A Peek into UPN’s The Bad Girl’s Guide
1. Do you know what you want out of life and know how to get it?
2. Do you live by your own set of rules and question authority?
3. Are you sassy, stylish, and self-confident?
If you answered “yes” to all three of these questions, congratulations! You, dear reader, are a “bad girl.” If you couldn’t answer “yes” to the questions, don’t worry. Because good girls and bad girls alike will love the UPN comedy, The Bad Girl’s Guide.
The Bad Girl’s Guide, based on the series of books by Cameron Tuttle, is one hilarious romp through the world of life, love, sex, and advertising. Funny girl Jenny McCarthy stars as JJ, the picture-perfect bad girl (Can a bad girl be perfect?). She lives her life completely to the fullest and ultimately decides that she’ll settle down when she finds her Mr. Right. As long as he doesn’t cramp her bad girl lifestyle, that is.
JJ is joined in her bad girl ways by her roommate, Sarah, and her co-worker Holly. Together they create very different pieces of the bad girl puzzle. Sarah is a bad girl in reform, ready for marriage and eager to develop into a responsible adult, only to get turned right back around by best friends JJ and Holly.
Holly, however, is a divorcee that vows to never marry again, fun-loving and pushing her very bad girl behavior to the limits, never believing in moderation. The trio finds themselves searching for that perfect balance of love, career, and friendship, but each in their own very different ways.
JJ and Holly work as advertising executives, with some very unconventional ways of creating campaigns. They struggle to maintain their unique and creative thinking, all while working in a stifled corporate environment and trying to keep one step ahead of the epitome of everything anti-bad girl, their supervisor Irene.
Rounding them out is the company receptionist, Patric, who, despite being engaged, enjoys being “just one of the girls” and helps JJ and Holly keep themselves together, and often gives them a heads up on the whereabouts of Irene, who secretly wants to be a bad girl herself.
The show is filled with humor that pushes the limits. In the pilot episode, a procrastinating JJ and Holly turn to smoking pot in order to help them come up with an idea for their ad campaign for a laundry detergent.
In a more recent episode, a sexual harassment case (caused by raunchy comments made by the bad girls) leads to a harassment seminar with a very handsome instructor, who, as JJ soon finds out, has issues separating work from play. Sexual frustration and dirty jokes seem to be the norm in this comedy, and in this case, it works out perfectly.
Jenny McCarthy plays her role perfectly, and proves that she’s still as funny as ever. Viewers will find themselves comparing JJ and friends Sarah and Holly (and possibly even Irene!) to their friends, co-workers, even themselves! If anything, The Bad Girl’s Guide will open the door to a whole new set of “bad girls.” Watch out, world! The bad girls are on their way!
