‘Ottawa’ Who Wants to Buy the Houses Built in Game of Homes?
With the clock ticking, proudly Italian best friends Dom and Michael argue about wainscoting. “Do you want it centered to the window?” Dom, the little one, asks.
“Measure the space!” Michael, the tall one, barks.
“So you want it centered to the wall?” Dom asks.
“I want you to do it right!” Michael yells (among other colorful phrases, which are bleeped).
“Talk English, ya f—ing bird!” Dom shouts. “Do it yourself!”
“At least I’ll do a good job!” Michael hollers.
Tyler, teamed with his fiancée, Courtney, overhears them. “This is what this will do to you,” he says.
“You care so much, you freak out.”
Yes, Tyler, exactly. The sum total of thinking here — four teams renovate a house; the winning duo gets it — is this: Give people stressful time limits, then watch them stress.
It sure doesn’t teach me how to renovate properly; experts help behind the scenes. It doesn’t show me how to critique taste: No matter who wins, the others spout, “The judges are wrong.”
As with all reality shows, the appeal is the characters: You root for the team you decide to like. Here you can decide immediately, because there’s no character development. Do you feel bad for Alex, the only skilled workman, and his helpless mum Shelley? Do you enjoy Dom and Michael’s chippiness? Kim and Harry’s over-ambition? Do you care if Tyler comforts Courtney when she cries?
No one, however, asks the question that’s plaguing me: Who wants a house built in too little time by exhausted amateurs?