Gross-out factor in Being Eve's suburbia

By FRANCES GRANT

Eve Baxter is a 15-year-old high school student whose chief concern seems to be guys. Her parents are divorced, her best friend Sylvie - who is even more concerned about guys than Eve - is a real drama queen.

She and Sylvie are friends with a smart, astute boy, but in the desire league tables he's not in the same class as the alpha males.

Eve is articulate and diligent but she's as susceptible to a dreamboat as the next flighty teen. She's puzzled by, but philosophical about, the confused state of her parents, and scathing about her couch potato older brother.

In short, her teenage life is an emotional roulette wheel, as depicted so cutely in the opening credits of new local teen show Being Eve.

Being Eve is a welcome attempt at a quirky Kiwi teen comedy, an audience that has been catered to with the likes of now defunct music and magazine show Ice As but virtually ignored in terms of creative local productions in prime time.

The best thing about Eve and Sylvie and co is that while they may resemble the stock figures of teen drama (there's even a blond, potentially bitchy one), they're a world away from Beverly Hills or Dawson's Creek.

They come across as genuine Kiwi teens, unlike their American counterparts who always look and sound like thirtysomethings.

There's a down-home, gross-out factor to it, too.

The object of Sylvie's desire turns out to be - yuk! - a nose-picker; when Eve's dad, a plumber, isn't busy with his arms down people's toilets he spends his time belching loudly over his tinnies and rugby on the couch.

With a dad like that, it looks like this show will not be going in for the leaden moral lecturing about the evils of drink or drugs that besets so much American teen telly.

And Eve and her mates don't look like they're going to be bothered, in their action-packed weekly half-hour slot, with long bouts of agony over whether they will or won't sleep with their boyfriends.

Eve's world is typical New Zealand suburbia, too.

She splits her time between Mum's place and Dad's house next door, which is a terrifically Kiwi abode, with its air of permanent DIY and an extension that looks just as if one house has been plonked on top of another.

In its debut episode at least, the show set its style to firmly reflect teen hormone and decibel levels: it's a riot of jumps and flashbacks, fantasy sequences and spoofs, quirky editing and graphics.

The action is held together by Eve's straight-to-camera commentary, the show is structured like a video diary of her life.

As Eve, Fleur Saville copes admirably with this, managing to make this most artificial of devices seem almost natural.

Joanna Morrison, as Sylvie, will hopefully get a bit more to sink her teeth into than merely being overwrought.

Among the adults, Alison Bruce, an actor who always exudes presence in even the most minor role, is perfect as Mum.

Tandi Wright is dreadfully hammy as dad's girlfriend and glamorous real-estate agent Alannah, but her character does add vital potential for embarrassing the adolescents.

It may not always be easy Being Eve. But it looks like it's never going to be boring.

* Being Eve TV3, Saturday 7 pm