"Don't keep a man guessing too long -
he's sure to find the answer somewhere else"
- Mae West
So this post is inspired by the new television show 'Single Ladies' which airs on the VH1 network in the United States, in conjunction with the Mae West quote above. I've been watching primarily because it stars Stacey Dash who I haven't seen since she played the amazing Dion in Clueless. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the show it seems to consistently deliver trite plot lines that would serve to constitute an entire series worth of drama in another show and then rescue itself from them in the same episode. The fact that it redeems itself is notable.... the fact that it delves so low in the first place isn't entirely admirable.
For those who haven't seen it basically the show revolves around three single ladies living in Atlanta. Each is single for a different reason and essentially the first five episodes serve to explain how (and why) they are currently single and their outlook. Stacey Dash plays Valerie ('Val') Stokes a character who in the first episode gives her man an ultimatum to 'put a ring on it if you like it' or scoot.... at which point he promptly makes his exit. The remaining episodes essentially center around her return to the single life. The show has many parallels to Sex and the City. It explores the dating habits of mid 30 year old women in the big city and essentially different dating scenarios; however, the Atlanta characters lack the likability of the New Yorkers they were so evidently modeled on. This is most evident in Val who is Carrie's Atlanta doppelganger.... minus the wit and intelligence but with a shared commitment to style. Val like Carrie has an incredibly prolific dating life which provides for ample opportunity for wardrobe changes... if nothing else. Carrie embraced the world of dating and that made the show so fun to watch. Val on the other hand lacks her steely confidence. She injects a level of rule play and prudishness into the experience that would even make Charlotte gasp. The most glaring example of this being her no sex for 90 days rule. Women reading this.... don't take this to heart. Not only is Val apparently hopeless at applying the rule but it makes me wonder what kind of a relationship would be based on such a rule (bar those under the age of fifteen, super religious individuals and time travelers). Val seems to view dating as a modern version of welfare for the pretty where numerous men (yes those ninety days are not even exclusive) take you out on a myriad of dates- all at considerable expense. Watching UFC at home over beers is not Val's 'thing as we quickly find out she expects fancy dinners and entertainment of a higher quality. And the show would have it seem that there are a high number of Atlanta men who are willing to fulfill this role of court jester/ feeder... for a time. I've never been to Atlanta and perhaps it is a magical land of plenty where rich, affable squires grow on trees; however, I'm tempted to think it isn't so and even if it was I wouldn't want a relationship where I had waited three months. Even if I could find a self respecting man interested in waiting that long (and without getting it from somewhere else, let us all heed the words of Mae West) what about the passion! I would hope that by minimum week three I would be overcome with the need to jump the other person and throw the rules to the wind. Clearly I'm not Val. Perhaps then I could relate to one of the other two main characters....
LisaRaye McCoy plays Keisha Greene Val's room mate and employee. Now one criticism which was consistently levied at Sex and the City was when do these women work?! They lived in an amazing apartments, had roaring sex lives and all apparently were engaged in high paid (if not time intensive) employment. That may have slightly annoyed me when watching Sex and the City but when it comes to Val the question drives me bananas. She doesn't work. She lives in an amazing apartment. 'Works' in Val's store but in a fact quite frequently referred to in the show- she doesn't actually work and just lounges around. The fact that Val subsidizes her friend's living costs and pays her may go some way to actually explaining why she requires the men of Atlanta to provide her with so many free meals. Keisha is apparently an ex music video dancer, with a ridiculously active sex life, who has a particular interest in going after sugar dadies- this appears to be somewhat of a pension plan for her as she has no education and no job prospects. This is all fairly difficult to stomach but the fact that the actress playing Keisha is probably one of the least attractive women to feature on my TV screen in eons just makes the character seem all the more ridiculous. There was something completely believable and almost inspirational about the way that Samantha conducted herself. She chose her partners because she would enjoy sex with them. Financial incentives never entered into the picture. It was an empowering portrayal of female sexuality. Keisha's character instead serves to fulfill every negative stereotype one could imagine whilst seeming not only unbelievable but implausible. It's hard to imagine that half the men cast to be entranced by her every whim in the show would even give her a passing look on the street.
Finally we have April played by Charity Shea. For most of the first season the token white girl and essentially the Charlotte character.... Charlotte, if she got married to Trey at 18 and became so sexually frustrated that she engaged in a torrid and demeaning affair only to come out of it more committed to the idea of marriage than ever. Basically the character is laughable and was the icing on the cake which made me finally switch it off last night ten minutes before the end of episode 6....
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