Director: Lev L. Spiro
Cast: Courteney Cox (Lucy Spiller), Ian Hart (Don Konkey), Jeffrey Nordling (Brent Barrow), Josh Stewart (Holt McLaren), Laura Allen (Julia Mallory), Alex Breckenridge (Willa McPherson), Glen Badyna (Elliott), Shauna Stoddart (Terry), Johann Urb (Johnny Gage), John Burke (Ray Patterson), Alexi Wasser (Naomi), Ankur Bhatt (Kenny), Carly Pope (Garbo), Channon Roe (Jeff Stagliano), David Newsom (Jimmy Ray Banheart) & Tara Summers (Abby)
Lucy proposes a sex-themed issue to relax her staff following the hostage situation, Brent and Willa are caught in a compromising position, and Don faces his intimacy problem...Love might make the world go round, but it's sex that sells magazines; especially if it's spelt "sexxx", wrapped in a foil bag and features celebrity camel toes. The idea to create a naughty issue comes to Lucy (Courteney Cox) after it's suggested DirtNow's staff may be suffering mild trauma, after last week's hostage crisis. I guess a paintballing afternoon is just out of the question for L.A's gutter press.
Dirt creator Matthew Carnahan returns to write his first episode since episode 2's Blogan, essentially giving viewers a "sexxx episode", as all of the plotlines have hanky-panky in mind...
Most amusingly, Brent and Willa have a threesome with a stunning blonde they pick up in a bar, only to discover she's the underage sister of teen star Rebecca Banheart, and now her furious father is threatening legal action unless DirtNow give his daughter three covers. But don't worry, because Lucy is blackmailed like this every other week, so the usual plan to dig dirt on their blackmailer is trotted out...
Don's character is deepened slightly, when it's revealed he was abused by his stepmother as a 14-year-old boy, leading to current intimacy issues with the opposite sex. His relationship with waitress Abby (Tara Summers) is returned to after weeks of neglect, while Don's bizarre visions reappear; in a funny moment with an angry doppleganger of Abby, and when porn stars on TV morph into his stepmom and dead journalist Kenny (Ankur Bhatt). These surreal scenes are always entertaining diversions, but it remains slightly offputting to see a serious mental condition like schitzophrenia used for cheap visual thrills.
The increasingly strained relationship (and storyline) of rising star Holt and falling star Julia rumbles on, with Julia (the wonderful Laura Allen) making a real go of life after rehab, while Holt (Josh Stewart) sits around playing XBOX and pining for Lucy. However, by the episode's end, there are signs this love triangle may be building to a big finish, as Holt's guilt and obsession reaches a climax (er, literally).
Julia also has a dalliance with drug dealer Garbo (Carly Pope), who announces her love, but unfortunately Julia only returns those feelings when high on heroine. Hmmm, the love triangle is now squared. Anyway, I didn't buy Julia's swift return to her dealer's bosom, particularly as she seems to be resolutely straightened-out. It didn't make much sense to me.
The Sexxx Issue is designed to be a bit of cheeky fun after the "dramatic tension" of last week, and achieves this aim well enough. Of course, as last week's episode was a letdown, it does mean two episodes have aired without much development to the major ongoing plots!
The engine of Dirt has definitely slowed recently, losing its manic energy and relying on old tricks and quirks to maintain interest. There's enough sparky humour and sexy scenes to keep most people glued to the screen, but Dirt has been clicking its heels. It needs to start digging its claws in again.
Overall, The Sexxx Issue is mostly interesting for Brent and Willa's compromising situation, while Don (Ian Hart) is always entertaining and has some good scenes with Abby (especially when he has his cake and eats it, gulp!), but Lucy herself is increasingly superfluous to events and swimming in circles -- grieving for dad, fuming over her stalker, and shagging Holt. Ad nauseum.
It's a fun episode, enlivened by its saucy scenes, but ultimately exxxtremely lazy.
10 September 2007
FiveUS, 9.00 pm
