Stop. Watch. Listen
'Queer Eye for the Staight Guy' reboot is a total cryfest (& that's good thing)
With a more diverse Fab 5 at the helm, this makeover reality show is better - and deeper - than the original, writes Sylvia McKeown
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Netflix's reboot of the 2003 makeover reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
WHO: Unlike the original, a far more diverse group of guys (race, religion, style and the butch/femme spectrum) take on the food, home, grooming, culture and fashion roles which bleed into a more caring and therapeutic role than the show was previously.
WHY WATCH: For the ugly cry.
FULL REVIEW
The original series was a fun frolic into makeover realm with a queer twist. Five gay guys would take a man and fix every aspect of his life over a week in an attempt to get him a date and a new lease on life. The show played into the stereotypical idea that gay men are better living a fabulous life and used the trope to help endear the LGBTQ community to straight white America.
And it worked. The show was a huge hit in the US and even in South Africa.
But times have changed and instead of fighting for tolerance, the new Fab Five are fighting for acceptance as Tan, the new "style guru", says in the first two minutes of the show.
This time each transformation is twofold as the five not only make over a diverse bunch of straight, single, married (and one token gay guy) but they, too, are confronted with their own growth. Be it African-American "culture expert" Karamo connecting with a white Trump-supporting policeman, or "design guy" Bobby speaking about the rejection he experienced when coming out to his conservative Christian community with a devoutly religious makeover subject. So much crying fodder here.
WATCH | The trailer for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy..
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