Malin's latest is heavy on humor, but disappoints with plot. Frankie McNally is the head writer for Lust for Life
, the longest-running (and currently lowest-rated) television soap opera, and while she can't shake the sense that she should be writing the Great American Novel, Frankie's use of the show to “work out her innermost frustrations” through the characters has therapeutic value. But when management calls in “marketing guru” Victor Pendergrast to save the show, Frankie's suddenly a little less comfortable. Victor immediately clashes with Frankie on the show's biggest problem: how to address the fact that a real-life jewel thief has adopted a modus operandi similar to one used by a thief on the show. Meanwhile, Frankie's predictable attraction to Victor is at odds with the sparks she feels with the show's leading man. Malin (Fire Me
) coaxes plenty of laughs, but the multitude of misunderstandings and contrivances needed to resolve the mystery and concoct a happily-ever-after are painfully melodramatic, even by daytime TV standards. (Apr.)
