The show: "Drop Dead Diva" on Lifetime
The social issue:
Can a skinny girl find happiness in a world that openly discriminates against fat people?
The set-up:
Deb (Brooke D'Orsay) is a blonde ditz-bomb of a spokesmodel wannabe. Jane (Brooke Elliott) is a dowdy lawyer who's got smarts to spare but is seriously lacking in the self-confidence and style department. On her way to an audition to be a "Price Is Right" model, Deb's too busy putting on lipgloss to notice an oncoming fruit truck, slams into it and is killed. Around the same time, a crazed husband shows up at Jane's law office brandishing a gun, wanting to kill Jane's boss who had an affair with his wife. Jane trips and takes the bullet.
Deb's trip to the hereafter (which owes a good bit to Albert Brooks' 1991 comedy "Defending Your Life") puts her in front of one of heaven's "gatekeepers," Fred (Ben Feldman), who tells her she's a total zero -- no good deeds or bad deeds to her credit. As he struggles to determine what to do with her, she hits a button on his computer and is zapped into Jane's just-dead body.
The delivery:
Two episodes in to Lifetime's new summer series, it's a mixed bag. Some of the messages feel relevant (in an age where we have protections for people based on race, religion, national origin, physical/mental abilities -- they notably don't mention sexual orientation -- fat people are still discriminated against), others feel uber-cliche (when Jane's upset, her assistant squirts Cheez Whiz into her mouth to calm her down).
The writing is sometimes clever ("those polyesterday pants") and sometimes lacking ("I don't wear 'Lame' Bryant!"). It's possible that "Drop Dead Diva" has too much content for a half-hour show but not enough for an hour. Time will tell. So to speak.
The discussion:
This is the type of show that's going to be packed with cliches, I'm afraid (hey, the fat girl is obsessed with doughnuts!), but that doesn't necessarily mean the message isn't a worthwhile one. And casting comedian Margaret Cho as Jane's assistant, Teri, is an interesting move. Cho's mid-1990s stint on her own TV series, "All-American Girl," affected her own body image -- network execs were insisting she lose weight to play herself. There's definitely some potential here, as long as you're OK with it delivered in a fairly average package.
Still, it's hard to believe lots of vapid skinny girls are watching a Lifetime series and taking away life lessons from it. And it's a pretty safe bet the shallow men who only buy drinks for the hot women aren't tuning in to learn how to be nicer to "the best friend."
It will be interesting to watch future episodes to see if "Drop Dead Diva" can sustain a relevant, smart discussion about size acceptance or if it devolves into just another story about a fat chick who finds herself once she gets glammed up a bit.
The result:
A little bit of "Ally McBeal" run through Lifetime's cheesy filter. Pun intended.
Other, better examples of dealing with size acceptance:
- Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray" (either the 1988 original or the 2007 musical)
- Sara Rue's Carmen Ferrara character in the TV series "Popular"
- Camryn Manheim's Ellenor Frutt on the TV series "The Practice"
"Drop Dead Diva" airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on Lifetime. Watch past episodes online at http://bit.ly/dropdeaddiva
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