Patty Rocks

When it comes to Glenn Close, I’m a rather giddy fan. For years I have loved and admired her work: stage, movies, TV, you name it. (OK, I’m willing to overlook that misbegotten South Pacific….). Think of all the great stuff: The Real Thing, Benefactors and Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, the Lion in Winter remake for Showtime, her stint on The Shield, and all those terrific, often madcap movie performances including those which should have easily won her a couple of Oscars, …Garp and Dangerous Liaisons. Hell, she even made that wretched Stepford Wives remake worth a second visit late one night.

Unlike most actors working today, Close always seems to be having so much fun in everything she does while managing a bulls-eye commitment to every role. So, I eagerly awaited the premiere of Damages which landed on FX this week. Close stars as Patty Hewes, a terrifyingly high-powered attorney who won’t be ignored. In one particularly memorable moment, she lashes out at Tate Donavan (as her wimpy associate) with a furious bravado while channeling Alex Forrest and Cruella DeVil. It’s another marvelous characterization: smart, stylish, and flirting with camp.

The show itself is fine, I suppose. But when Patty’s not around, it looks like any other slick legal thriller and some of the casting isn’t quite right. For example, poor Zeljko Ivanek is saddled with a cornpone Southern accent (why are all sleazy lawyers-on-the-take now required to sound like they stumbled out of a John Grisham opus?). Ted Danson and Rose Byrne offer little in terms of interesting characters. At least the always reliable Phillip Bosco is, well, very reliable.

But I’ll keep watching, after that guy from Cincinnati over on HBO, Close’s Patty Hewes is the best thing to happen to TV this summer.