The Client List – Season 1: DVD Review
Riley Parks (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is a wife and mother living in Beaumont, Texas. When her family begins to experience money troubles her husband suddenly gets up and leaves her and their kids. With the wounds still fresh she does what she has to do to support her children and ends up finding a job in a day spa. The day spa is more than what she bargained for when she quickly finds out that the customers are looking for a bit extra than just a massage. With her still being in a financial bind she decides to take part in the “extras” but also connect with customers on a deeper level. Almost like a psychiatrist. Even though she has her new job she continues to wonder if her husband will ever walk through her front door again and at the same time try to hold her family together.
This show instantly caught my attention with JLH in the title role but I honestly didn’t know what to exactly expect. One of the first things that I noticed was the setting of the show. It takes place in Beaumont, Texas which is about an hour or so away from my hometown of Houston. That’s always pretty cool when you can somewhat personally have a connection to a show. With there only being 10 episodes to this season they needed to get to the point pretty quickly and I felt they did a pretty good job of it. Despite her character’s occupation, Love Hewitt still comes off as endearing and sweet with a flash of a smile. It’s almost like they took the Pretty Woman dynamic and twisted it just a bit. The show did add a bit of a romance angle with her brother-in-law which was a bit predictable given the scenario but it did add definite tension towards the end of the season. Probably the biggest problem for Riley comes from her friend Selena (Alicia Lagano) who becomes rather jealous of her and ends up being a thorn in her side. Lagano can play a two faced person rather well and the way she played the character literally made you hate her at times. Loretta Devine who plays the spa owner Georgia was the exact opposite. Her character was as sweet as can be and was more like a mother figure to the employees of the spa. She was fantastic in this and when she came on screen you could hear the love in her voice. You can pretty much liken her to a mother hen wanting to do what she has to do to protect her babies. I had mixed feelings about the season finale. The episode itself was fine but the final moments kind of fell flat for me. It didn’t have the usual “edge of your seat” cliffhanger that most shows have. It kind of just felt like I was watching a regular episode. That was probably the only negative thing I have to say about it. The show has a little bit for everyone: Jennifer Love Hewitt half naked, half naked men, suspense, drama, a bit of comedy and a whole lot of secrets.
Keep an eye out for Season 2 which premieres March 10 at 10/9c on Lifetime
Season 1 of The Client List is available NOW from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
