unmasking’ is milked for all its worth. By the time the episode ends, one young lady will have been sent home and another is selected to spend more quality time with the not-Prince. Bizzarely, we’re denied a moment where ‘Harry’ reveals his identity to the eliminated contestant.
I Wanna Marry Harry‘s biggest problem is the absence of sincerity, from all but its leading man. It’s hard to get invested in the characters when they are being so blatantly misled, and the genre really moved on from such stunts that sought to take themselves seriously. With its by-the-numbers storytelling this show adds nothing new. It would never have flown in its original Sunday night timeslot.
Car-crash telly? Maybe for one episode.
I Wanna Marry Harry airs 8:30pm Fridays on TEN.
6 Responses
I agree It is way past it.Did anyone remember Yasmin’s getting married also on 10?It was a flop and before we knew It and this is way before the Project even existed They went back to Proven Old American Sitcoms.
As discussed before proven old American sitcoms don’t rate in early evening timeslots, except for Big Bang which is more current. We’ve also discussed before that there are plenty available to fans on multichannels (so let’s avoid repeating ourselves?). It seems neither bland reality nor sitcom reruns are the answer. Viewers want compelling content.
1.5 stars is very polite in my opinion David!
Hahahaha.
My favourite of this type of realty TV trickery is My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancee. It was brilliant!
I totally agree, it seems like a long awaited replay from 10 years ago and don’t understand why TEN would bother with this dribble. Yes, there is always a market for this crap in America but not here.