Alan Pergament: 'Lipstick Jungle' offers powerful women, predictable format

Buffalo News - NY, United States - It is easy to arrive at the conclusion that two new series about unsatisfied powerful women are part of a left-wing Hollywood conspiracy to make Sen. Hillary Clinton look more sympathetic.

A month after producer Darren Star of HBO’s “Sex and the City” fame premiered his newest, ratings-challenged gal pal series, “Cashmere Mafia,” NBC trots out its own cliched, high-gloss, PG-13 “Sex” rip-off, “Lipstick Jungle.”

The series about the adventures of privileged working women living in a world lacking in racial diversity premieres at 10 tonight on WGRZ-TV.

“Jungle” is based on a book by Candace Bushnell, whose earlier book was the inspiration for “Sex and the City,” the landmark HBO series about four female friends in New York City who bonded at fashion shows and high-profile parties and commiserated about their relationships with less powerful men, more powerful men and younger, more sexually exciting men.

“Lipstick” plays the same old song of fantasy friendship with a trio rather than a quartet, replete with mood music, celebrity name-dropping and sarcastic humor.

With Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price on board, the soapy “Lipstick” is like many a trophy wife — it looks great but is incredibly shallow and predictable.

As in “Sex and the City,” the three characters in “Lipstick” shop together, workout together, eat plenty of meals together and commiserate together about problems in their lives.

Shields, the former teen star who dyes her hair dark now and is looking her age, is stressed and guilt-ridden movie executive Wendy Healy. She is on a first-name basis with Leonardo DiCaprio and can be as manipulative and savvy at work as Ari Gold of “Entourage.”

At home, however, she is engaged in a more difficult power struggle with her less accomplished and insecure British husband, Shane (Paul Blackthorne), and their children.

Raver, the “Third Watch” and “24” star who has become more sexy with age, is Nico. She runs a magazine where she has to deal with an ambitious male competitor and a sexist boss. She also is running around with a stud-ly young guy, Kirby (Robert Buckley of “Fashion House”), because her intellectual hubby may be the only straight male in America who would rather read a book than take her up on her sexual advances.

Price (“Beverly Hills 90210”) is an emotional, down-on-herluck fashion designer, Victory Ford. She is being romanced by another “Sex” clone. Incredibly busy billionaire Joe Bennett (Andrew McCarthy) is the show’s Mr. Big. He’s no ordinary Joe — he’ll fly his girlfriend to Miami or Paris for lunch.

Apparently, we’re supposed to sympathize with all three stunning women, who deserve to be appreciated. In case we miss any point about the sexist world they live in, Nico is ready with a speech that reminds her friends that they shouldn’t have to apologize for their success or overreact to their failures.

Wendy’s biggest problem is agent Janice Lasher (Lorraine Bracco), who is intent on ruining Wendy’s reputation. After years underplaying her role as Dr. Melfion “The Sopranos,” Bracco overacts playing a cartoon character so badly that you fear for her reputation even before she cracks a therapy joke aimed at “Sopranos” fans.

Victory is the most sympathetic character, since her fashion reputation has taken a hit. But it isn’t easy sympathizing with a woman being romanced by a billionaire.

One had hoped that “Lipstick” would find its rhythm after a few episodes. But the third episode — which accelerates our Fab Three’s problems and gives a nod to Shields’ days as a child star in movies with adult themes — is even lamer and more predictable than the first two episodes. It also hits viewers over the head with messages about friendship and the underlining love between a mother and a difficult daughter who is advanced beyond her years.

It almost seemed like the creators had done some kind of internal political polling that suggested they had to make their characters more sympathetic.

Of course, I’m not the target audience. This is TV’s version of a chick-flick movie. But I enjoyed “Sex” and am a big friend of “Brothers & Sisters,” another female-oriented show, so there was a reasonable chance that “Lipstick” would appeal to me.

With NBC obsessing on mindless reality shows, practically any scripted series would appeal to me. Using that guideline, “Jungle” is certainly watchable, even if it has moments that are as embarrassing as smearing lipstick on one’s teeth.