Messages By: farfelo

I suspect that Grant is getting his expectations of what a family should be like, from movie and television dramas. Those wives on TV can make immaculate homes, why not his wife?

First of all, everything about a studio set is planned in advance. The director does not want anything there that distracts from telling the story -- the real purpose of the show. There will not be a pile of dirty laundry unless it sets the mood of the household or creates a necessary conflict in the script between characters. There will not be empty beer cans on the counter or cat hair on the carpet unless it tells you about the personality of a character.

Secondly, the people you see in the drama are not the ones who are keeping the carpet cleaned. That's done by late-night custodial staff, and by union set dressers in between takes. The clothes are washed or dry cleaned by the costume department.

Thirdly, the way the actors look, is not to their credit (well except for their bone structure and fitness). There is a whole department to do their hair and make up. And costumers follow them around to keep wrinkles out of the clothes and to brush off lint.

Fourthly, they have a SCRIPT. Nearly every word they say is planned in advance. They have a DIRECTOR who tells them where to stand, what frame of mind their character is in, and who critiques the manner in which they deliver their lines. And they get MULTIPLE TAKES.

So when you see the dishes pointing different ways in the dishwasher, you think "that's not what real life is like." But it IS. The dishes point the same way, ONLY IN COMMERCIALS. It's FAKE. Real life does consist of moderate chaos. Why are you insisting that your wife be FAKE? Perhaps you need more experience with what genuine people's lives are like without directors, costumers, and set dressers.

Besides, if you want your wife to do 75 different things, do you realize that you would need several different departments of housekeeping staff?