Exposing themselves

July 22, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic

The naked cop you're looking at wipes whiskey off her Bible, peels dirty boots off her sandy feet, and she wonders: That guy who visited me last night -- that yellow-toothed, tobacco-spitting guy -- he says he's my heavenly angel. Is he for real?

Yes, he is. Earl the angel wants to save the soul of this swilly officer in TNT's "Saving Grace," debuting at 9 p.m. Monday (in the slot formerly occupied by "Heartland," which moves to 7). Since he rescues Grace from a sticky situation, she agrees to his deal, to align with the Almighty, amen.

But you know what? Things aren't so dull with this particular God. Grace gets to keep drinking, smoking, cussing and powering through athletic sex with married people. Angelic Earl doesn't even want her to go to church.

What is this religion, and where do I sign up?

I didn't want to like "Saving Grace." The premise sounds generically proselytizing. But it's not too quirky for quirky's sake. And Holly Hunter's Grace is an extremely interesting woman, fairly unimpressed with God's interest in her, so she remains a head case.

Hunter goes strikingly nude, and she magnifies Grace's gruff flaws with vocal inflections and body movements that don't resemble the usual actory approach.

There's this crazy-good scene where Grace crumples in shock and awe, and Hunter genuinely exhibits how a drunk, naughty, oddball cop might cope with this question: Am I seeing an angel -- or delusions of an angel? And which scenario is worse?

To take her mind off that question, Grace decides to get pounded naked against a wall by her cop buddy, then stops for second thoughts. Her eyes pan, she babbles incoherently, and finally she succumbs to her hellish drunkenness, dank with lust.

"He wants to bring me to my knees?" she says spitefully of God, then proceeds to please her adulterous lover.

What we have here is a show Hunter has produced acceptably well and acted with immense, believable intensity. It's a fairly gritty TV role served with a spoonful of lightheartedness.

This is also the horniest God show on TV. That's the line from this review TNT should use in their ads. When Earl opens his wings, Grace's rapture mimics sexual climax. Grace slinks down and tucks one of Earl's feathers against her breasts.

That's hot, I have to say. The hotness is just a bonus, though. Hunter takes the grace out of Grace and puts grace in "Grace."

What's strange is that this libidinous exhibition is on TNT, which is taking more risks lately with FX-type content and style.

Meanwhile, FX has a new show also starring a movie star -- "Damages," featuring Glenn Close -- where no one gets truly naked or cusses much in Tuesday's commercial-free premiere. This is still FX, right?

Close portrays Patty Hewes, a two-faced, cutthroat, amoral lawyer (also known as "a lawyer"). She hires a fresh-faced young legal eagle named Ellen, supposedly because Ellen is very ambitious, even though she doesn't seem like much of a go-getter.

Anyhow, Ellen (Rose Byrne) is assigned to handle a very high-profile lawsuit against a scumbag CEO type (Ted Danson) who stole millions from his employees.

At first, "Damages" looks like a typical lawyer show where the main players will take on a different case every week. But it becomes apparent quickly this is a serial, like most things on awesome FX, and episode No. 1 is just peeling the first layer of the onion.

The thrust of "Damages" is to dig into these characters and, more importantly, their schemes and reactions to other people's schemes. If I say much more, I'll give away the ending.

The direction is capable. And there are moments of shining in the script, though there aren't yet enough fine scenes, like the stellar reveal where Patty gripes about being a parent, while barely looking up from paperwork.

"Do yourself a favor, Ellen. Don't have kids," Patty hisses. "I read an interview once with a Nobel Prize winner. ... He said, 'Don't have kids. Ruins your ambition. Keeps you from you want in life.' He said to have wives instead. You can leave wives. You can't leave kids."

Close embodies the nastiness of her character. But she's not transcendent in her role the way Hunter is in "Saving Grace," so Hunter wins this week's installment of Movie Stars Sign Up For TV.

And like I said, this is FX -- where's the skin? Ellen engages in a sexless, nakedless love scene -- soft love-making on FX! If you were to watch only "Saving Grace" and "Damages," you'd think FX and TNT swapped positions. I feel a little discombobulated.

delfman@suntimes.com