For a show that is supposedly about sassy ladies, 4Play: Sex Tips 4 Girls is a lazy and clumsy title. The "4 Girls" in question are actually four thirtysomething woman. And there are no sex tips to speak of. Or foreplay. In fact the title makes no sense at all other than being a weak play on words - referring to four woman dealing with adult issues - presented in SMS shorthand in an attempt to seem current and hip, but coming off as just plain dumb instead. On second thought, maybe it's a fitting title, because it's this dumbness that defines the show.
Following the formula of Sex and the City, the hip thirtysomething ladies get together for cocktails, talk about sex and relationships and walk down the road in killer dresses, whilst one of them provides deep and meaningful narration to tie it all together. Where Sex and the City was the designer original, 4Play is the cheap knock-off that doesn't fit well. In 4Play the narrator is not a columnist writing about sex and love, so the deep and meaningful insights seem forced and out of place. The cocktails are of the garish variety, with maraschino cherries. The talk is more of topical issues like HIV and TB and whatever other infestation the producers want to trick the viewer into being educated about. Oh, and the strutting in killer dresses bit... Woman don't strut down the road in Sandton in killer dresses. Well, they do. But only at night. And they charge.
Not entirely without charm, the lead actresses generally do a great job, apart from the frumpy token white, who seems desperate and ripe for a glamorous make-over. There are fun and memorable moments too, so it is completely understandable that this show could be a hit with an audience starved for decent local content. It's just a pity that the people who conceptualised it are plagued by terminal dumb.
4Play: Sex Tips 4 Girls tries very hard on e.tv on Tuesdays at 20h30
