Reviews are supposed to be critical, so typically, even if something is well made, reviewers' alleged "discerning tastes" force a highlight of all imperfections. What makes the second season of VH1's "Breaking Bonaduce" a difficult show to review is that there is little one can say about the main character that he will not himself say. He is basically an alcoholic womanizer with a highly addictive personality and a violent jealous streak frequently manifesting itself in uncontrolled rage and a manic temper. Ironically, this is what makes him a hero for our times.
In promos for season one of the show, Bonaduce (of the '70s hit "The Partridge Family" ["C'Mon, Get Happy!"]) championed the ideal that "everyone has a right to watch a car crash."
It is rare, though, that an irresponsible driver will alert those around him that he is going to crash his car, then proceed to do so, back up, and crash it again. The question is: If he did, would we feel more or less guilty for watching? Probably more. One can at least feign the idea that surprise and concern provoke the irresistible gawk when a run-of-the-mill car crash occurs.
What elevates the show is Bonaduce's frank appraisal of his own situation. Here is reality television that, though edited, makes no attempt to cast its lead in a pleasant light. There's no Sharon Osborne executive producing the show to make Ozzy look endearing but befuddled.
To the contrary, Bonaduce knows that he does terrible things and frequently derides himself for his behavior. His reason for doing this show, he claims, is the money that it brings in. But there's no chance we can believe that.
If he wanted to make money, he would create a glitzier show, one more like VH1's "Strange Love," where he can have celebrity cameos and the possibility of a spin-off. The "celebreality" of the situation is that Danny Bonaduce has stumbled upon the way to produce some of the truest art available - a treat for most "reality" TV junkies.
Humor us for a moment: Where many artists, like Van Gogh and Sylvia Plath, put so much of their heart, soul and lives into their art, Bonaduce has similarly made his life the art. There is no significant difference between offering us the good and bad of life as it actually happens and rephrasing it using beautiful prose or flashy colors. If anything, Bonaduce's work is unadulterated.
This, however, doesn't necessarily make his show worth watching. It can grow tiresome to see how often he makes the same mistakes while he seems to remain self-aware. If nothing else, we can view his life as a cautionary tale: Learn from your mistakes better than he does. But "Breaking Bonaduce" marks an important cultural point. Though we may have trouble appreciating it now, his televised self-evisceration may serve as a hallmark of our era.
Of course, society does see it as some sort of value to be honest and unpretentious, but how many of us have the courage to actually fully reveal ourselves in this way?
Forget about the television aspect; why can't we be honest with other people and see ourselves as we really are? There is a scene on the first episode of the second season where Bonaduce is shooting a promo for his show on a roof in Mexico City. The shot is meant to look like he is standing on the very edge of the roof, which he isn't. Once the shooting has finished, he walks right over to the very edge of the roof and stares off.
After everybody pleads with him, he steps down, content. He may be stupid to stand on the edge, but he is unique among us in that he knows what it looks like.
