Official Synopsis:
Based on the best-selling novel by Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle is the sassy, sexy and inspirational new series about three high-powered women who support each other through the triumphs and tears of big-city life. In every funny and fabulous Season One episode, follow the ups and downs of Wendy (Brooke Shields, Suddenly Susan), a sophisticated movie exec trying to manage a career and a family; Victory (Lindsay Price, 90210), a free-spirited designer dreaming of romance and making it big; and Nico (Kim Raver, 24), an independent and ambitious fashion magazine editor. Armed with strength, style and a wicked sense of humor, these women show that it takes a lot of make it in the Big Apple... especially good friends!

Our Take:
Women can be just as powerful, driven, and intelligent as men.

In case you didn’t know that, Lipstick Jungle: Season One is going to make a point out of ramming it down your throat every chance it gets. I know there’s no way to complain about that without sounding sexist (which couldn’t be farther from the truth) but if Lipstick Jungle wanted to ensure that it has absolutely zero male viewers, I’d say it’s got the formula right. The show is so pro-female empowerment, pro-equal rights, pro-feminism that it will actually turn off not just most men, but some women, too. I know my wife wasn’t terribly impressed with the show.

The problem lies not just with the show’s over-the-top feminist dogma, but with the storylines and actors as well. While Kim Raver is terrific as always and her storyline actually somewhat interesting, Brooke Shield’s character suffers from a clichéd storyline and the fact that she’s not a good enough actress to pull off the dramatic scenes. Almost all of the men in the show are jerks (which I guess isn’t entirely inaccurate), but if that’s the case, who are you supposed to like in the cast? Just the women? That doesn’t seem terribly equal to me, either.

The only extra features included on the DVD are a handful of deleted scenes from the seven episodes included in the set.

The first episode of Lipstick Jungle actually ends with all three main characters sharing a group hug. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the show, I don’t know what will.

Overall Picture:
Show: D+
DVD: B-

- Mike Spring

Editor