‘Dirty Sexy Money’ recap: ‘The Family Lawyer’
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- October
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At the start of “DSM” last night, I remember thinking that the show was definitely breezier and brassier this season.
The show started out with a news segment about the Darlings’ latest troubles on a fictional entertainment program called “VIP Insider”—a pretty inspired way of recapping Letitia’s arrest and Ellen’s death for the viewer.
But that’s about all that was inspired. Because by the end of the hour, I was wondering if the show’s need to get dirtier and sexier has gone to its head.
“DSM” is a melodrama, of course, so I’m willing to give it a lot of leeway. But after seeing this episode’s tendency towards the ridiculous, it definitely needs to pull it back a few notches.
What am I talking about?
Let’s break it down starting with Jill Clayburgh’s near hysteria…
• Letitia loses it! Look, Jill Clayburgh is a fine actress, and she was handed some lame material to work with. But let’s face it, she was seriously overacting last night. Shrieking like a lunatic after the press accosted her after her arraignment? Fainting at Ellen’s memorial service? When did she turn into such a delicate flower?
• A Darling heir must be named! In the end, Tripp blindsided the entire family and named Nick as the company’s temporary vice chair. Seems as if Nick is getting pulled right into the Darling quicksand—and he’s liking it a little too much. But that’s another story. Where the insanity came in was the back-and-forth of who Tripp would name as his successor. Jeremy obviously wasn’t a serious candidate, and hello, does anyone remember that he has a twin sister named Juliet? (It’s absurd that the show hasn’t even fleetingly addressed the fact that one of the Darling kids is nowhere to be found.) And since when is Karen a business genius? An MBA from Columbia, really? As for Patrick, how on earth could he possibly be considered for the post, much less take it on? He’s the state Attorney General, running for a Senate seat. Forget finding the time to take on a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, it’s a little something called conflict of interest.
• Parading suitcases full of cash into a courtroom? Now that’s a way to alienate a jury pool. I get that having a bunch of goons actually walk $20 million in cash for Letitia’s bail makes for a good visual, but not at the expense of a truly idiotic moment. I’m guessing it was all part of the plan to get the good ol’ boy defense attorney booted, much like the missing legal paperwork. (Gosh, can’t those Darlings just do anything?!?) Yet it was still a serious eye-roller.
• Nola is Jeremy’s lover and Letitia’s “pit bull” prosecutor! Sheesh. If little Lucy Liu is to be believed, she got into bed with Jeremy as a way to handicap her case against Letitia to make the game more interesting. Maybe she’s lying and, as Jeremy suspected, this is a way to get dirt on the family. But if Jeremy was thinking with his brain instead of another part of his anatomy, he’d realize that all he has to do is tape himself with Nola for proof of their affair. That would be good for Mama Darling’s case, right? Blackmailing the prosecutor? Now that’s a good storyline, not this ludicrous lust that these two characters can’t seem to overcome.
• Kenny G. plays Ellen’s memorial! Enough said.
“DSM” isn’t on next week due to the final presidential debate, which is kind of ironic, given that the show’s Oct. 22 episode features Patrick’s senatorial debate. That won’t go quite as smoothly as Paddy expects, thanks to Daddy Darling’s meddling…
And hopefully by then, “DSM” will have gotten its dirty, sexy, SANE groove back.
(Photos courtesy of ABC)
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 3:03 pm by Heather Salerno.
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Is it possible that Nick’s seeming move to the darkside is a calculated move get at the original question of the show? Just a thought. It looks like he’s getting corrupted by them. Maybe that’s what it is supposed to look like for now?