The Face Australia

Is it too soon for the ‘nasty judge’ to return to television?

That’s really the question that The Face Australia puts to us in its first outing on FOX8.

While reality television made a meal of bitchy, obnoxious judges a decade ago (led largely by Simon Cowell on American Idol), the genre made a U-turn some years ago with embracing, supportive judges (think MasterChef Australia, The Voice) and it worked.

Naomi Campbell obviously didn’t get the memo.

In The Face Australia she turns bully -not so much towards the young contestants- but towards her fellow judge, Australian model Nicole Trunfio. Her my-way-or-the-highway demeanour has made The Face a successful brand in the US, and now she brings her attitude down under, without apology. But will Australians warm to her cold personality, when Campbell can’t even look her fellow judges in the eye? It strikes me as very un-Australian…

The Face Australia is looking for a model to become the “face” of an Olay skin range for young women. Unlike Australia’s Next Top Model its contestants are girls who have (mostly) had some experience in modelling. This format sees judges select teams to pit against one another, emulating The X Factor and The Voice.

At first it’s a little hard to discern the difference from ANTM. The girls arrive at Carriageworks with luggage in tow, full of hopes and dreams. They coo and ahh in adoration for judges: Campbell, Trunfio and Cheyenne Tozzi. They are also stripped of make-up for their first photo-shoot (another idea previously employed on ANTM). But while ANTM has had the likes of Jennifer Hawkins and Sarah Murdoch, none arguably come close to Campbell’s supermodel status on the international stage.

The 24 young girls, most of whom are aged 18-24,  are whittled down to 12 by the end of the first episode. They are all various versions of gorgeous, striking and sweet. Encouragingly, there is also some diversity amongst them: Indigenous, African and Asian-Australian girls, buzzcuts and afros, self-confessed nerds, and psychics. Some are wafer-thin -seems no full-bodied girls can be the face of Olay.

But the show revolves around Campbell, who loses her cool several times. She reminds us -twice- that she has more experience than her fellow judges combined at the same time as echoing lines about how Australia has given the world plenty of successful models. She drives all the judging scenes without so much as a glance to Trunfio and Tozzi. While she is presumably turning it on for the cameras, it instils division rather than support from the get-go. Frankly, I reckon Campbell is only here to win and take the cheque, before getting out of this god-forsaken corner of the globe and back to civilisation.

When Nicole Trunfio dares to offer an opinion of her own, Campbell takes it personally and walks off set. Young girls are getting a quick insight into the modelling world, but maybe not the one they had planned upon. To their credit, Trunfio and Tozzi seem perfectly reasonable and likeable.

I also have to ask: is there really any point being on any team other than Campbell’s? With everything so weighted to its star, I presume working out where the winner comes from is a done deal.

Photographer Georges Antoni turns relaxed host for the series. He makes for a debonair guide through the functionality of the series, without getting in the way of the drama.

There’s no question that The Face Australia turns it on with the fireworks. Campbell has the diva act down pat, and producers make the most of highlighting the drama with music and stings. If you’re looking for a no-holds barred bitchfest that would lend itself to all kinds of drinking games, look no further. To that end, Campbell delivers for Foxtel.

But in this climate of bullying and social media concerns, The Face Australia does nothing to hint at a kindler, gentler nation. I’m reminded that Charlotte Dawson withdrew from the genre, belatedly questioning whether young girls should enter the world of modelling at all. While Dawson also had years of playing the bitchy judge, at least she employed some humour to her quips.

Hopefully Trunfio and Tozzi can find some opportunity to impart some Aussie irony and self-referential humour too.

I wish them the best of luck.

The Face Australia premieres 9pm Tuesday on FOX8.