My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiancé pays off

My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiancé certainly lives up to its name. The fiancé is big, fat, and obnoxious, and hilarity is sure to ensue when he meets the lucky bride's shocked family.

Basically, this show epitomizes the FOX programming regimen. The recipe is simple – take a good-looking girl from a straight-laced family, offer her a million dollars to marry a vaguely alcoholic slob, and see what happens. Tears, screaming and possibly fistfights follow, guaranteeing a good share of viewers.

There are just two small twists to this recipe. The first is that, unlike most of the unmitigated stream of obviously fake set-ups, emotions and situations to come out of 'reality' television lately (think Joe Millionaire), My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiancé is not only bearable, but extremely entertaining to watch. The second twist is that even though the show is clearly marketed as reality programming, it makes no pretense of how fake the premise is. However, what really carries the show is the perfect chemistry between the two main characters, Randi and Steve.

Randi is a first-grade teacher who supposedly didn't know exactly what the reality show she signed up for involved. When she arrives at a sumptuous mansion, she is dressed in a wedding gown and told what her task is. She must become engaged to a total stranger tonight, and marry him in twelve days. However, if any of her family or friends decides not to come to the wedding, Randi loses her half of the million-dollar prize. She must con her family into believing that she truly loves her fiancé and wants to marry him on national television for more than temporary fame.

However, that's not the only con being perpetrated. Unbeknownst to Randi, her fiancé Steve is an actor hired by FOX to do everything he can to make her life a living. His job is to make it as hard as possible to convince her family that she actually loves him, and he promises to take his act to such extremes that many of the family will threaten not to come to her wedding.

Steve does his job brilliantly. Randi actually believes he might be insane as he bumbles around the house burping, stuffing whipped cream down his throat, breaking valuables, making inappropriate and creepy come-ons to her and getting drunk first thing in the morning.

Watching this show almost makes one feel stupid, degraded and highly uncultured. But the simple fact is, My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiancé is absolutely hilarious. Since nobody on the show but Steve knows he has been hired to make all of their lives a living hell, their reactions of disgust are genuine. Everyone thinks that they know what's going on, leading to a much less contrived feeling as the show acknowledges its own trickery.

The show definitely does suffer in several areas despite its redeeming qualities. The soundtrack is overly melodramatic, as is much of the dialogue. All of the overbearing musical build-ups and flourishes eventually get annoying, as a loud mix of Jaws meets Star Wars music permeates the entire show. The dialogue from the show's host and narrator is so overly histrionic that it would be more appropriate in a movie about a nuclear crisis or World War III.

However, My Big, Fat Obnoxious Fiancé pulls through those hardships and remains hilarious. The show is sure to become even more entertaining as the inevitable confrontations between Steve and Randi's uptight family begin. Sure, this show is the bottom of the barrel as far as social value and sophistication go, but it's certainly worth catching for some cheap laughs.