HACKY THANKSGIVING

Ruby

Season 3 (2010)

No, that’s not a typo in the title.  Ruby Gettinger, the eponymous star of the show, just has her own unique vocabulary, substituting “hacky” for “happy,” “helicopter” for “Hell” and “Christmas doctor” for gynecologist (I don't get that last one either).

Ruby is an under-seen gem (see what I did there?!) of a reality TV show that lasted a few seasons on the Style network.  The premise is absurdly simple: an obese woman in Savannah tries to lose weight.  Oh yeah, and she sorta kinda has childhood amnesia (something that’s frustratingly never resolved).  Once I started watching I was quickly sucked in and it became an obsessive favorite.  Ruby herself is extremely likeable, as is her supporting “cast,” mostly a coterie of painfully closeted Southern gay men.  Apparently we gay men are inexplicably drawn to Ruby like moths to a flame.

This Thanksgiving episode is sadly the only holiday offering from the show’s semi-brief run, but luckily it’s a good one.  It pretty much sticks to the Ruby formula in that not very much happens but somehow it all ends up being quite interesting.  Ruby demands that her friends and family produce two Thanksgiving dinners this year, a diet-friendly one and their traditional Southern calorie-clogger (including a deep-fried turkey).  She invites her trainers to the meal, everyone plays football, cooks, says grace, and eats. 

These mundane activities are made interesting by Ruby herself, a weird mix of childlike enthusiasm and emotionally damaged (and demanding) adult.  For example, she insists on sticking little signs into all of the food that labels it “healthy” or “fat,” apparently in an attempt to guilt everyone who is eating the delicious fatness in front of her.  She bans pumpkin pie from the house, for as a child she would eat an entire pie in a single day.  She also tries to introduce her guests to “gentle eating,” a process in which you chew each bite twenty times in silence and aren't allowed to drink.  It doesn’t go over so well.

Underneath the quirkiness of both Ruby the real-life person and Ruby the show there is a compelling emotional core.  When Ruby’s (horrible) ex-boyfriend Denny breaks down in tears during grace, remembering his recently deceased (and also obese) brother, it’s a very raw moment.  In an equally emotional scene, to avoid temptation Ruby and her friends later take their leftovers to a women’s shelter and share stories of addiction and recovery with the residents.

Similarly moving in an entirely different way is Ruby’s dismay at the end-of-episode weigh-in.  It’s revealed she’s gained weight thanks to all of her turkey day snacking seen throughout the episode (and, as she's just recently admitted, she was secretly feasting on fast food off-camera).  It’s a depressing moment, as you empathize with Ruby despite her faults.  At the end of the day she’s just terribly human.

Recurring Themes: Even reality shows aren’t immune to TV tropes, as evidenced by the Healthy Menu seen in this episode.

The Healthy Menu: Turkey, Stuffing, Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Vegetables Fat-Free Brownies & lots and lots of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

The Fatty Menu: Deep-Fried Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Collared Greens & Corn Pudding

Thanksgiving Quotient: 4

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Three seasons of Ruby are now up on Netflix instant so start with this Thanksgiving episode and then watch the rest of the show— you’ll find yourself hooked!