Review: “Jungle” Needs More Lipstick

As much as I hate Audrey Raines, the character she played on “24,” I love Kim Raver.

So I really wanted her new show, “Lipstick Jungle” to be good.

But unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want as “Jungle” is completely blah with unbelievable characters in situations we could care less about.

And as a “Sex and the City” rip-off, I’d have to say it’s even further away than “Cashmere Mafia”…

“Jungle” follows the lives of three successful female friends in New York:

Wendy (Brooke Shields) is the CEO of a movie studio. She and her husband, Shane (Paul Blackthorne), have two kids. In the premiere, she’s trying to lock up Leonardo DiCaprio for a film about Galileo.

Victory (Lindsay Price) is a washed-up fashion designer who’s trying to get her career back on track. In the premiere, she’s romanced by an obnoxious billionaire (Andrew McCarthy).

Nico (Kim Raver) is the editor of “Bonfire” magazine. Her marriage has lost its spark, so when a younger man shows some interest in her, she shows some back. She’s also being squeezed out at work, thanks to the maneuvers of her boss, Hector (Julian Sands), who is also Wendy’s boss (Go figure.)…

I like Brooke Shields, but she’s a little miscast here. I buy her as a harried mom and wife, but there’s no way anyone would hire her to run their movie studio. She’s just too much of a lightweight. Lindsay Price is well cast, but her character is a huge cliché—and not a good one at that.

The only one with real substance is Kim Raver, who is fabulous as usual. It would just be nice if she had something fabulous to do.

Although I have to admit the young guy she hooks up with is pretty fabulous…

I feel like I should say something more, but I can’t. The show is just so blah, there’s nothing more to say.

Personally, I think “Lipstick Jungle” could use a little more lipstick…

“Lipstick Jungle” premieres Thursday, February 7th at 10 p.m. on NBC…