“Barely Famous” could be renamed “Mission: Impossible.”
This new VH1 show, which stars composer David Foster’s daughters Sara and Erin, sets out to satirize empty-headed reality shows about people who are famous only for being famous.
The Fosters do seem to grasp the absurdity of reality shows like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” to name one random program where nothing of any substance is likely ever to happen.
They only hit the wall when they try to create situations sillier or more outlandish than the ones we see in the real shows.
That’s the near-impossible part.
It may be possible to lampoon vacuous reality shows. But while Sara and Erin play their parts well, they haven’t found much material that goes beyond the absurd extremes already offered by the objects of all this satire.
Part of their problem, to be fair, lies in the fact that many of our silliest reality shows at times will wink at us, acknowledging how ridiculous they seem. That flicker of self-awareness, however fleeting, makes it all the more difficult to lampoon them.
Still, the Fosters give it their best shot. We see them hire publicists, for instance, whose job is to get them attention when they’re doing nothing that makes them the slightest bit interesting.
In one long scene, the goal is to stage a “meltdown” and have it “accidentally” caught on film by passing paparazzi.
So we watch one Foster “getting into character” to do some unspecified mildly outrageous thing while pumping gas.
At other times they only talk about fame, with a mock seriousness that’s knowing enough so that we’re inclined to nod.
By the end, with no disrespect intended, we’re more likely to nod off.
