Dirty Sexy Money
Rating: 2 – Better than expected
While the premiere of this show ranked at the bottom of my to do list, there was only so long I could put off watching it. This is because it was created by Greg Berlanti and has a hell of a cast to do his bidding. Prior to this, Berlanti headed up the underrated and low rated “Everwood.” That was a show that constantly amazed me with how good it actually was week after week. While I gave his new show “Dirty Sexy Money” the dubious honor of being the new show I would most likely hate for the season, Berlanti surprised me again with this entry. While not my cup of tea, I have to admit, this show is not as terrible as my gut instinct was telling me.
The likeable Peter Krause plays Nick George a moral, upstanding lawyer who tries to do well in the community. He VO’s at the start of the show that he does not want to grow up to be like his father, but as his father managed to raise such a fine young man as a single dad, I really do not know how terrible he could have been. The worst that Nick offers is that his pa Dutch was a workaholic and slave to one family. Still, Nick maintains that he wants nothing to do with Dutch. When Dutch is killed in a small plane accident over the ocean, Nick is pressed into service with the family under the guise of setting up a charitable trust in his father’s name. The patriarch of the family, Patrick “Tripp” Darling (Donald Sutherland), bribes Nick to enter his father’s shoes by promising $10 million a year for charity plus Nick retains his practice and autonomy. Nick reluctantly agrees.
The most annoying thing about this show is the Darling family. We open at the funeral of Dutch George where a throng of fans and news reporters have whipped themselves into a frenzy awaiting the arrival of the Darling family. First, let us take a moment to contemplate the ridiculous set up. Who in the world would attract such attention at the funeral of a family lawyer? Why are these people acting like this is a red carpet? Unless the family has a tradition of going to funerals and dry humping the corpses while champagne spurts out of their nipples, I do not see the need for the mania. I can understand from a story standpoint that you need a scene to establish the family’s rock star status, but this should not have been it. It makes no sense. Nowto address the members of the family itself.
Each child in the family is a bigger caricature than the last one. Karen Darling lost her virginity to Nick George and apparently can not move on from it. I was half surprised they didn’t CGI in a lolling tongue and cartoon eyes bugging out to illustrate how much she covets him. Next is Juliet Darling (Samaire Armstrong) who appears (or at least acts) like the baby of the family. She is an actress who feels like her family will not let her fly free. The role appears to be written for an 8 year old. That is the level of maturity Juliet brings to the table. Right there with her is her older brother, Reverend Brian Darling. A petulant, angry child, Brian has hated Nick since they were children together. He stomps around and yells about how much he hates Nick and Dutch’s senses of entitlement. However, I am not so sure where the anger comes from. A stupid reason is given (an affair between Leticia Darling and Dutch), but I don’t buy it. Hopefully there is a secret there because the character’s intensity makes no sense. Brian doesn’t act like a man of God. He acts like a man of the Godless. That brings us to Patrick IV, William Baldwin. Patrick appears at first to be the only normal child. However, even he is not spared from the “wackjob” paintbrush all over the character development of the Darling family. Patrick is the Attorney General mulling over a decision to run for Senate. Patrick’s issue is his ongoing love affair with a trannie. William Baldwin plays the role less broadly than the actors playing his siblings, but it still doesn’t work for me. The last child is Jeremy Darling; a drug addled twenty-something who is one of the least responsible people in New York. Selfish and self-involved, he stills seems more realistic than any of the other Darling children. That doesn’t mean much.
The show played a tug of war on my sensibilities. On one hand Peter Krause is so likeable and identifiable; it is enjoyable to watch him deal with these assholes. On the other, the whole thing just feels so clichéd and over the top it is painful at times to watch. Occasionally the writing is really good, but more often than not it just makes you groan. It almost felt like it was written by two different people with two very different ideas of what this show is supposed to be. Now the disparity could come from the fact that this is a pilot. Perhaps in a few episodes the show will hit its stride and be worth watching, but I honestly get a little tired just thinking about waiting it out.
Things I did not like: the fact that “poor” lawyer Krause has a humongous office in New York; that Brian’s illegitimate child was handed to him as if the child was a sweater or a cold can of soda; the fact that Tripp and Leticia seem so normal yet every one of their children is a nutjob. Money changes people, but it does not make them devoid of all that is good and decent. It just doesn’t. I also loathe the fact that someone thought it would be a swell idea to have the new Kid Rock song playing during the credits. If ever there was a way to drive me away that certainly was it.
What did I like: Krause was better than I’ve seen him in a long time. A couple times he got a little showy and scenery chewy, but I think I mostly just like this character a lot more than I liked Nate from “Six Feet Under.” I also liked the fact that the mother is called Leticia. Her name evokes memories of the old TV show “The Addams Family.” Tish! You spoke French! Caramia! As Sutherland’s mane of hair is threatening to take over the show, I’ve already nicknamed it Gomez anyway.
Bottom line, the show is passable. It is not as terrible as the previews made it seem, but it also isn’t worth a season pass on your DVR. I would like to check in around episode 6 or so just to see if it has improved any. The cast is a nice collection and there is potential. However the plot and characters are pretty hackneyed and annoying, so I don’t know if there is much that can be fixed by then to make this worth watching.