‘Everybody loves me’ couldn’t be a more appropriate catchphrase for Big Ang. This show is my new guide to life.
Angela “Big Ang” Raiola has been with her fair share of “wise guys.” In fact, as she noted on the July 8 series premiere of VH1′s Big Ang, most of them are either dead or in prison. So you can imagine what a buzz-kill it was for Ang when her estranged husband Neil stopped by out of the blue to win her back. His big pitch: “I have my own bank account, and I got a new truck.” (Winner!)
Needless to say, Ang doesn’t exactly live her life like she’s a married woman. “My philosophy is: I’m gonna do whatever the f**k I want, because one minute you’re here, and the next minute you’re f***ing dead,” she so eloquently informed viewers. I’m telling you, I think people underestimate Ang’s potential as a philosopher.
For support, Ang turns to her “crew” of “maniacs,” which includes Linda — a 53-year-old woman who still lives with her parents and admits to being afraid of the dark. There’s also “Little Jen,” who doesn’t live at home, but does love getting drunk and dancing on bars.
The premiere of Big Ang’s self-titled show was all about the grand re-opening of her bar, The Drunken Monkey, which she decreed would soon be “the hottest club on Staten Island.” [Insert a million Staten Island bar jokes here.]
And when the big night finally came, it was a huge success, so Ang and her “maniacs” got absolutely s**t-faced. I’m talking Jersey Shore slash ‘have 9-1-1 on speed dial’ wasted. I’d love to see VH1 interview Ang’s livers for a future episode. I imagine there would just be a lot of crying and praying.
Neil walked in on Ang dirty dancing with one of the shirtless bartenders she hired — real talk: the dudes she picked ranged from ‘average’ to ‘kind of gross,’ and one of them was actually a little person — which forced his wife to do some serious thinking. After literally proclaiming, “Wait … I have a husband,” Ang told her “crew” she wants to let Neil come home.
Ladies and gentlemen, by watching this premiere, we’ve officially entered Ang’s world — and now there’s no going back.
Do you think Ang should give Neil a second chance? Drop a comment with your answer, or anything Ang-related you’d like to discuss. I want to really examine this show to the fullest. I love it.
— Andy Swift
As a special thanks for reading this, here’s a clip of Ang getting a spray tan:
More Big Ang Coverage:

charlene
Posted at 5:22 PM on January 22, 2013
love big ang. went to see her myfor bday sept 2012. missed her by a day. its on the inside that counts. shes just having her fun before she wont be able too. i wish her the best and cant wait until her show comes back on. the drunken monkey had lots of nice people there and i enjoyed them. looking forward to going back. keep it up ang. we look the way we want to look. visit her place if you can.