Will ‘The Playboy Club’ grab viewers’ attention?
When I got invited to the press con for Second Avenue's "The Playboy Club" (Sundays, 10 p.m.), I was reminded of an old friend from my UP days.
He was an avid fan of Playboy Magazine and collected every issue of the men's magazine from the time I met him in the early '60s to possibly the day he passed away several years ago. His room at the UP dormitory then was decorated with wall-to-wall copies of the "Playboy" centerfolds. Even the ceiling had nude playmates looking down on the entire room. He even showed me a copy of Volume No. 1, Number 1 of "Playboy" which came out in 1953. It had no date because Hugh Hefner wasn't sure there would be a second issue. I looked it up on the internet and that issue is now selling for $3,000.I wonder who inherited his valuable collection. Probably some lucky relative.
My friend, may he rest in peace, would probably be disappointed at "The Playboy Club" because it doesn't contain nude playmates. So would other male viewers who associate "Playboy" with scantily-clad, if not totally nude women. Well, there are Playboy bunnies in sexy outfits but they're pretty tame compared to other more revealing shows on cable.
The dancers on "Wil Time, Big Time" probably show more skin than bunnies in this premiere episode.
"TPC's" initial telecast sets up the premise for the series. It takes place in the 1960s when Playboy Clubs were mushrooming all over the United States and the entire world (including the Philippines) as Hefner expanded his kingdom of hedonism into publications, casinos, television and other related fields. This particular club is located in Chicago where the Playboy empire has its headquarters.
One of the main characters is Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian), aspiring District Attorney, who used to do legal work for the mob. The other main character is cigarette bunny Maureen (Amber Heard) who resists a drunken customer's unwelcome advances. Nick comes to her rescue and in the scuffle, she kills the customer accidentally. She wants to report the matter to the authorities only to find out from Nick that the deceased is a powerful mobster. He helps her dump the body into the river.
That killing was probably meant to entice viewers to keep watching the next episodes but I was expecting more insights into a bunny's life. Maybe succeeding shows will devote more time to them. Instead, much of the show focused on the killing, the mobster's son asking Nick for help in looking for his missing dad and several musical numbers by someone playing Tina Turner to emphasize the show's retro feel. There were some snippets that introduced other bunnies.
Supporting characters are General Manager Billy Rosen (David Krumholtz), Bunny Carol Lynne (Laura Benanti), bartender Max (Wes Ramsey), his girlfriend Janie (Jenna Devan Tatum), also a bunny, "Chocolate Bunny" Brenda (Naturi Naughton) and Bunny Alice (Leah Renee).
I didn't recognize any names in the cast. Amber's face was familiar to me and when I looked her up on IMDB, I discovered she was cast in "Zombieland" and "Pineapple Express," two comedies I truly enjoyed. She was, however, eclipsed in the two feature films by Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco. She didn't stand out either on "TPC." Acting wise, it was Naturi who caught my attention. She played an African-American woman aspiring to be the first black Playmate of the Month.
The name that rang a lot of bells was Brian Grazer, producer of such movies as "Cowboys and Indians," "A Beautiful Mind," "The Da Vinci Code" and the upcoming biopic "J. Edgar." His TV credits include such hits as "24" and "Felicity."
Apparently, he's trying to emulate the example of Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the "CSI." trio. "TPC" pales in comparison to "24" and Bruckheimer's "CSI"
The premiere of "TPC" did not really grab my attention as "Mad Men," another retro-oriented series did but maybe I'll change my mind when succeeding episodes are aired.
Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.
