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'Wedding Bells,' grounds for a divorce David E. Kelley's Fox series is high on promise Mar 9, 2007
His series can be brilliant and yet frustrating, often at the same time. He has an ability to create sharp, likable characters but paired with that is his exasperating knack for pushing strong, promising shows (“Picket Fences,” “Ally McBeal”) over the edge, to sink into quagmires of quirkiness within a couple of seasons. He just can't seem to stop himself from mucking things up. “Bells,” which premieres tonight at 9 after a sneak preview Wednesday, is unlikely to last long enough to repeat the pattern. Despite an intriguing premise and some strong performances, this show about three wedding planner sisters overdoses on forced eccentricity long before the end of the premiere episode. It's not hard to figure out why Fox has waited this late in the season to trot out “Bells.” Kelley's pedigree aside, it's a half-formed, lopsided creation, one minute sharply satirizing the wedding industry and the next indulging in all the tired wedding clichés. Kelley usually starts fast, with clever dialogue and unconventional characterizations, only to lose momentum when his fanciful sensibilities get the best of him. “McBeal” began as a fun relationship/workplace comedy only to deteriorate into a stew of dancing babies, nose-whistling lawyers and bathroom conferences. “Boston Public” and even the grittier “The Practice” eventually succumbed to the patented Kelley uber-wackiness. So it is with "Bells," and here Kelley begins in dangerous territory. Weddings are inherently hyper-dramatic but also fraught with clichés and stereotypes-- nervous grooms, bridezillas, controlling mothers. The risk is in coasting along on the energy of the event and exploiting the often out-of-control behavior of the characters. It's a risk Kelley can't work around. The “Bells” are the very anal Jane Bell (Teri Polo, “Meet the Parents”) and her two sisters, relationship-wary Annie (KaDee Strickland, “Fever Pitch”) and bawdy Sammy (Sarah Jones, “Huff”). After their parents divorce (irony alert!), the sisters are given the family wedding planning business. The rest of the wedding party include Jane’s no-less fastidious husband Russell (Benjamin King, “S.W.A.T”), wedding singer Ralph (Chris Williams, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and photographer David (Michael Landes, “Hart’s War”), who has a romantic past with Annie. But “Bells” invariably goes for the cheap snicker instead of a revealing character moment or a genuine, well-earned laugh. There’s the inevitable runaway bride, the mother who issues orders like a drill sergeant, and the bride who, in typical Kelley-quirk mode, identifies people by task-- “photographer man” for example-- rather than name. The show has lots that's old and borrowed but very little that's new. As Jane, Polo is given a thankless role, reduced to scolding her sisters for their shortcomings and arguing with her husband, whose constant hand-wringing over finances becomes tiresome just a few minutes in. Strickland in particular has breakout potential. She has an easy, unforced appeal that contrasts nicely with her stunning looks. She’ll almost surely be heard from again, hopefully in better material.
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