TV review: ‘The Pauly D Project’

Pauly does Vegas.

By Josh Bell

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 | 5:47 p.m.

Say what you will about Jersey Shore’s Pauly D—he’s loud, he’s obnoxious, he dresses terribly, he has stupid hair—but unlike most of his fellow reality-TV stars, he at least has a vocation (beyond just being a celebrity) that he’s actively pursuing. Is Pauly D a great DJ, or even necessarily a good one? Probably not, but he is a hard-working DJ, and his new solo MTV series The Pauly D Project shows how dedicated he is to succeeding in his chosen profession.

Dedicated professionalism isn’t nearly as interesting to watch as drunken antagonism, though, so the biggest problem with The Pauly D Project is that it’s kind of boring. Hired by the Palms to be its resident DJ, Pauly D heads to Las Vegas with his Entourage-style hometown posse in tow. His three friends/business associates/moochers provide the show with its contingent of standard reality-TV drama, but it’s all pretty subdued compared to the antics on Jersey Shore. The depiction of Vegas as an endless succession of nightclubs, drinking and women is familiar from MTV’s Vegas-set editions of The Real World, and of course the show provides no insight whatsoever into DJing or working at a nightclub.

Pauly D and his buddies bicker, drink and bed a succession of desperate, drunken women, but it all comes off as pretty rote. There’s no breakout personality in the supporting cast, so Pauly D has to carry the show on his own. And without his Jersey Shore comrades in buffoonery, he’s just a loud, obnoxious guy who dresses terribly and has stupid hair.