Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood/Oxygen/Tuesdays

by Veronica Wilks

Tori Spelling is just your typical working mom. You know, if most typical working moms grew up in Hollywood as the daughter of a billionaire producer, starred on a hit TV show, starred in several Lifetime movies, had a public fight with her mother for a trust fund, threw a million-dollar-wedding only to get divorced 14 months later, remarried a D-list actor, published a book, and weighed under 100 pounds….she’s just a simple girl, trying to make it all work!

Despite all this, Tori and Dean try to portray themselves as completely normal. And sometimes they do seem normal, like when Tori is wearing her glasses.

The season premier focused on Tori feeling overwhelmed with trying to finish her book and fulfill her “dream of being a stay-at-home mom.” This was described as her dream several times throughout the show. Big dreams! But she also had to be the breadwinner of the family, given
that her husband, while rugged and cute and a pretty good dad, apparently can’t bring in a dime. She dealt with the same conflict that I think a lot of new moms deal with, and, despite her millions, I think that some women might actually find her relatable. I don’t have kids, a husband, a dream, or millions, so I personally couldn’t relate, but I can see how women do. And she’s kind of cute and funny. She’s likable, she pulls her (tiny) weight, and her complaints aren’t
whiny.

But when she speaks to the camera alone, you are reminded how “Hollywood” they still are. She talks constantly about her relationship with her mother, a tense bond that has been well-documented by the E! True Hollywood Story and US Weekly. Her mom told her she was ugly! Her nanny raised her! That’s where they get Hollywood—it’s so “Mommie Dearest,” it seems unbelievable.

But while many celebrity couple shows are grating, I didn’t find this one particularly bad. “Mommywood” is not a topic that interests me, but for those who women who are working hard to achieve their dreams of staying at home and raising their kids while cameras follow them,
let Tori be your guide. She’s ridiculous enough that it’s still good reality TV but sweet and grateful enough that you actually can stomach it.