The press material for Lifetime's new comedy "Drop Dead Diva" contains a lot of accolades from "women's groups" in which terms like "role model" and "grab your girlfriends" appear with alarming frequency -- as if the publicity department were bracing critics for a show that should be viewed through a political or genre framework instead of simply as, you know, a television show anyone might enjoy. (The term "role model" especially tolls in a critic's ear with as much anticipatory delight as Poe's funeral iron bells.)
None of which was necessary, as "Drop Dead Diva" is a lot of fun to watch, with the added bonus of introducing TV audiences to Brooke Elliott, a stage actress with fabulous comic timing and enormous dramatic flexibility
With a setup like this, it would be very easy to fall into a veritable showcase of sexism -- How dumb was Deb? How fat is Jane? -- but Berman produces a deft juggling trick of heart and humor, balancing Deb's shallowness with some solid common sense and Jane's inadequate self-esteem with kindness and legal brilliance.
Almost impossibly, Elliott manages to embody both personalities in a way that, far from some tedious "Inside the Actor's Studio" lesson in character assimilation, is just delightful to watch. She is aided in this wacky scenario by a serviceable if predictable diagnosis of semi-amnesia and, more important, by Margaret Cho as Jane's trusty assistant, Teri, and April Bowlby as Deb's equally shallow but still loyal best friend, Stacy. Both hit all the necessary double-takes and are-you-crazy moments with just the right dramatic frothiness and keep things tethered, if loosely, to the recognizable world.
There's a bunch of cute guys, of course: Fred has been demoted to guardian angel and gets a job at Jane's firm so he can keep tabs on his runaway soul. Deb had a boyfriend, Grayson (Jackson Hurst), who has also, as luck and narrative need would have it, just joined the staff (the economic slowdown has not, apparently, hit this portion of Los Angeles).
Despite Deb's self-centered zero, zero status, Grayson appears to be a peach of a guy, devastated by his girlfriend's death, but Deb is convinced he wouldn't look at her twice now that she's Jane. There's a scheming colleague, Kim (Kate Levering), a possibly sleazy boss (Josh Stamberg) and a host of upcoming guest stars (Rosie O'Donnell, Paula Abdul). But mostly there's just Jane, a one-woman, two-woman show, trying to figure out how to accessorize her new life, which comes complete with sugar cravings and a job that requires she think about someone besides herself for two minutes.
SOURCE; http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/10/entertainment/et-dropdeaddiva10 
No comments:
Post a Comment