Barbee Rehab (2022) TV Review
As far as comedy series go, there isn’t much you can actually watch that isn’t produced in the format of a sitcom. And it’s actually pretty understandable. After all, who would want to risk their success by doing something that’s out of the comfort zone of viewers and producers.
Shows like Barbee Rehab are the exact opposite of what you would get in an average TV production. It seems like the Internet is this kind of territory where anything goes and rules are destroyed for the sake of a concept that doesn’t necessarily need them. As different as those shows are, it seems impossible to evaluate them among their peers. These aren’t the shows you would normally enjoy and you know what? Maybe you’re not supposed to.
The story is odd, dirty and decidedly controversial. But as simple as short jokes go. You know, the ones you frequently tell among friends. Barbee Rehab is the story of a man (Tom Sizemore) who’s telling a story that no one seems to believe. His psychiatrist (Janice Dickinson) keeps asking questions about this man’s delusional attitude about a place where plastic rules. Literally.
He goes on about a rehab site for people who are obsessed with Barbie and Ken dolls. It also accepts those who live their lives like the dolls. Yes, he’s trying to convince her that such a place exists. During his flashback we come to know the place and the people living inside. If you thought the show’s concept was weird, then you haven’t seen what goes on inside the rehabilitation facility known as Barbee Rehab.
And that’s it. Barbee Rehab is not much more than a joke with many familiar faces making fun of themselves and a creator with a lot of confidence in himself. Whether you enjoy that or not, that’s entirely your business. Celebrating the product of a creative writer/director is sometimes looking at the audience who are willing to have fun with things that are out of place.
The show consists of quirky, sometimes offensive characters that use the show’s context to constantly throw around dirty jokes. There are times when they go too far and perhaps this is where Barbee Rehab gets divisive. Does it matter? No. If you’re into “stuff that’s so bad it’s good”, you will maybe have fun with this show. Just don’t dig into the jokes.
Bear something in mind. This isn’t a show that you have to take seriously. It goes beyond a relaxation moment where sitcoms seem ideal, but even then they “deserve” the traditional consideration by viewers. There’s nothing traditional about Barbee Rehab, and it’s OK. Derek S.Orr and Vanessa Bednar, the twisted minds behind such a show aren’t going for an evaluation in which someone can say they enjoyed their show or not. They want you to cringe, they want you to curse and they want you to remember why.
