Robert Reviews "Dirty Sexy Money"
Robert Reviews "Dirty Sexy Money"
Robert Reviews "Dirty Sexy Money"#1
Posted: 10/23/08 at 12:06am
In its first, strike-shortened season, “Dirty Sexy Money” was a more-than-acceptable diversion that embraced its campy side and flaunted its eccentricities as much as its Darling family flaunt their excess. It was, quite simply, fun. Cut to nine months and three episodes later, and the show has somehow managed to systematically drain every drop of enjoyment from its vaults. What remains is the shell of a once-intriguing ride, with snoozer B-plots that were forgettable last year brought to the forefront only to remain just as sleep-inducing.
Take the yawn of a confusing subplot involving Karen Darling (Natalie Zea) seducing billionaire Simon Elder (Blair Underwood) because…well…apparently Elder is a threat to the Darling family, though he has never done anything that seems even remotely powerful or assertive. Underwood is a hugely charismatic actor, but seems utterly lost in the useless role, and drags the still-charming Zea down in every scene they share together.
Want more bad storylines? We’ve got plenty. The long-simmering story of who killed Nick’s father—which only took up five forgettable minutes of every episode in the first season—has turned into some sort of umbrella arc for the season. Perhaps the writers have forgotten that viewers won’t really care about a character that has never been on the show, was a scoundrel and wasn’t even liked by his son, and therefore could care less about who killed him. But despite every sign of logic screaming to stop while you are ahead, “DSM” continues to devote the bulk of most of the season two episodes to the lame mystery, dulling the usually sharp Jill Clayburgh by making her the prime suspect and bringing in Lucy Liu (who deserves much, much better than this or “Cashmere Mafia”) for no particular reason to prosecute the case.
Liu is secretly bedding Jeremy Darling (Seth Gabel) for no apparent reason. While in the past Jeremy has been nothing but a cad, the viewer was always led to believe he was, at heart, a good person, but allowing him to sleep with the woman trying to send his mother to the electric chair has turned him into an irredeemable piece of ****.
Enjoyable characters that once were the hallmarks of the show’s eccentricities have disappeared or been killed off, leaving the remaining Darlings and other roadkill characters wandering through large sets saying overblown dramatic dialogue. If the charming Juliet Darling or Carmelita were still around, they would chuckle and point at the things the main characters were saying. True, Carmelita returned in the latest episode, but apparently could not speak because because Donald Sutherland was too busy arguing with Steven Baldwin about something melodramatic. Juliet gave the series much of its life and kept it from becoming too full of itself (by being too full of herself), and the loss of the character has taken its toll on most of the ensemble.
Soon the urge to turn off the Darlings babbling on overdramatically and investing themselves in uninteresting subplots may become too much, and this viewer may be forced to switch over to “Lipstick Jungle” to get my camp and excess. And if a crappy “Sex and the City” ripoff is looking more appealing than your show, you know you’ve got a problem.
Grade: D
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#2
Posted: 10/23/08 at 12:22am
I missed it tonight but I have enjoyed the season so far. However, I do agree that it has lost some of its quirky edge and seems like it could just slip into being a night time soap opera. This is also happening to Brothers & Sisters.
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#2
Posted: 10/23/08 at 1:09amI don't get it. Is this a blog posting repurposed here for some reason?
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/21/04
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#3
Posted: 10/23/08 at 1:56amDamn, I missed it. I was only going to tune in to see my favorite band, the Weepies, who were supposed to be on tonight.
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#4
Posted: 10/23/08 at 5:56am
FindingNamo whats not to get?
A guy who does GREAT reviews on this site (especially theatre reviews) has reviewed the new season of Dirty Sexy Money, its not brain surgery!!
Great review Robert, Ive had to download the new season as it hasn't started here in the UK yet and whilst im enjoying it i have to agree that the show has taken an odd path this season.
What made the show so great last season was how ridiculous it all was and how zany the Darlings were (That was how the show was promoted here in the UK), it was like a modern day Dynasty. To my horror the show seems to be taking itself to seriously now.
And why has Juliet gone, did they axe the character?
Leading Actor Joined: 5/17/06
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#5
Posted: 10/23/08 at 2:10pmAlso noticeably absent is Brian's wife and kids, with his storyline focusing solely on his son and his son's mother. Overall, there are Weird changes this time around. They felt they needed to do some revamping, and it was for the worse. I still love the show though.
re: Robert Reviews 'Dirty Sexy Money'#6
Posted: 10/23/08 at 2:23pm
I just felt like I was reading the equivalent of an audtion reel for Entertainment Weekly or something, replete with grading system.
I'm more used to reading chats between posters about a topic, so when something appears to be a pontification I wonder where it came from. And perhaps this came from a reviewer blog or something?
bobtaylorrocks#7
Posted: 10/23/08 at 2:27pmbut, namo...bobtaylorrocks.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/06
bobtaylorrocks#9
Posted: 10/23/08 at 2:42pm
It was, in fact, me writing this, as I always write reviews that begin "Robert Reviews..."
And since I'm trained to be a journalist, I simply tend to write like one. It's autopilot at this point.
But enough about me, back to the topic at hand...
bobtaylorrocks#10
Posted: 10/23/08 at 2:45pm
Since kindergarten I was trained to be a reader.
Lines like this slay me: "Want more bad storylines? We’ve got plenty."
Re: Robert Reviews Dirty Sexy Money#11
Posted: 10/23/08 at 3:39pm
Namo, I honestly do not understand why you continue to attempt to hijack my threads on the off-topic board. If I want to write up my opinion in a style in which I am comfortable with and post it on this board, I have every right to do it. And post it on my blog. And wherever else I see fit to post it. You come into this thread, as you previously did on my thread about fall television, and post something that has nothing to do with the subject at hand that is apparently some sort of attack--what is your problem? That I am pontificating in an educated manner when I make a post? God forbid posters sound professional on a message board! *gasp* Look at the title of the thread: "Robert Reviews Dirty Sexy Money." That is exactly what my post is, and I welcome chatting about the subject below, otherwise I would not have posted it on a message board.
Thus far you have not made a single post about the actual review itself, merely my writing therein. Do you even watch the show? If you don't have anything to say about the topic, please don't post. And if you have opinions about my writing and posts in general, please post it as its own topic.
Thanks.
Re: Robert Reviews Dirty Sexy Money#12
Posted: 10/23/08 at 3:41pm
Songanddanceman yes, they axed Juliet's character. The actress is apparently now on recurring status, though it doesn't look like she will be returning any time soon.
And thanks for the kind words as well, you know I appreciate them.
Re: Robert Reviews Dirty Sexy Money#13
Posted: 10/23/08 at 4:02pm
Wasn't the character of Juliet axed because the actress has a drug problem. I read that she was showing up to work "enhanced" and that she was to enter a rehab facility. Ashame, because I loved that character. And she and the brother together were fun to watch.
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