Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab

Unlike Amy Winehouse, these celebs are willing to say “Yes, yes, yes” to rehab in this reality show with Dr. Drew Pinsky

A culture obsessed with celebrity has risen in step with the rise of the internet, but it’s unlike the celebrity obsessions of yesteryear. In the past there was a reverence and respect for the leading men and starlets of Hollywood, but as the web grew, so did the number of celebrities in order to fill the void. As the number of celebs grew, people became famous not for their talents but more because of their proclivity for self-promotion. With this trend resentment has grown among many who think these people have done little of merit to achieve the attention they’ve received. The ease with which one can become a celebrity has cheapened it in many people’s minds and the exhaustive coverage has led to a backlash where people delight in taking these celebs down a notch.

We live in a culture where we’re obsessed with the happenings of Paris, Lindsay, Britney and others like them not so much out of their innate respect, but instead to root for their failure. In this toxic atmosphere the likes of TMZ and Perez Hilton thrive, feasting on the entrails of the stars they love and love to hate. It’s this very attitude which drives the ratings of the first few episodes of American Idol where people delight in others’ shortcomings, an attitude Ricky Gervais eloquently railed against in the finale of his show Extras. This wall-to-wall coverage of the downfall of celebrities has revealed a dark, nasty and mean element of our culture.

VH1’s new show Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab, appears on its surface to be another chapter in this sad story; another attempt to humiliate, exploit and derive a sadistic pleasure from the struggles of those who enjoy a level of money and fame we’ll never see. However, if you scratch beneath the surface you find a show with better intentions than that; instead you see a sincerity to help these people with real life-threatening addictions. With the untimely, recent death of the young actor Brad Renfro, Celebrity Rehab may prove to be a vital exercise in helping the public look beneath the tabloid headlines, jokes and sniggering to see the very serious struggles of people facing addiction.

For Dr. Drew Pinsky of Loveline fame, this fight to raise the awareness of and help those with a drug addiction is no laughing matter. He has recently been vocal in his assertions that Britney Spears is just a newer incarnation of Anna Nicole Smith–an addict surrounded by those who appease her, while the public watches and laughs at her downward trajectory. We know how Anna Nicole’s story ended and Drew sees a similar end for Britney if she doesn’t accept that she needs to get better.

Dr. Drew argues that in the case of people like Brittney, Lindsay and Anna Nicole, the public’s glee in watching celebs being taken down has clouded our ability to step back and really assess whether such outlandish behavior is a result of serious substance abuse and mental illness. With his new show he seeks to cut through the noise and show how difficult it is to get clean and how rehab is more than just a celebrity cliché.

The show wouldn’t work if it was just another version of the Surreal Life, if it was just another reason for people to rubberneck at the train-wreck which is the lives of these celebrities. Not to say moments in the show don’t allow for those who seek the train-wreck to be satiated such as watching porn star Mary Carey check into the clinic drunk and offering to have sex with the lead singer of Crazytown. Or the sad onscreen deterioration of Grease and Taxi star, Jeff Conaway as you see what years of prescription drug abuse has done to his mind and body.

Despite these sensational moments, the show mission seems deeper because at Drew Pinsky’s core, he genuinely cares about helping people. Drew isn’t some faux celebrity shrink like Dr. Phil, he is a board certified and practicing doctor of internal medicine and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at USC. Still, despite his best intentions, Dr. Drew’s show has been met with criticism since its premiere last Thursday. Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald found himself feeling dirty after watching Celebrity Rehab, arguing that the show was an unfeeling, exploitative exercise. Like Perigard, some have accused Celebrity Rehab and Dr. Drew of simply exploiting these celebs and profiting from exposing the vulnerability of people who are descending quickly toward rock bottom.

However, if there is exploitation going on it is happening not as a means to enrich or promote Drew, instead as a means to promote the process of rehab. Pinsky isn’t a man who does what he does to make himself rich, early in his career at Loveline, he actually did the show without pay because he felt it was a vital public service. Celebrity Rehab is a compelling, fascinating extension of Drew’s lifetime work to improve others’ mental and physical health and it’s TV worth watching.

Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab airs Thursday nights at 10 pm on VH1. Learn more at: Celeb Rehab on VH1.com