Hewitt's 'Life' is a 'Time of' tripe

"Time of Your Life" is like a bad trip that just never ends. The show drags on as we watch another storyline involving another beautiful young sex symbol trying to be more than just that. What were creators Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman thinking when they wrote the script for the pilot?

Maybe something along the lines of, let's make a cute show, one with a star who is adorable and lovable, yet also deep. And just who could pull off playing this role?

None other than Jennifer Love Hewitt, who overnight has become beloved of teenagers everywhere. Hewitt, who plays Sarah Merrin, is transplanted from San Francisco to New York in search of her father in a spin-off of the Fox hit drama series "Party o

Courtesy of Atlantic Jennifer Love Hewitt leaves for the "Party" for a for much lower form of "Life."

f Five."

The opening scene begins with Sarah at the New York airport waiting for her luggage. As she twirls her hair around her finger, Sarah spontaneously starts to blab her life story to a stranger. Of course, this guy takes Sarah's dumbwitted conversation and openness as flirtation and proceeds to make a graphic pass at her. The audience sees this coming a mile away, but she of course doesn't, in fact she doesn't notice much of anything.

As beautiful as Sarah is, how dumb can she be? She's from San Francisco, not some small hick town. She should know that its not safe to approach and talk to random men in the airport. Throughout the show, she continues to yap at anyone who comes near her. If this is suppose to win the audience over and make them love her, guess again. She instead comes off as insipid and annoying.

A cab ride later, we find Sarah in front of her mother's old apartment building in the East Village. Her mother has passed on, but used to live there when Sarah was born and when she was a struggling actress. Sarah walks around the building with a twinkle in her eye. How cute.

She meets a random stranger named Romy (Jennifer Garner), a struggling actress, and ends up sleeping on her couch. Once again, who in their right mind would stay with a total stranger. This is New York and its the '90s. Let's face it, New Yorkers aren't exactly known for their hospitality.

Moving along, Sarah magically finds her dad, who is a rich man involved in theater. Using her sex appeal and by saying she's with the band, Sarah crashes a black tie event that her dad will be attending. In this scene, we are not only dazzled by Sarah's slinky dress, but also by her singing. Which reminds me, her album is currently on sale. In an encounter with her dad at the urinal, we learn that he is not her father. What a bummer. Sarah runs away and is left babbling, "I'm trying to figure out who I am."

Sarah contiues on with her search. She returns to her apartment and gets wasted at a party in the building. She befriends a guitarist (Jonathan Schaech), who uses another bad cliche and says, "You can be whoever you want to be, from here on out. Invent yourself."

Another round of drinks and a few bad lines later, Sarah finds herself arrested for jumping a subway turnstile. This hopefully will prove to be a turning point as Sarah realizes she doesn't want to be a sorority girl from the suburbs.

And to make it even worse, there is a random guest appearance by Rosie O'Donnell, who couldn't be anymore obnoxious.

In the end, Hewitt and her new life lack character, surprise or little of anything else. And yes, she still sucks as a songstress. The real downfall of "Time of Your Life" is that it's an utter waste of time.

11-03-99