Sick Product of a Sick System

Excellent but underrated film

A Disappointing Continuation

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I like the show but it does seem that the writing is a bit sophomoric. However, this show does have a real feel to it and Eve can carry herself well in front of the cameras although she does remind me of a spoiled brat sometimes. She can get away with it because she's comfy and great to watch. I hope it isn't canceled, I want to see more of Sean Maguire (hotttt) and Eve (and the girls). I do want them to develop the chemistry that was rumored to be between Shelly and JT. JT is a good looking guy and should spark Eve like a match to a candle. I think there is a lot that can be hashed from that romance. I do think that maybe the guys are a little sidebar to the girls, and I want to see how they relate as well outside of the girls, that would be a great thing to see also.

It looks like I may the lone positive voice here, but the show grew on me as the season went on, and I actually find "Eve" to be a rather funny and unique show. Yes, the first few episodes were flat and slightly aimless, and when Shelly got together with J.T. right at the beginning, I was like, "So where can they go from here?!" But I think the actors have developed a great group chemistry and the story lines have gotten better: Brian Hooks is really funny as Nick, J.T.'s wisecracking roommate who's just too nice to be the player he tries to be; Natalie Desselle is hilarious as Janie, the practical, yet gossip-loving friend; and there have been some great episodes involving J.T. and Shelly's families, including the episodes when Shelly met his upper-crust parents and when Queen Latifah guest starred as Shelly's older sister. I also like "Eve" because it reminds me of Queen Latifiah's 1990s sitcom "Living Single," and it served as a shot of reality in the "Friends"-dominated TV world of this last season: I think it presented interesting and somewhat realistic plots about a young and ethnically diverse group of friends dealing with issues like personal bankruptcy, familial loyalties versus your own needs and wants, and the ups and downs of friendships and relationships. Overall, I like "Eve" because it's sassy and funny, and I think it's one of the best sitcoms UPN has put out so far.

I watched the premiere episode partially because a) I do like Eve as a rap artist, b) UPN hyped it so much, and c) I had to have something to do until "Girlfriends" came on. The fact that there were so few laughs, and the premise has been done to death in one variation or another throughout TV history, will not make me want to tune in again. There isn't much chemistry between Eve and Jason George's characters. Ali Landry as a former super model with issues? How many times have we seen that? George's street-wise best male pal? A tired stereotype that needed to be retired a long time ago. Eve herself has a likeable presence, but her character needs more spark.

The warning signs are all over the pilot of "Eve" - not because it's a UPN sitcom, but because of a) the presence of Sean Maguire and Jason George, together again after the late unlamented "Off Centre"; b) the fact that Eve has a co-executive producer credit (beware of series where the star has a producer credit from the beginning, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" notwithstanding), as does David W. Duclon from "Silver Spoons" and "Punky Brewster"; and c) the fact that the theme music comes from Missy Elliott. Oh yeah, the whole young-single-woman-with-wacky-nosy-friends-looking-for-true-love thing doesn't help either. It's certainly true that nothing's truly original except in how it's done, but this doesn't do it too originally, not helped by Eve being less of a comic presence than Will Smith, or by her co-stars being pretty dispensable - the male characters come off better than the female ones, probably not a good idea. If this is going to make it to a second series, it's going to have to improve fast. Welcome back to Ali Landry though... but even she can't bring me back to this. Should've stuck with the Doritos ads.