Back in December of 2009, the world was forever changed. MTV introduced audiences to Jersey Shore, a show that put eight bright-eyed, bushy-tailed party animals of Italian-American descent into a Seaside Heights shore house for the summer.
There was Pauly DelVecchio, the excitable DJ and Prank War Champion; Vinny Guadagnino, the quiet mama’s boy from Staten Island; Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, who fell in love at the Jersey Shore; Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, who loved showing off his six-pack “situation;” Angelina Pivarnick, the girl who brought her belongings in black contractor bags; Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, the sweetest girl we’d ever meet; Jenni “JWoww” Farley, the rough and tough gal with a boyfriend back home; and of course, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, the girl who brought the party.
That first summer, the group was unfamiliar with each other, but would quickly learn how to push each other’s buttons, drink like there was no tomorrow, and come together for a Sunday dinner when all was said and done. Three short years later, the original series concluded with a teary goodbye outside of the Seaside Heights house. After several booze-filled summers from the Jersey Shore to Italy and Miami, it was time for everyone to move on.
Miraculously, in April of 2018, the Jersey Shore family reunited in Miami for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Nearly everyone - aside from Pivarknick, who was essentially replaced by Polizzi’s high school best friend, Deena Cortese, who joined the group in 2010 after Pivarnick was kicked out (again) and Giancola chose to exclude herself from the reunion - gathered at a Miami mansion to share where their lives had taken them. While Jersey Shore: Family Vacation certainly fills the void that Jersey Shore left when it ended, there are a few things about it that just aren’t the same. That’s not to say Jersey Shore: Family Vacation is bad - because it’s not. But compared to the glory of the initial iteration of the series, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation is kind of worse than Jersey Shore.
The Jersey Shore Cast Matured
By the end of Jersey Shore, almost everyone was looking to settle down outside of the shore house. From engagements to marriages to babies, there was a clear shift in focus when Jersey Shore: Family Vacation started. No one has been a stranger to a drink special, sans Sorrentino, who recently celebrated his fourth year of sobriety. It’s just that they don’t bounce back quite like they used to. Jersey Shore: Family Vacation gives fans more wine-drunk dinners than a day drinking on the boardwalk at Jenks. It must be all of the responsibilities that come with being an adult, but fans want to live vicariously through the wild child peeing behind the bar at Karma, not the mom crying about being called a “mean girl.”
Jersey Shore Cast’s Wardrobe has Changed
Back in 2009, guido club attire (see: ultra spray-tans and the signature “Snooki” pouf) was vastly different than what is worn today. The cast members’ style has certainly evolved for the better, but it’s safe to say that fans miss the elaborately decorated Ed Hardy tops and Shore Store paraphernalia. N0w, these fashion-forward guidos and guidettes look as stylish as ever - or, as Farley puts it, “We’re so classy now.”
Jersey Shore’s OG Catchphrases Were Top-Notch
“Cabs are here!” “We have a situation.” “T-shirt tiiime!” Jersey Shore forever changed our vocabulary, thanks mostly to MVP (DelVecchio, Guadagnino, and Sorrentino). It wasn’t long before t-shirts everywhere were littered with these catchphrases. And while they still use these phrases now, there hasn’t been a decent addition to the Book of Guido Catchphrases in a while. And no, making everything plural, while adorably fun, doesn’t count (looking at you, Sorrentino).
Angelina Pivarnick is Kind of Nice Now
Pivarnick was always an expert in pushing people’s buttons. She virtually had no friends in the house because of it, minus the time she and Giancola formed a united front against Farley. Pivarnick became known as the house instigator. Eventually, she was evicted from the shore house after refusing to work at the Shore Store, but she came back for a second season, only to leave on her own terms. When Jersey Shore: Family Vacation aired, DelVecchio used Pivarnick as a recurring pawn in many of his pranks, but they decided to bring her back into the family for season 2 and 3. It’s nice that Pivarnick was welcomed back with open arms, but fans miss her dirty little hamster shenanigans.
Sammi Sweetheart isn’t Around
Giancola’s refusal to come back for the reboot was completely understandable. She was in a toxic relationship with Ortiz-Magro that didn’t need to be readdressed, but no iteration of Jersey Shore feels the same without good ol’ Sammi Sweetheart. While Jersey Shore: Family Vacation is certainly entertaining, fans have to wonder what it would be like had the original gang reunited to do the show.
The Jersey Shore Cast Doesn’t Have to Work
Half the fun of Jersey Shore was watching them not go to work at Danny’s Shore Store. Despite being obligated to do so (a la MTV’s Real World format, where the group usually has to do some kind of volunteer work in exchange for the experience) Sorrentino, Cortese, and Polizzi would somehow make the best out of work (aka taking a “lunch break” and getting drunk on the boardwalk). With Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, it truly is a vacation, which perhaps they deserve at this point.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation Feels Like it’s Ending
This has nothing to do with whether the reboot is better or worse than the original series, but it has to be addressed. While there’s no official word yet, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation can’t last forever. With Polizzi choosing to remove herself from filming altogether, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before the others follow suit. They’ve given fans 10 years of reality television gold, so it would be understandable if Sorrentino removed himself from the show or if Farley took time away to focus on raising her children. But without them, what would Jersey Shore: Family Vacation be?
Next: Jersey Shore’s Angelina Pivarnick Wants Sammi Giancola to Replace Snooki
