'First Class All the Way' review

My first thought when I saw Bravo's docudrama First Class All the Way was, "What a scam." My second thought? "How do I get in on it?"

On the show, Sara Duffy runs an elite, high-end luxury travel service for the wealthy and privileged. This personalized concierge service goes beyond just booking the right flight and hotel. Duffy hand-picks chocolates for your pillow, works through the night to troubleshoot if your purse is stolen and uses her extensive contacts to provide her clients with exclusive access to swanky places.

Just as with Cribs, First Class All the Way is enviable and hateable at the same time. Yes, the incredible amount of waste hurts in the pocketbook, but it's even worse is when you see people throwing away money on activities that don't even seem all that fun.

Oh sure, a little pampering and fine dining, even the occasional black-tie affair, is nice. But after a while, all of that gets stuffy. Case in point: why do the ladies in the first episode, "Paris and Monaco" wear heels everywhere? Oh, it's because they must keep up appearances in these high-end places. Prestige just for prestige's sake isn't fun; it's boring.

Also, once you pay for a certain level of luxury, you lose the local flavor, the whole point of traveling. Why aren't they doing local things like attending carnivals, eating street food or trying out crafts? These people would probably never take part in La Tomatina (annual tomato street battle) in Bunol, Spain.

To be fair, not everyone's taste runs to flinging tomatoes at each other. Also, future episodes featuring celebrity clients such as Leonard Roberts from Heroes may prove to be more exciting.

Duffy seems to take pride in her work, which makes it easier to swallow that she actually goes on these trips with her clients in order to assure the best quality and service around the clock. See, that's where the scam part comes in.

She has a decent, take-charge attitude that doesn't annoy too much -- even if she's a bit out of touch with the masses -- and makes an effort to be kind to poor Tanya, the latest junior agent to be invited on the trip. Tanya has a massive case of low self-esteem in the face of the rich people she's around, which just screams of weak character. Duffy's other employees seem to have personality and gumption to spare though, so entertaining drama may come from there.

With Bravo's numerous successful reality competition shows and docudramas such as the Real Housewives franchise and Millionaire Matchmaker, First Class All the Way doesn't really stand out or transport you, but is passably enjoyable viewing if there's nothing more pressing on the DVR.

In tribute to the show, check out Zap2it's  Top Movie and TV Flight Attendants.

What's your take on the show? If you had unlimited funds and Duffy's access to stuff, what would you do?

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