Rosanne’s Nuts!

I have to admit that I have never been a fan of Rosanne Barr and I don’t much like reality shows with the exception of The Real Housewives, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Cake Boss, Myth Busters, Chopped, Iron Chef, and Man vs. Food…but I caught a pre-debut interview with Rosanne on Fox News about her new reality show, “Rosanne’s Nuts,” and I am somewhat intrigued.

If you haven’t heard, Rosanne is re-entering showbiz on her own terms and as far away from LA as possible.  We’ll see her in her own territory; albeit a crunchier, greener, nuttier territory.  In order to escape the pressures of Hollywood, Rosanne purchased a 43 acre macadamia nut farm in Hawaii with her musician boyfriend, Johnny Argent.

I say this with all seriousness—I think she may have found herself. She looked absolutely stunning with her slightly graying, hippy hair and cool John Lennon-esque glasses.  She has lost some weight and she looks healthy and glowing.  As a woman going through my own identity crisis, I have a whole new respect for her.

Maybe all her crazy behavior through the years has simply been symptomatic of her numerous attempts to find her true purpose in life. Isn’t that what we are all looking for?  Shouldn’t we be forgiven for at least some of our misguided behavior while trying to find ourselves?   And, shouldn’t we celebrate when we finally do find our way?

The bottom line is that whether you love her or hate her, through the years, Rosanne has always taken a stand for who she is.  She doesn’t apologize.  She just “IS” who she is.  And it looks like the newly evolved Rosanne is still a force to be reckoned with.

She’s different this time, for sure.   She seems more grounded, more peaceful (if that is possible), still “funny first,” but wiser—a real earth mother.  Maybe we could all benefit from a few more nuts in our lives.

I haven’t seen the show.  Maybe, I’ll see it tonight. Hank Stuever of the Washington Post wasn’t so kind in his recent review.  In his mind, this is just another desperate attempt by an aging celebrity trying to stay relevant.  Perhaps he is correct.

Then again, Mary McNamara of the LA Times takes a more lenient and optimistic view, touting the humor and rawness of the show and commending Rosanne’s willingness to own up to “her own stuff.”

What I saw on FOX was a woman aging gracefully (maybe it was the vegetarian diet), and that gave me hope that whether we go through an extreme rough patch or even a mid-crisis, we can find ourselves and emerge stronger, wiser and more beautiful than ever.

I kindly reserve my right to change my opinion when I see the show, but for now, I am holding high expectations for the new Rosanne.

Article first published as Rosanne’s Nuts! on Technorati.