LIFE’S A BEACH FOR LOHAN
WHEN you hear “Lindsay Lohan” and “reality show” in the same sentence, another word that might come to mind is “disaster”.
The troubled actress, known for her legal entanglements and controversies, attempted a docuseries with Oprah Winfrey in 2014. It did not go well. She’s also infamous for causing problems on sets; a director once likened it to being held hostage. However, we can inform you: Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club, which debuted on MTV on Tuesday night, is not a disaster.
Centred on the launch of Lohan’s new club in Mykonos, Greece, it’s a fairly standard – and unremarkable – entry into the “underlings work for a celebrity boss” genre of reality TV. Still, the show is a sad viewing experience. Not for the reasons you might expect.
The messaging surrounding the series could not be more direct. Lohan, aware of her reputation, wants you to know: Her troubles are behind her. She has reinvented herself as an entrepreneur with a brand to protect. And if you’re not as serious as she is about her mission, well, you can see yourself out.
Lohan’s new chapter is the theme of the first episode, which kicked off with the actress perched on a boat in the sparkling blue sea: “I want to be my own boss,” she announced.
She and her business partner, Panos Spentzos, rounded up a group of American “VIP hosts” to work at Lohan Beach House, her third establishment in Greece.
As the VIP hosts caused all sorts of unnecessary drama, the sadness seeped in when viewers learnt what motivated Lohan to create the club; and also when it was made clear how damaged she was by her time in Hollywood.
In the opening segment, Lohan talked about why she loves Greece: “I’ve always loved the beauty and serenity I feel when I’m here. Mykonos is the place to be… it’s beautiful, it’s open-minded, and most of all, it’s safe.”
Later in the episode, Lohan reminded Spentzos that he had known her since “I was hit on that beach”.
Spentzos turned serious as he told the camera about the incident in Mykonos that made headlines in 2016: “Three years ago, Lindsay was there on that beach with her ex-boyfriend. She got hit by him.”
“I was in a very tumultuous relationship. I was in a different place in my life,” she said. “Instead of crying or getting angry, I said, ‘I’m gonna own this beach one day’ because I always want everyone to feel safe.”
“She wanted to remember this beach as a very fun place. Not what happened to her,” Spentzos added.
Lohan started to cry as she described bringing her mother there for the first time.
“I made it something that is meaningful to me.” Lohan then segued into her disappointment in the club’s new “VIP hosts”, who got drunk the first night of filming. “I don’t want these kids to (mess) that up for my family and my future.” Lohan then took on the role of the strict boss who didn’t have time for drunken antics.
It sounded like pretty real pain from someone who, as a child star, never had a shot at a normal life. As easy as it would be to write off Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club as yet another ridiculous show, when you consider everything that led the actress to this place, it feels tragic. | Washington Post