I Watched ‘Too Hot To Handle’ And It Is Just The Kind Of Mindless Entertainment We All Need. Also, Was No One Given Clothes?
I would like to start by saying that at this point, you shouldn’t judge what I am watching. Especially about my picks in reality TV because…just. I have to admit that with this unending quarantine in place, my preferences and taste has seen kind of a brave upgrade. That’s what I am calling it…you can fight me if you want. Having finished an intense thriller TV show and dealing with the sadness of ending yet another show with nothing else to look forward to, I was mindlessly scrolled through Netflix, and I landed on the trailer of the show Too hot to handle. At the first glance seemed like a bunch of unrealistically beautiful and hot bodies thrown at me. I realised much later into the show, that it is exactly that. No really, that’s the extent of the show. And at the cost of sounding oversexed, I jumped right to it.
Conflicted about what others might make of my choice of watching such gorgeous people on screen, with little to no clothes and brains, I was hesitant to start with the show, but 10 minutes into it, I was reaching out for popcorn, for I knew I had found the perfect show to lighten me up. Based on the concept of teaching the contestants all about ‘chastity’, this show boasts some of the most hot and gorgeous men and women, with the most popular dating profiles, and plays an old game of tease with them.
Set in a tropical setting, with a wardrobe made entirely out of what seemed like insufficient cut outs of handkerchiefs, the contestants are locked in an alluring villa on an island, with the instructions on how they can flirt and connect all they want to, without indulging in kiss or sex of any kind. And yes, that includes masturbation. A randier version of the forbidden apple, the show had set a hundred thousand dollars as the prize money, out of which sums would be deducted each time the contestants broke the chastity rules. And spoiler alert, they broke the rules!
Also Read : Out Of Sheer Boredom, I Watched Ladies Up On Netflix And It Was Terribly Boring
With an idea of teaching the people the art of restraint, or as we may want to call it – being Indian, the concept was simple – to look up before you hook up. Basically, forcing them to talk and get to know the person better than to straight away start and end at a meaningless hook up, which leads to nowhere. Except, when such horny, sexed up and fine looking people were together put into a cage, there was bound to be some sexy rebellion. And honestly, I don’t blame them.
A seemingly modernised and international version of Splitsvilla, with equal bits drama, bitchiness and senseless conversations, I will admit that the only one making sense in the entire 8 episode series was the naughty narrator Lana, an AI that stole my heart with her savage commentary. Serving as the perfect platter for someone in a lockdown, the thirst trap montages of men with abs as crisp as gold biscuits and women with curves that made me want to drop down and do squats, the show was as much a tease to the viewers as it was for the contestants.
And to an extent, the fact that we were too isolated from our partners, the same way the contestants were prohibited to consummate on the show, kinda feeds your quarantined ego and makes your sadistic self feel better. With a mix of contestants who only want to, and no guesses there, shag it till they brag it, the temptation is real and almost tangible. Laced with a few fancy workshops, that are to teach the values of respecting themselves, their bodies and their insecurities, the show pretends to have some depth.
Not something you’d be able to take away much from, except stalk-able instagram handles of the contestants and fancy words for vagina like ‘Yoni’, the show isn’t all too hot to handle, but is definitely worth a watch for some mindless binging and empathising emotions!
