I like seeing what they do to these usually dilapidated houses, but Joanna's style is pretty one-note. Everything is white, black, gray, wood; she doesn't seem to like color. Everything is rustic. She also doesn't like bricks; every brick gets painted, re-surfaced, or torn out. The houses look good, but they're pretty much all the same design; it's always tear out all the walls and add wooden beams and French doors. She is also pretty adamant about doing what she wants, even if it involves more money and a lot more work; not sure I've ever seen her take no as an answer. All the gorgeous furniture and accessories are just staging; the people don't get to keep it, unless they want to buy it. Why not decorate with the homeowners actual furniture? I wonder if the homeowners have any input in the design; they rarely say much of anything. Then there's Chip. He's always saying or doing something stupid (like constantly talking about his hair and how good-looking he is, which he isn't) trying to be funny (which he isn't) and occasionally gross (like eating a cockroach off the floor) and inappropriate like taking his shirt off and on a couple of occasions, his pants! He does things that are stupid and sometimes un-safe, like jumping through a wall, throwing tools through windows, climbing on beams, throwing bricks, and yanking a chandelier out of the ceiling with his hands. Sometimes when they're not actually working on the project, I have to just mute them, because of the inane conversations and Chip's overwhelming loudness. Season 5 he grew a beard and grew his hair long, so now he looks like Big Foot. I don't think I would want him working on my house, because I'm not sure he really knows what he's doing; he makes mistakes and seems kind of incompetent, and I'm kind of surprised sometimes that the houses come out as well as they do (which also makes me wonder if there are underlying problems we never hear about). He's always surprised to suddenly find roof, electrical and plumbing problems. These houses are pretty much all 50 to 100 years old; I'd ASSUME they have roof, electric and plumbing problems, along with asbestos and lead paint issues, and plan accordingly. Overall it's an entertaining show, but Joanna needs to branch out a little in her designs and someone really needs to tone Chip down and get him under control; he's seriously unprofessional. The best part of the show, oddly enough, is their goats.
Review of Fixer Upper
