Smells Like Teen Spirit

You all know by now that I watch way too much reality TV, but I had to write about this TV show I watched last night called Super Sweet 16 on MTV.

Teenagers often get a bum rap, and this TV won't change that image. What is this show about? Over the top Sweet 16 parties. I'm talking parties that cost more than my apartment, and 4 times what I make in a year. Yes, those kinds of parties.

Last night's episode featured Sophie, a teen who lives in West Palm Beach, FL. To call Sophie a diva is an insult to divas everywhere. Sophie is more like a combination of Damien from the Omen, and the little girl from the Bad Seed.

I'm not joking. I've never seen a more vile, obnoxious, disrespectful, whiny, belligerant, self-absorbed teen in my entire life. Sophie wanted to have a Moulin Rouge birthday party because it's her favorite film, and damn it, everyone was going to cater to her needs, if she had anything to say about it. Her mother hired a stylist to help her pick out her birthday dress to the tune of $10,000! Just to pick out a freakin' dress.

She wouldn't let her mother see any of the dresses that she was trying on. Even though her mother (who works as a vet. Apparently there are no other vets in West Palm Beach or this woman charges a fortune for her services) was footing the bill, Sophie treated her like a servant. There doesn't seem to be a father in the picture, so Sophie is a spoiled only child used to thinking that the world revolves around her.

Girlfriend is in a for a rude awakening one day! The only birthday party seemed to be a power trip for her. She deliberately shows up at school in a white Rolls-Royce to deliver the birthday invitations herself, and then gets into a fight with a girl who grabbed an invite, although she wasn't invited.

The whole thing was distasteful. I felt sorriest for the Mother who paid $180,000 for this extravaganza. Let's do the math, that's the equivalent of 4 years at Harvard.

Afterwards, the teens from the first season were discussing the reaction that they got for their parties from viewers. Amazingly, most of the reaction was negative! One of the girls said that it of course wasn't their fault that their parents wanted to throw them extravagant parties. How could they say no?

Easily, chiquita. Just open your mouth and let your lips form the word NO.

I didn't have a sweet 16 birthday party, precisely because I didn't want my parents wasting money on a big party. Instead, I asked them to take me to dinner at the Rainbow Room, after we saw a Broadway show (Bob Fosse's Dancin). Much champagne flowed.

So, are teen parties out of control? What was your sweet 16 like? Enquiring minds want to know.