New ‘passionate melodrama’ lets it rip

ALYSSA Milano and Jes Macallan in “Mistresses” Photo from IMDB.COM

We’re usually among the first to know, but it turns out that we were clueless for some weeks about the weekly “passionate drama,” “Mistresses,” being telecast here Monday afternoon on Star World. Well, when we finally did catch up with the series last December 16, we were thrown for a loop by its series of urgent and unctuous developments.

They included a mother about to shoot down her son’s verboten Asian love; a birthday celebrant who was involved in a crunching car crash on her natal day; a husband finding out that the baby his wife is carrying has been fathered by somebody else—etc.!

Thus, the show scores points with its “passionate melodramatics” and roller-coaster storytelling, and a confidently complex interweaving of any number of subplots, all ending up in a colorful climax that’s also cautionary in a major way.

Its cast of beautiful lovers and mistresses and aggrieved spouses all appear to live the best and most excitingly upscale lives—but, there’s a catch: Because they try to get everything and everyone they want, it all eventually catches up with them, leading to the grim reality checks of serious injuries—and even death.

Another unique element that “Mistresses” has going for itself is its “United Nations” look: All races are represented by its cast of beautiful faces—and bodies—white, black, brown, oriental, octoroon, and they commingle and canoodle with one another, with admirable lack of racial bias. Where is this fabled country that these fabulous people are inhabiting?!

Hectic storytelling

JENNIFER Lawrence in “American Hustle”

On the other hand, the storytelling sometimes gets too hectic and eclectic by half, with all of the principal characters apparently being given their “moment” on every single telecast.

This is great for the actors, who have a better chance of developing individual fan bases for their portrayals, because they’re seen so regularly. But, it’s a strain on viewers, who have to juggle so many subplots and back stories in our admittedly lazy brains.

Similar shows focus on three or four principals per telecast, with the rest taking it easy and waiting for their chance next week to let it rip. In “Mistresses,” however, we counted around 10 regular characters interacting with each other melodramatically or romantically in just one telecast, and we were impressed—but stressed!

Well, if that’s the show’s chosen storytelling style, viewers will just have to go with the hectic flow, or opt to tune out because they don’t want to invest so much time and thought to what’s basically just a beautifully staged, packaged and cast TV melodrama!