There’s a lot to like, but also not like, about ‘I Dare You’

There’s a lot to like about the format of the new celebrity “hardship” challenge “I Dare You”: It places stars in difficult work situations that test their resolve, thus revealing how they handle stressful and “dirty” jobs, and their efforts lead to the betterment of the lives of some impoverished beneficiaries.

The format is choice and inspired, because it has many plus points—
star value, grateful beneficiaries, difficult challenges, potentially demeaning situations that reveal the real person behind the stellar image, etc.

Well-chosen

In execution, however, the show’s first telecast at 5:15 p.m. last July 11 fell short of our expectation. Its stellar “volunteer,” Jericho Rosales, was well-chosen, because he worked at many menial jobs before he became a star, including being a kargador at a public market—the actual challenge he had to measure up to on the new weekday show.

However, the challenge’s host, Iya Villania, was not a good choice, due to her affected way of talking and her signature uppity ways. The comic relief, Melai Cantiveros, was more of a silly, trying-hard distraction than a plus for the program.

Jericho’s good friends, Gab Valenciano and Alessandra de Rossi, were supposed to help him, but they self-consciously made too big a deal about the tough time they were having, getting cuts on their fastidious fingers as they chopped up ice for the tilapia that they loaded into “banyeras” for delivery from Nepa-Q-Mart in Cubao to a market in Marikina. Ho-hum, what did they expect, a fun-filled lark?

That was another aspect of the show’s first telecast that rubbed us the wrong way—its excessive and even relentless efforts to make its challenge eventful and “entertaining.” Only Jericho got the format’s spirit, possibly because he knew from experience what hard, dirty work really was, and didn’t act it up like it was all that big a diverting deal. Sometimes when you have a good format going, it’s really best to leave well enough alone.

Affirmed

On its opening week, we caught up some more telecasts of “I Dare You” and found that many of our initial observations were affirmed. We appreciated how hard the celebrities worked at messy, stinky jobs to win points and additional perks for their beneficiaries, but we would have admired them even more if they didn’t complain so much while doing them.

For instance, a subsequent challenge involved starlets assigned to help some old people at a retirement home, and they had to do a lot of cleaning up and washing of urine and poop-stained floors, bed sheets, mats, etc. It was very noble of them to subject themselves to such “indignities,” but a little less grumbling and griping would have gone a good long way.

We understand that the griping is partly intended to add color, flavor and the empathetic human factor to the show, to show the celebrities’ vulnerable, “just-people” side. But, the do-gooders still have to be careful not to go overboard, or they’ll come off as peevish, spoiled and self-centered—and that would be counterproductive and go against the essential intent of the otherwise laudable show.