Suits Review: “Pilot” (Series Premiere) (06/23/2011)
I imagine – and I have to, because USA series never do much to pique my interest for very long–that Suits fits right in with the White Collar, Burn Notice, and Royal Pains kind: a whip-smart hour starring a suave white guy or two that all thrive on being both smarter than their adversaries and honing enviable good looks, with a sophisticated charm to match. The premise of these USA series aren’t so important; it seems more crucial that they follow this standard formula of witty, subtle womanizers ready to glance and wink to the camera at any moment.
In this case, the smarmy dudes du jour are Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) one a lawyer considered the best closer alive, the other a drug-dealing college dropout who just happens to have an eidetic memory, which allows him to memorize everything on sight. Through a series of conveniently placed events, the street kid gets the gig of a lifetime working as the big dog’s associate- but his special gift obviously doesn’t get him far in law; the student obviously has to learn from his new master.
The real charm of the series rests on the underdog: Patrick J. Adams is quite magnetic as Mike Ross, and in the giant whirlwind that he gets himself into, has a great character dynamic, becoming a real guy to root for. Gabriel Macht as Specter is less interesting, and perhaps purposely so; still, he's not the most endearing of actors, and as Harvey Specter, you never get the feeling that he's actually as good as everyone says he is. The two slowly build their father-son relationship well enough (obviously, big dog is vehemently denying the young pup, but he cares, guys, he cares), and the pilot does everything it needs to set you up for a good season: no one knows that Ross doesn't hail from Harvard like Specter's claimed, so aside from some weekly dude lawyering and bro-bonding, the show's bound to toy around with that secret.
I was never blown away by anything in the hour, and it's never outright funny, but it has a subtle wit to it that's usually good whenever it shows up. There's a cute and perky female supporting cast, but in the hands of Adams, this show could actually end up being pretty addictive. And plus- there’s Vampire Weekend involved. Yeah. You're in.
SumOlogy: A fairly decent start to what could be a good series, thanks to a great lead performance by Patrick J. Adams.
Grade: B-
Follow Terron R. Moore on Twitter: @cityfitch
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