Thursday, September 27, 2007

TV: "Dirty Sexy Money" Review


Nick George (Peter Krause from "Six Feet Under") grew up in the shadow of his father's employers. His mom grew tired of being neglected and walked out on them. Now that he died in an airplane crash, the scandal-ridden wealthy family known as the Darlings want him to replace his father as their attorney. Allow me to introduce you to them:

Tripp (Donald Sutherland from "Commander in Chief") is the patriarch who wishes Nick was his kid. He offers him $5 mil a year to do their bidding. Nick counters by asking for $10 mil, flexible hours, and the freedom to never lie for the family. Tripp agrees, because all he wants is a "solid citizen by his side" to keep him on the level, which sounds suspicious. Wonder what kind of guy he is underneath.

Letitia (Jill Clayburgh from Running with Scissors) is the matriarch of the family who is truly heartbroken over his father's death, unlike the rest of the Darlings who are promptly shopping for a replacement.

Juliet (Samaire Armstrong from "The O.C."), the youngest daughter, is a ditzy wannabe actress who's dad buys her way into parts. However, she, unlike many celebutards, wants to be on her own and void of free rides. As a result she pops pills like they're candy to drown the pain. But there's a certain innocence to her that makes you sympathize with her situation instead of laugh at it. When she moves out of the mansion, you want her to succeed on her own and maybe she will.

Jeremy (Seth Gabel from "Nip/Tuck") is like her twin, a young playboy partier who gets himself into the most juvenile scenarios, like winning a yacht with illegals aboard and getting arrested for it. He looks up to Nick like he's his big brother, even though he has two already. He's a lonely soul, which is probably why he surrounds himself with strangers and does a number of unspecified drugs.

Patrick (William Baldwin) is the oldest son, who's running for a Senatorial position. He's grateful to Nick's dad for teaching him how to ride his bike and helping him pass the bar, which basically means he stole Nick's father-son moments. The killer twist with him is that he has a transvestite lover--his 8th one. He's sort of a push over, because he can't seem to reject any of them, which is what he expects Nick to do for him. This is going to be one interesting campaign.

Brian (Glenn Fitzgerald from "Six Feet Under") is the second oldest son who's a priest--and I use that word loosely. He's more like a foul-mouthed ingrate. He always thought that Nick's father was a "glorified parasite." For a man of God, he's filled with a lot of anger, often saying "I hate you" to Nick. He doesn't even get nicer when it turns out that he has an illegitimate child that he wants Nick to help him get into a private school. The school won't allow it unless he admits it's his child. The problem is that he already has a family of his own, so he doesn't want to taint it by accepting his bastard child. He's so high and mighty that when the boy's mother abandons him, he tries to pass him off as a non-English speaking orphan he's graciously taken in.

Karen (Natalie Zea from "The Shield") is the oldest daughter, who's occupation could be classified as a manipulative, alcoholic, bitchy socialite. Despite the fact that she marries gold-digging morons, she's openly in love with Nick. She even threw herself at him knowing that he's married to Lisa (Zoe McLellan from "JAG") and has a daughter. But you wonder if he still has feelings for her too, especially since his personalized ring tone for her is "Pretty Woman." Unfortunately, she is the only one who has information about his father's suspicious death, which could have been caused by an airplane mechanic who's receiving money from hateful Brian. She's also the only one who revealed to him that her mom and his dad had been having an affair for the past 40 years.

Once he does some digging, Tripp shows an unusal amount of interest in the briefcase locked in the plane's waterproof box. So you know there's some big secrets in there. But that's not the only draw to lure you back every show. This family's scandals are juicier than any tabloid gossip. You'll start to wonder why his dad never died from a stroke. I have a feeling that Nick will, however, serve to do what his father couldn't. He will mend the tortured souls of those of them who choose to reform...and burn the rest.

No comments:

Post a Comment