Jersey Shore Review: Ciao, Italia! The Guidos and Guidettes Invade the Boot

The guidos and guidettes of the Jersey Shore are invading the “homeland” by staging the fourth season of this painfully addicting show in Florence, Italy. I use the term homeland loosely as we all know not all of the cast is actually Italian-American.

I should probably point out that I am French/Italian, so ten minutes into this season’s first episode, I was already nursing a headache thanks to the countless amounts of times I slapped my palm to my forehead whenever one of these characters said or did something ridiculous. Americans are often criticized for being ignorant about Europe, and when you’ve got Snooki saying things like, “‘Italy is that big country…no wait, Europe is that big country with Great Britain and Italy inside it” and then admitting that “I have no idea where Italy is on the map,” the stereotype justifies itself (which is a shame because I know not everyone is as big of an airhead as Snooki).

The cast remains intact from season 3, so we’ve got Mike “The Situation,” Ronnie, Pauly D, Vinny, Nicole “Snooki,” Jenni “JWoww,” Sammi “Sweetheart,” and Deena. The only major shake-up within the group is that Ronnie and Sammi are no longer dating (hallelujah!) but who knows how long that will last.

The boys and girls are put on separate flights to Italy, each with layovers in different countries. Each team is vying to get to the house first so they can pick the best rooms. The girls eventually land in Milan and have to take a bus to Florence; the boys land directly in Florence and are just a short cab ride away from their new home for the next few weeks. How is that fair?

Right away, the gang gets a bit of culture shock. There’s no elevator to their lavish apartment, their blow dryers and flat irons burn out, Ronnie sits on a tiny chair and breaks it, and they have to drive stick shift cars (of which only Snooki and Pauly D know how to do). Mamma mia!

Aside from these minor nuances, things for the Jersey Shore gang haven’t really changed much. The boys immediately find a gym and make friends with the owner, Luigi, and Mike admits to Ronnie that he and Snooki hooked up a few months ago despite the fact that she now has a boyfriend (oh snap!). Everyone goes to a club, gets wasted, and the hook-ups commence. Yes, season four of Jersey Shore is looking like it’ll be the same as all the others. So far the Italian setting is just a backdrop, nothing more.

Of the entire cast, only Vinny seems to speak a tiny bit of Italian and lists actual goals for the trip: to learn Italian fluently and find a nice traditional Italian girl. Well, the second one might be questionable, but I’ve always liked Vinny for some reason. Aside from him, none of the other cast members seem to be making any sort of effort to adapt to their new surroundings. It’s a bit disappointing, to tell you the truth, but hopefully since this is only the first episode, there’ll be room for change. (One can dream, right?)

Episode one ends on a high note before all the real drama of the season commences. Everyone’s living it up, screaming “I love Italy!” at the club while Deena and Pauly D lock lips. Enjoy the party, ‘cause from the previews, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to last.

Until next week… ciao!

For more on this episode, check out Tanya Lane’s review HERE.

Season4, Episode 1: “Going to Italia” (originally aired August 4, 2011)

Jersey Shore airs Thursdays at 10/9c on MTV.

Images courtesy of MTV.