Assemblyman Holds Casting Call for Jersey Shore

A New Jersey assemblyman challenged state residents last week to provide their interpretation of the "Real Jersey Shore."

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) announced a video contest in an attempt to change the perspective of the MTV reality show the "Jersey Shore."

Bramnick challenged state residents to develop 30-second videos featuring what they like about the shore with a chance to win awards during a film festival of his shore clips.

"I consider it a bar fight," Bramnick said of the reality show. "I don't think the Jersey Shore is one big bar fight."

Bramnick admits watching between five to 10 minutes of the antics of Snooki and friends as they partied in Seaside in the show's debut season last year and now in Miami during the second season.

While filming the show's third season back in Seaside Heights, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, 22, was arrested Friday for disorderly conduct.

A close ally of Gov. Chris Christie, Bramnick said he agrees with the governor that the show, which began its second season last week, is not helping the state's image.

Bramnick, however, said he didn't think it mattered that most of the cast is from New York, which Christie brought up last week during an interview on ABC's "This Week."

"The truth of the matter is whether they are from New York, New Jersey or Oklahoma, a bar fight is not the Jersey Shore," Bramnick said. "I grew up going to the shore and there are boardwalks and all kinds of entertainment."

Bramnick, the second-ranking Republican in the Assembly, said he has no problem with people watching the show or the popularity it has gained nationwide. However, he wants to improve the image of the shore.

"I assume people want to watch it," Bramnick said. "There is cage wrestling, too, and that is not 'War & Peace.' There are all kinds of things on TV. Why not have the real Jersey Shore, too?"

Bramnick requests residents e-mail him a 30-second clip of their favorite moments of the shore. Bramnick will have a panel of shore-based legislators judge the submissions. The assemblyman is still in the process of putting together a showcase event to feature the clips.

Bramnick said he realizes that the drunken antics of the "Jersey Shore" cast is part of shore culture in the summer, but he stressed it is a part of the shore, not the entire picture.

"If you shot the Jersey Turnpike and all you did was Friday afternoon at a toll booth, all you'd see is traffic," Bramnick said.

Bramnick said he did have a message for Snooki and her fellow cast mates.

"I think they better limit their alcohol intake or need anger counseling," he said with a laugh.

Bramnick, who moonlights as a stand-up comedian and has been voted the funniest lawyer in the state, said he is taking this all in good humor. He said he just wants to illustrate that the shore is more than just Snooki and The Situation.

"I am having fun showing the alternative," Bramnick said. "I have no animosity to the entertainment business."