Laguna can bank on MTV

Is Laguna Beach really becoming a laughingstock, or is the city just feeling a bit overexposed?

Recent irritation over MTV’s portrayal of the city on its teen-oriented reality show, “Laguna Beach: The Real OC” may indicate some self-consciousness at work in Laguna.

The MTV show -- about fabulously wealthy teenagers who drive Mercedes and BMWs and have closets larger than many artists’ studios -- is a sendup of “The OC,” the steamy soap opera which tickled many in Orange County and even inspired a promotion drive by area hotels seeking to capitalize on the show’s notoriety.

These shows are part of a “ZIP-code” genre of soaps set in real places that began with “Beverly Hills 90210” in the 1980s.

In order for such shows to work, the place must have a certain cache, or “buzz,” so viewers will tune in to see what folks there are supposedly doing. Laguna is blessed -- or cursed -- with plenty of that.

In turn, the MTV show has brought more visitors to Laguna, who snap up anything with “Laguna Beach” on it, from T-shirts to key rings to toe rings.

The city, always a draw for people looking for recreation and inspiration, has become a commodity in itself.

Young fans prowl the streets looking for their favorites, and, as could have been expected, the teen players -- who are, after all, real people -- have become a hot topic in gossip columns.

Last week, heartthrob Talan -- dubbed “Beach Boy” by one online fanzine -- was reportedly getting married to Kimberly Stewart, daughter of rocker Rod Stewart. This week, the engagement’s supposedly off. But will she return that huge diamond ring? Inquiring minds want to know.

Some Lagunans find it embarrassing to read about their town in connection with Hollywood gossip. The high quality of life here, they say, is not reflected in young, tanned people cruising around idly in fancy cars and wearing fabulous clothes. Laguna is better than that.

This has led to a call for the City Council to oust MTV from shooting on city streets -- something the council could do “for any reasonable cause which in [its] sound discretion is contrary to public welfare.”

But the desire to rectify the city’s image by throwing out MTV is itself a chuckler.

It would be a hard-sell to convince the council that MTV is harming the public welfare by putting the city on the national map of teen hipness -- and local retailers would no doubt argue just the opposite.

More practical heads have noted that the city is now looking to its visitor population to help it weather the landslide and pay for future disasters by upping the city’s sales tax.

In that event, MTV will be doing Laguna a service by running what are essentially ads promoting the city to a national audience. That kind of publicity is worth millions.

Can Laguna ever live down its burgeoning reputation as a playground of the hip and rich, a place to see and be seen? At this point, probably not.

And that might not be all bad.