Not to sound like Jerry Seinfeld, but what is the deal with The Hills? As someone who follows pop culture (semi-professionally, may I add), I’ve never fully understood the mass appeal of the MTV “reality” show. Its producers have readily admitted to manipulating the narrative, which boggles my mind because…ummm…nothing of consequence seems to happen on the show.
Admittedly, I’ve never possessed the interest to sit through a full episode, but I understand from the ubiquitous coverage by every media outlet known to man that there are some crucial plot lines: Spencer is a dick, Heidi is a bitch, and Lauren makes dresses. They all grossly overuse the term “drama,” which I suppose is the new de facto expression for over-indulged youth.
If the The Hills isn’t a vapid spin on Seinfeld’s “show about nothing,” it’s about the inconsequential problems faced exclusively by the rich, white, and undeservedly famous.
Jimmy Jellinek, former editor-in-chief at Maxim and current VP of entertainment at Heavy.com, recently discovered a brilliant tool to successfully satirize The Hills: old people. In Over The Hills, webisodes depict scenes from The Hills, unchanged, word for word. All that’s different is that the monotoned blondebots have been replaced with white-haired geriatrics. Their slower, deliberate readings of original dialogue effortlessly showcase just how pathetically mundane the OC vernacular really is.
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It’s one thing to poke fun at something, and it’s even funnier to do so by puppeteering the elderly. But what makes this spoof internet gold is that it appears the actors have no idea wtf they’re talking about. We’re essentially laughing with the actors because the material is so bad, but we’re kinda laughing at them, too.
Just note the melodramatic way (not that you can miss it) in which “Lauren” practically spits venom at “Heidi” during Club Confrontation. Her acting is so overwrought, so perfectly regional theater-y, it’s illuminating. Imagine if someone told her that the real Lauren Conrad sounds pretty much emotionless and dull, devoid of any color or inflection in her voice, whether she’s talking about love or bubble gum.
But thankfully, no one did tell her that, which makes, for us, a hilarious representation of how The Hills would look if its characters were both long retired and emotionally available.