A Full-Sized Serving of “Diva”

In a society where we turn our noses up at any woman larger than a size 4, I offer a round of applause to Lifetime Television for bringing us a show that challenges that notion.  “Drop Dead Diva” premiered July 12 and has been consistently bringing in the laughs (and sometimes the tears) ever since.  If you’re not watching it, give it a shot.  It is sure to make you smile.

The show tells the story of gorgeous yet superficial model Deb Dobson (Brooke D’Orsay) who dies in a tragically funny car accident leaving her successful lawyer boyfriend Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst) to grieve the loss of the woman he wanted to be his wife.  When Deb approaches the reception desk to her afterlife, Angel Fred (Ben Feldman) starts the check in process as an angry Deb hits the “Return” button on his computer, sending her back to earth into the body of full-sized, frumpy lawyer Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott).  And now the fun begins.

With the memories of Deb living inside the body of Jane, Brooke Elliott is a revelation.  I dare you not to fall in love.  Brooke carefully balances Deb and Jane, committing to each character’s flaws and attributes.  As Deb adjusts to life in her new body, Jane must convince her coworkers that she is still the old Jane.  We see Deb see how people judge Jane as well as how she judges Jane herself.  A lesser actress might confuse this scenario but Brooke makes it work beautifully and invites us along for the ride.

Margaret Cho is excellent as Jane’s assistant Teri. She a little underutilized so far in the series but she does deliver some great zingers every episode.  Rounding out the cast is Kate Levering as Jane’s nemesis Kim, April Bowlby as Deb’s best friend Stacy and Josh Stamberg as Jane’s boss.

If you think “Drop Dead Diva” is a dumb blond vs. smart fat girl show think again because it’s got so much more heart than that.  It makes us take a look at our concept of beauty and question it.  Week after week as we get to know Deb through Jane and get to know Jane as she starts remembering herself, we see that the similarities between these polar opposites far outweigh the differences. We all want to be accepted.  We all want to be loved.  We are all beautiful.

“Drop Dead Diva” airs Sundays at 9:00 PM ET/PT with encores Mondays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on Lifetime.