DVD Reviews

Hot in Cleveland: Season One – DVD Review

By June L. Jan 12, 2011, 14:56 GMT

"Hot in Cleveland" revolves around three fabulous L.A. women of a certain age who are best friends (Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick). Their lives are changed forever when their plane - headed to Paris for a girls-only celebration - unexpectedly lands in Cleveland and they soon rediscover themselves in a new "promised land". Loving their new home, the women find themselves living under one roof and battling the ...more

Three fortyish friends are on their way to Paris to check off one thing on the list every woman should complete before she dies.  What could be more fun or memorable than visiting Paris with your best friends?  Trouble engulfs the airplane and they have to make an emergency landing in Cleveland, Ohio.

Spending the night in a city that seems foreign to their L A sensibilities, Melanie, Joy and Tori discover something that will change their lives, that they are “hot” in Cleveland.

Hot in Cleveland is the type of show that your co-workers will be quoting to you the next day, funny lines and scenes that one can be certain will find their way into the public consciousness.  Wonder if the Bedazzler has had an increase in sales lately? 

With a cast made up of seriously funny women Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli and the wonderful Betty White, viewers can expect episodes that deliver a punch of humor, some sarcasm and a whole lot of feeling.

Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli) instigated the Paris trip with her two best friends Joy (Jane Leeves) and Tori (Wendie Malick.)  Melanie is going through a tough divorce, and is trying to find a way to reinvent herself.  Joy who has based her beauty business on having done the eyebrows of the stars (including Oprah) is beginning to think about life and what she may have missed.  

Victoria has just finished a 27 year stint on a soap opera, has been divorced five times and sees a dim future ahead with older woman roles and odd infomercials.  Discovering that in Cleveland they are something out of the ordinary, Melanie rents a house run by an eccentric elderly caretaker Elka Ostrovsky (Betty White) and her friends decide to stay for awhile and see what happens.

Elka disperses advice and insults liberally, as each comes to grips with a personal milestone.  Ask your friends and you will probably get different answers as to the favorite episode, line or scene, and the great thing is that they are all good. 

Add to the stellar cast a group of equally great guest stars, the Mothers visiting episode is my favorite, with Shirley Knight, and  Juliet Mills as Melanie and Joy’s mothers.

Hot In Cleveland Season One is presented on two discs containing the ten episodes and an extended Pilot episode.  Other Bonus Features are “How’d They Get so Hot?  Wardrobe on the Set” featurette that takes a look at the style of the L. A. women, transplanted to Cleveland.  “We Love Our Age!” is a clip in which the cast members talk about the release of being able to enjoy where they are in life. 

There is a set tour, a blooper reel and the full length Japanese Lady Pants ad starring Victoria.   It is good fun, hilarious viewing, a favorite with my office where we talk about Elmo hair and track suits, among many other topics raised by the show.

Visit the DVD database for more information.