Some Thoughts on Rizzoli & Isles

At my house, we enjoy a good crime drama.  And, as it turns out, we also enjoy Rizzoli & Isles. Or, at least, we've enjoyed the two episodes we've watched.

 

 

 

 

I like it because the main character, Jane Rizzoli, is a grumpy pain in the ass.  Being one of those myself, I have a soft spot for grumpy pains in the ass, and women are rarely allowed to be grumpy pains in the ass on TV.  I really can't think of a show that's had a female lead who's a grumpy pain in the ass since Roseanne.  And I certainly can't remember a show where a woman as beautiful as Angie Harmon was a grumpy pain in the ass--it's just something you never really see. 

So I enjoy the show, but it will always be a guilty pleasure because I have several problems with it.

1.) It's a hokey female bromance. (Why don't women have their own cheerfully derogatory term for things where their friendships are important?  That's straight up discrimination! I blame the patriarchy!)

2.)Its tone is kind of light and fluffy, which is to say that the crimes never really feel like the kind of gritty urban crimes you see on other shows or, you know, real life.

3.)Its complete lack of verisimilitude.  As a Boston resident, I enjoy the nice HD establishing shots of Boston landmarks that pepper the show.  And I'm willing to overlook a lot.  I can accept that there's a family of Boston cops where no one has a Boston accent, and where, indeed, the mom has a New York accent and the daughter has a southern accent.  I can accept the idea that Rizzoli can live in a very nice apartment in what appears to be the Back Bay or the South End on a cop's salary.  I can even accept that they've rigged up a fake Boston Police Headquarters for the establishing shots.  But I can't accept the complete disregard for any details that might even vaguely resemble real life in Boston.  Here's an example: in a recent episode, our heroines are seen relaxing in a day spa. We later hear that this is "in the arboretum."  In the nearby woods, a guy camping in his RV who is a cliche of a hillbilly/trucker type finds a murder victim. Now, I live about a mile from the Arboretum, and I can tell  you that there is not a single person within a twenty mile radius of the place who is wearing a trucker cap unironically.  It's not that I care so much that there is no day spa and no camping at the Arboretum, but it just seemed like they didn't care enough about the setting to put a character that might realistically be found there on the scene.  I mean, look, I'm not expecting The Town every time I turn this on, but if you're going to aspire to a sense of place, you have to follow through by making just the bare minimum of effort to make your setting believable.