"The Beautiful Life" Review: A Beautiful Mess

Probably the only thing you have heard about “The Beautiful Life” (which The CW is now calling “The Beautiful Life: TBL”) is the headlines Mischa Barton made with her hospital stay.

Sadly, that story is much more exciting than anything you’ll see on “TBL.” In fact, those letters should stand for Totally Blah and Lame…

“TBL” is meant to follow the dramas of high fashion models. Raina (Sara Paxton) is the up-and-comer who steals the spotlight from the supermodel of the moment, Sonja (Mischa Barton), who has just returned from a mysterious hiatus. Chris (Benjamin Hollingsworth) is the newly discovered fresh face from Iowa trying to adjust to the big city. Cole (Nico Tortorella) is the hotshot male model, while Isaac (Corbin Bleu) is struggling to make ends meet.

But instead of real drama, or even good soapy drama, we get lame and tired stories. One of the models deals drugs. One of them is a backstabber looking to trample anyone she can to be the best. One photographer, one modeling agent AND one booking agent insist on the models sleeping their way into the jobs. The only difference is that one of them (the modeling agent) is gay.

That story might work once, but three times in the same episode?

And of course, the doe-eyed farm boy with the disapproving parents is falling for the up-and-comer with a mysterious past. It’s all been done before, but so much better.

And it doesn’t help that Mischa Barton is really not a good actress. I guess I must have let my love for “The O.C.” overshadow that fact before…

About the only good thing I can say about “TBL” is that it has a good soundtrack…

“The Beautiful Life” is a beautiful mess and it’s really not worth your time…

“The Beautiful Life: TBL” premieres Wednesday, September 16th on The CW…

Photo Credit: Richard Phibbs/The CW