I was curious to see this because I am a huge fan of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and so I saw several scenes with Kyle Richards connected to this project. She said it was inspired by her life as a child actress so of course, it made me want to check it out.
I think that the 1970's sets, props, costumes and attitudes were all very well rendered and this is by far the best aspect of this production. The story didn't grab me instantly but I kept watching and it eventually grew on me and I started to enjoy it a lot more as the season progressed.
The most interesting character to me is definitely Kathleen Callahan played by Mena Suvari who shines in the subplot with Cheyenne Jackson as her lover Greg Parker. The other best friend part played by Jennifer Bartels as Diana Vaughan is also interesting which brings me to the leads who are I'm afraid are the weakest part of the equation.
Alicia Silverstone is the main protagonist here as Bonnie Nolan and for some reason, I had a hard connecting with her portrayal. She felt annoying and whiny to me which might be the point but even though Silverstone is a fair actress, her choices in this part might not be my cup of tea.
As for the 2 kids, Makenna James as Becca and Lia McHugh as Jessica are competent but nothing great and I kept thinking that different actresses might have been better choice but I'm not in charge of casting so this is what we are dealt with and I can still enjoy the show.
This said, I was saddened to hear Kyle declare in Real House of Beverly Hills (episode 9.6) that the show was not picked up for a second season which is a shame because I felt like it was getting better but now we will never have a chance to find out if it had the making of a great show.
I can still recommend it and I gave it 7 stars mostly for the feel of going back to the wonderful 1970's and I must say, every detail was perfectly in place to let us wallow in a gone era when everyone smoked, use drugs as casually as drinking coffee and had spontaneous sex whenever they felt like it. I applaud the production side because they did their homework and even though the show is now done, it still represents a nice depiction of a world now gone by that we can revisit with great pleasure.
I think that the 1970's sets, props, costumes and attitudes were all very well rendered and this is by far the best aspect of this production. The story didn't grab me instantly but I kept watching and it eventually grew on me and I started to enjoy it a lot more as the season progressed.
The most interesting character to me is definitely Kathleen Callahan played by Mena Suvari who shines in the subplot with Cheyenne Jackson as her lover Greg Parker. The other best friend part played by Jennifer Bartels as Diana Vaughan is also interesting which brings me to the leads who are I'm afraid are the weakest part of the equation.
Alicia Silverstone is the main protagonist here as Bonnie Nolan and for some reason, I had a hard connecting with her portrayal. She felt annoying and whiny to me which might be the point but even though Silverstone is a fair actress, her choices in this part might not be my cup of tea.
As for the 2 kids, Makenna James as Becca and Lia McHugh as Jessica are competent but nothing great and I kept thinking that different actresses might have been better choice but I'm not in charge of casting so this is what we are dealt with and I can still enjoy the show.
This said, I was saddened to hear Kyle declare in Real House of Beverly Hills (episode 9.6) that the show was not picked up for a second season which is a shame because I felt like it was getting better but now we will never have a chance to find out if it had the making of a great show.
I can still recommend it and I gave it 7 stars mostly for the feel of going back to the wonderful 1970's and I must say, every detail was perfectly in place to let us wallow in a gone era when everyone smoked, use drugs as casually as drinking coffee and had spontaneous sex whenever they felt like it. I applaud the production side because they did their homework and even though the show is now done, it still represents a nice depiction of a world now gone by that we can revisit with great pleasure.