TV Review: Jake In Progress - Page 2

After a lunch with friends who reinforce the idea he needs to move on from the devastating loss of his fiance, Jake goes through the hotel room he lives in and boxes up all her photographs, the suits he bought because she liked them, and all other memories of her. The most touching moment of the scene is when he replays an answering machine tape to hear her voice saying how anxious she is for their wedding day, and then painfully erase the tape. It is in this Jake that the layers of the character slowly begin to reveal themselves, and it is this Jake that I am looking forward to watching grow over the course of this season.

In a not so surprising turn of events, after he donates the boxes to charity, Annie re-appears at his door asking for her grandfather's watch so she can give it to her current fiance. Again the shallow Jake momentarily re-emerges as he feigns not even remembering the watch she is talking about.

As Annie walks through the room and despairingly picks at Jake, I sense we are getting a first glimpse of what has made him so insecure. It would appear that the woman he is still hung up on has a history of cutting him down and fostering the insecurities. The character regresses in her presence and becomes desperate to gain her approval and praise, giving Jake even more layers to enjoy and examine.

Of course Jake's new mission is to re-coup the watch. After unsuccessfully trying the charity, he discovers his friend Patrick has claimed the watch as well as one of his suits. In a comedic rough and tumble exchange he gets the watch and calls Annie. Over dinner, where once again Jake's manipulation begins to surface, we see there is still an attraction and good deal of unfinished business between two.

It has been said this season is going to focus on that unfinished business, and I think this is a good move by the powers that be at Jake In Progress. I find it much more interesting to watch these characters sort out what may or may not exist between them then to watch a slick playboy type character trollop from woman to woman week to week.

Article Author: Connie Phillips

Wife, mother, aspiring novelist, and music editor at BC Magazine, Connie Phillips spends most of her time in a fantasy land of her own creating. In reality, she writes about music, television, and the process of writing, when she's not cheering on her kids at equestrian events. …

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