Tag: The Real World

“The Real Housewives of New Jersey” — Season One

Jae-Ha Kim

The conceit of Bravo’s The Real Housewives franchise is to showcase women who make the fictional characters on ABC’s Desperate Housewives seem like amateurs. And in that sense, The Real Housewives of New Jersey is successful. The women certainly are colorful, but as interesting? No. Still, it’s easy to see why this series is popular. The women are pretty enough, plenty catty, and some are even downright diabolical. They’re kind of what Heidi from The Hills might grow up to become 10 or 15 years down the line.

Five questions with Kyle Brandt

Jae-Ha Kim

After watching his own life melodramatically played out on MTV as one of the Chicago cast members of “The Real World,” Lincolnshire’s Kyle Brandt is ready to tackle another kind of soap opera. The 24-year-old actor has a three-year contract, starting today, to portray Philip Kiriakis on the
long-running daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”

“The Real Cancun”

Jae-Ha Kim

Reality not only bites in “The Real Cancun.” It smells. Watching this film, I thought about a recent Onion Headline: “Girl Gone Wild Actually Just Regular Girl, Only More Insecure and Drunk.” Add the male gender into that headline and you’ve pretty much got the plot for what’s being touted as the first reality feature film, courtesy of the producers of MTV’s “The Real World.”

Beach Blast scores big for Jordan club

Jae-Ha Kim

The Friends of the James Jordan Boys and Girls Club made quite the splash with their first Beach Blast. Held at Phil Stefani’s kicky Castaways Restaurant at the North Avenue Beach–a favorite hangout for the Chicago cast of this season’s “The Real World”–the benefit attracted almost 200 revelers wearing their best casual beach attire. Surveying the crowd, Deloris Jordan appeared particularly chic and cool in a crisp summer suit.

Five questions with Kyle Brandt

Jae-Ha Kim

Kyle Brandt looks exactly the way he does on “The Real World”: tall, athletic, handsome and–yes–very much like the actor he says he wants to become. Wearing faded jeans and an Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt during his interview with GLARE, the muscular member of the Chicago cast is flanked by a publicist and his adorable 11-year-old brother Austin.

Real World Confidential: Griping, groping on North Avenue

Jae-Ha Kim

You’ve got to feel a little bad for the Chicago cast of “The Real World.” The seven young ‘uns probably thought they’d get to live rent-free for the summer in a way-cool house in way-cool Wicker Park, hang with a Pumpkin or two and use the MTV soap opera-style documentary to launch their 15 minutes of fame.