Riding in Cars With Stars

Last week's "My Life on the D-List" bolstered my initial fears that Kathy Griffin featuring celebrities on each episode this season was a bad idea. (Sorry, but just because you put famous people in a room together and film it doesn't necessarily mean it will be funny or interesting.) As such, Kath's trip to Miami Beach to "A-list house hunt" with Rosie O'Donnell and Gloria Estefan was predictably boring. (Rosie is always looking at the camera and seems to hate reality TV while Gloria probably always was dull.) But despite my disappointment with the episode as a whole, there was one surprisingly authentic moment -- was it a "fame intervention"? -- that seemed to be almost accidentally captured. While driving around South Beach in a red convertible, Kathy -- ever-obsessed with fame and with her star still rising -- laps up the attention from fans she's getting by being with the other famous women, declaring : "Being photographed with celebrities to me is like what cocaine is for Andy dick in 'Sober House.'"

Gloria, sounding every bit the concerned mother says to Kathy, "You know fame is a drug." Rosie, who has written and talked about this at length, readily agrees, adding the rather preposterous "a drug, worse than any other, I think." (Yeah, Rosie. Tell that to the crack babies in South Central.) Kathy seems totally uncomfortable with the whole exchange then Gloria adds, "It is, it's a drug and it's hard enough to become famous but then to stay famous is an even bigger chore" (Kathy laughs nervously). Gloria continues: "and then to be able to survive the inevitable being less famous ..."

Then Rosie, looking dead serious and turning toward Kathy, says: "Which happens to everyone, HONEY!"

Gloria continues: "everyone -- because you cannot sustain that level ..."

"Unless you're Oprah," Rosie says, as Kathy laughs, looking like she's ready to go back to her house in the Hollywood Hills, far away from all of this reality. (Interesting that Rosie thought Oprah and not her pal, Madonna.)

I know it's supposed to be reality television, but it's not exactly every day that you see something that comes across as genuine on one of these shows, much less three very famous stars openly discussing the ups and downs of their success. Seeing a newcomer like Wes Bentley expose his vulnerability in the documentary "My Big Break" was one thing. But I guess it still caught me off-guard that stars as big as Rosie and Gloria would let their guards down knowing that the cameras were rolling. I guess it shows that unlike some celebrities, they've both come to terms with where they truly are at in their careers right now. Great stuff.