I haven’t gotten around to watching Lipstick Jungle yet, despite the fact that its leads make a gorgeous three-way trio. The reviews have not been kind, just as our resident TV ranters, Sarah and Lori, predicted. But an upcoming guest may motivate me to give the show a chance. Lorraine Bracco plays Janice Lasher (love the name), a venomous, Judith Regan—like book publisher with a grudge against Wendy Healy (Brooke Shields) and a tell-all manuscript by Wendy’s former nanny. In a funny scene on a show that takes itself too seriously, Bracco delivers a meta zinger when Wendy tries to convince Janice not to publish the book. Wendy goes on and on about the trials of trying to balance the demands of being a movie mogul and a good mom. When she finishes spilling her guts, Janice waits a beat and says, “You must have me confused with your shrink.” You go, Dr. Melfi.
Bracco herself suggested that Janice should have a hard edge.
“When I spoke to [executive producer] Oliver [Goldstick] about creating Janice, I asked him to keep her a tough New Yorker. I said, ‘Why can’t this character be someone who went to Brooklyn College instead of [the other women on Lipstick] who are very slick and fancy shmancy?’ I wanted to be the ‘jungle’ in Lipstick.”Wanna be a part of my jungle, Lorraine? Grr. The story arc with Bracco takes only two episodes, but she hopes to return later in the series. I’d say that’s the first order of business for the back-to-work Lipstick writers. Did you watch the premier of Lipstick Jungle? What did you think? How does it compare to Cashmere Mafia? Who would you invite to play in your jungle?
