Joseph Planta's Commentary - thecommentary.ca

Wednesday, 16 March 2005

Tonight's special: Godiva's

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER - Tonight on Bravo! (Channel 40) debuts a brand new one-hour comedy/drama called Godiva's. Behind it is the creative team of Julia Keatley and Michael MacLennan; the former the creative force behind Cold Squad, while the latter is co-executive producer and a writer on Queer as Folk. The show is set in a trendy and chic urban eatery called Godiva's in Vancouver's Yaletown neighbourhood. It's an ideal setting for a fast paced program featuring the highs and lows of urban living set against the buzzing restaurant world.

Stephen Lobo and Erin Karpluk

Disaster strikes in the series's first episode, as the head chef is found dead in the restaurant cooler. He's scoring some coke, self-medicating, as the stress of running an upscale eatery is obviously getting to him. On top of that, the establishment is getting a new manager, Kate, played by Erin Karpluk. Flying in from Toronto, trying to get her ears to pop after the flight is the least of her problems. The show must go on, and the new boss isn't being taken to by the staff. They loath her, they're cold, or they just want her to fail. Horning in on their turf is highly unadvisable according to the ambitious sous chef, Ramir, played by Stephen Lobo, and the staff at Godiva's. They include the seductive barkeep Simone (Carmen Moore); flaky but lovable pastry chef Daisy (Sonja Bennett); colourful gay waiter Cordell (Michael McMurtry); aspiring actress but waiter Jenna (Leah Cairns); Stick (Matthew Currie Holmes), the prep chef who supplies drugs to anyone; Ramir's sous chef Martin (Neil Grayston); T.J., the son of Godiva, the unseen but distinctly present propaganda, who busses tables (Noel Fisher); and Victor, the immigrant dishwasher (Rick Tae). It's a colourful staff, and into the first episode they get along as any troubled family is able, united only in making sure it's not a slow night in the restaurant.

The show neither glamorises nor lampoons the restaurant business. I'm sure many of the happening restaurateurs in the city will take in the show, wondering how they come off. It's a frenetic world one gets the idea from this show. And despite the chaos, it has some heart at its core. Godiva's is surprisingly adept at utilising the disparate cast and putting together an ensemble that is more than the sum of its parts. Each performer is given a place to shine in both the drama and comedy of it all. The show is neither a comedy nor a drama. It's more like an enlightened drama, with humour interspersed like highlights on a typical menu. Or it's a bit of a serious comedy. However one might define the show, Godiva's defies definition. Really, it's a show that reflects in some small way the world it tries to dramatise, whether it's high-end restaurants on this continent or urbanised lifestyles-that make for interesting fodder on television on both sides of the border.

The show is sharp, witty, and thoughtful in its writing. And impressive is that the cast performs much as a seasoned cast would be expected to. Sonja Bennett, looks like a young Kate Hudson, and plays the quirky Daisy with a charm that's infectious and endearing. Stephen Lobo as Ramir is strong when playing the ambitious Rocco DiSpirito wannabe, while he's able to channel smooth and debonair when he's trying to score with a waitress or a bar patron. Michael McMurtry is perhaps the token gay character, hamming it up with the expected stereotypes (as a waiter and a homosexual). And Erin Karpluk, as Kate, the frazzled Torontonian transplanted to the Wet Coast, is lovable, as she is reliable in being the central figure in the hijinx and commotion.

The cinematography is fresh and intoxicating. Restaurants like to keep the lights low, and on television it's a bit disconcerting to see. The quick cuts and the spinning camera angles make it less dreary, if not stimulating. One gets a sense of the feverish world inhabited by these young urbanites trying to make life work through their work, just by how the show looks on the screen.

Unlike the white fish that Ramir tries to get the wait staff to sell to customers, Godiva's serves up a palatable television series that's easy to get into in terms of the serialised plot. As well it is engaging in how it infuses and utilises the ensemble. It's visually impressive, and the cast is surprisingly convincing. Godiva's is worth digging into tonight. Moreover, Bravo! will be well served in ordering up more of this series in the future.

Godiva's is dished out tonight, Wednesday, 16 March 2005 on Bravo! (Channel 40 in Vancouver), and each Wednesday for the next six weeks, 7.00 PM Pacific (10.00 PM Eastern).

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