Growing Up Gotti

I really don't like this show at all. Mainly because promoting it as a reality show is false advertising, in my opinion. The only thing real about it is the fact that everything is really staged. Of course, I realize that other reality shows do this.. Shows like.. 'Surreal Life'.. 'Big Brother'.. 'Survivor'.. 'Tommy Lee Goes to College'.. 'Celebrity Fit Club' and many more.. But shows like these are based on the premise of putting people and celebrities in a created environment.. Then watching what happens. 'Growing up Gotti' is supposed to be a look at this family.. In their own environment.. A peek inside their daily lives.. But it isn't. New characters have been thrown in, and others taken away for entertainment's sake. Situations are clearly set up. And it is still boring and irritating. Victoria's narration is badly written. Clearly this is a desperate attempt to pull each episode together..somehow. Still, my biggest problem with this show.. The absolute deal-breaker is the fact that.. I don't find anyone on it the least bit likable or interesting. Ms. Gotti's 'job' can't be taken seriously. She comes and goes as she pleases..I can't remember seeing her do any work at all. I want that job. And those boys.. Spoiled, rude brats..and they just don't seem very bright at all. The show was funny because of the stupidity..at first. Now..its just an embarrassment. Please..someone..Make it stop.

I admit that some notorious criminals may hold a certain fascination to viewers of reality shows. I am even sufficiently endowed with a huge circle of friends of many 'preferences in entertainment' to grant you that even minor criminals (still murderous but less stylish, say) can grab your attention for a few episodes. I am far more dubious about people whose only claim to notoriety is being the wife / daughter / grandson of some petty hit-man. It's not their ignorance, cursing, rudeness or immense self-indulgence that puts me off. I can endure that if the people in question display ANY kind of talent, interesting quirkiness or even clinical schizophrenia. I cannot endure it for more than the 15 minutes I was exposed to by a not-all-that-well-meaning friend when it's a case of "Watch us! See how brainless AND rich we are. Look how it's possible to live on Blood Money and no talent whatsoever in modern America". It is idiotic but not in a funny way. And creepy but in a way that diminishes the humanity of the God knows how many victims these people founded their money, vulgarity and tastelessness upon. As a half-Italian good old fashioned communist girl I took particular offense at the implied witless remarks suggesting Italy is still ruled by the Mafia. That is only the South, so kudos for getting Naples right and Tuscany wrong. And general shame on you as to the cable A&E or "Bio." channel I saw this on. You used to be better. Not by any means good (except when borrowing British whodunits) but so much better than this purposeless, offensive yet somewhat strangely impossible-to-make-compelling farce.

K,so many ppl hate this show and cry bloody-murder..First of all,I am a young Sicilian & I LOVE this show because my family and I can relate soooo much to it! We have our world war 7 arguments all the time, because we LOVE each other ENOUGH TO! Unlike most families we can scream and yell--the whole bit because we never second guess the love we have for each other and that fighting can never be enough to break that bond. So many ppl I know who hate this show can never have as opened a conversation or subject as we or the Gottis do! They would never take up the topic of arguing with their parents...Why, afraid it's enough to destroy your relationship? Afrais it just might put you in a completely awkward situation where you could'nt even look at one another? I believe so, yes, and you do, too. We can yell, because as i just stated, we can. As Victoria says herself..." We love hard, we fight hard." Ain't no doubt about it. And what I don't understand is so many ppl who say Victoria is a bad mother and her kids are the worst children out there.

How can you disrespect the single mother of 3 teenage boys and then disrespect them for disrespecting the women YOUR DISRESPECTING?! Oh, the agita I get from the ignorance! Carmine or Frank said it best in InStyle magazine : " Everyone thinks we're bad children...But they're filming 24 hours a day....And you only get to see 30 minutes! Where's the rest of the 23 1/2 hours?! " Good boy! As shown on the Gottis, we say our own family saying : " There ain't no greater enemy than that who isn't family". Nuff said.

Several of the readers were on point. Whatever idiot and I do mean idiot thought up this show should be fired. A&E should be ashamed for ever airing this horrible show, although since they do a lot of shows about criminals I guess in a warped twisted way it fit in, only it tried to make this family acceptable. Victoria is not a good mother and to LIE about having BREAST CANCER is inexcusable, but the whole family is a bunch of liars. Grandad was a murderous hood, Grandma says he got framed (ask the family of that poor John Favello), Junior is on trial (AGAIN), her boys run wild and have no respect for her, she treats anyone who works for her like crap,she is almost 50, cut your hair, dye it back to the natural color, lose the tan(because you might really get cancer that way) and GROW UP!!!!

I do not like Growing Up Gotti for the simple fact that Victoria and her three sons are very spoiled and rude. It is terrible that someone can pay people like this to air their lives over television. There are so many other people in this world who's lives would be so much more interesting to watch other than a bunch of ungrateful people such as the Gotti's. Why not have a reality show about a teacher or a police officer, those who are under-paid and over-worked. These are people who really affect the lives of people. What is happening to this world! I guess as a consumer, I am guilty of contributing to this nonsense by watching this stuff on television. It is just a shame how all the money goes to the wrong places.