Cashmere Mafia vs. Lipstick Jungle, a comparison of new shows

October 28, 2008 by vongsundara 

I am a super huge fan of Sex and the City, both the television series and the recent movie. In fact, I cried no less than three times during the movie this summer. With that in mind, I wanted a new fix and thus went to my local DVD shop and bought the DVD sets of Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle, the two spiritual successors to Sex and the City.

Lipstick Jungle comes from the author of the original Sex and the City novel the television show was based on, while Cashmere Mafia is headed by Darren Star, executive producer of the Sex and the City television show.

CASHMERE MAFIA

Cashmere Mafia is the story of four high-powered women who stick together through trials and tribulations of their professional and personal lives. All four women hold high executive positions and use their shared influence to achieve their goals.

Unfortunately, the story is generally pretty weak. There are many story threads that are opened and never really followed up on. At times, I’m not even sure why the four women are even friends.

Lucy Liu’s character has some semblance of a story with her heart being broken in the first episode after beating her would-be husband for the job of publisher. Two of the lead characters don’t really have much to do and are given nothing to work with. Seriously, a lesbian love affair and jealous housewife drama? The fourth character, CEO Juliet, was starting to develop, though she seemed like a re-run of Mirdana from Sex and the City (cold red-head).

The show is fun for what it is, but the story itself is certainly not going to win anyone over on its own.

The worst part about the overall production is that the show too closely resembles Sex and the City. Like seriously, I know they’re trying to capture the same fans but did they really have to rip off Sex and the City’s theme song? Come on Darren Star . . . you can do better than that mister.

The men in the show, though, are hot hot hot! Julian Ovenden needs to be recast in another television series immediately. Like, wow! Peter Hermann is also a top-grade hottie, and just for fun they throw in mega-hot Chris Beetem for two episodes (though he keeps his shirt on unfortunately).

The fashion in Cashmere Mafia is quite awesome. The clothing choices for the leading ladies is very well done, and you can tell that it’s the same team that produced Sex and the City.

Despite the criticisms, I still did have fun watching the show, though it would have been nice if it tried to branch out on its own. The constant ripping off of Sex and the City was unnecessary, though the male hotties and fashion partially made up for it.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆ 

LIPSTICK JUNGLE

Lipstick Jungle has a very similar concept, except that there are three leading ladies. The story and characters are fleshed out much better. This is to be expected, I suppose, as the show is based on a book and is led by an author.

Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price have great chemistry and are believable as friends. I also enjoy how their business lives are somewhat linked, as it makes sense for businesswomen who work together to spend time as friends in their free time.

The only major annoyance story-wise is how judgmental the friends are of each other. Instead of sticking by their friend in a time of need, two of the women turn on her and judge her morality. This kind of turned me off on the second half of the season. No one needs friends who are so judgmental.

The production of the show does a good job in separating itself from Sex and the City and finding its own identity. The fashion is okay but certainly not as nice as in Cashmere Mafia. The men in general are also less hot except of course for Robert Buckley, who almost carries the hotness of the show on his own.

I had lots of fun watching this show, and since it has been renewed for a second season (unlike Cashmere Mafia), I look forward to seeing the characters develop. I really do hope though that the characters start to be there for one another more and stop judging, because that would be the one thing that would annoy me enough to make me stop watching the show.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆ 

So basically Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle are very similar in all aspects. Cashmere Mafia has better fashion and overall production values, though it mimics Sex and the City and does not find its own identity. Lipstick Jungle takes the cake for story (with the exception of the friends turning on each other) and finding its own identity, though the fashion isn’t as great and the entire show only has one hottie male.

Related Posts
  1. Ghetto-Winnipeg Vong is the best comedian Vong that Vong can be
  2. Dangers and rewards of taking a break from Toronto comedy shows
  3. Straight guys are difficult to replace after you leave the Winnipeg ghetto
  4. Celia Ammerman – Photoshoot Portfolio Review, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12, ANTM 2009
  5. Aminat Ayinde – Photoshoot Portfolio Review, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12, ANTM 2009
  6. Second City’s Level A improv class, week three, is all about environment
  7. Finding balance between dayjob, comedy career and gay life
  8. Twilight movie stylishly mixes adolescent love with vampires and werewolves
  9. Shooting video is very much different than performing stand-up comedy
  10. Teyona Anderson – Photoshoot Portfolio Review, America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12, ANTM 2009

Filed under: Watching
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Join The Discussion On The Comments and Message Board

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!