‘The Closer’: Is Kyra Sedgwick Afraid to Play It Pretty?

This week’s episode of The Closer finds Brenda Johnson and Co. settling into a good rhythm. At episode’s start, we learn that a girl has gone missing, and the department lays on the full-court press to track her down. The culprit is an greasy ex-con who delivers a truly stomach-turning monologue about the charms of underage black females that earns him not one but two beatdowns orchestrated by Brenda’s underlings (protocol be damned!).

As any police-procedural junkie knows, such subordination would never be tolerated! It seems totally unbelievable that the morally rigid Brenda would take part in the cover-up that ensues. It’s also unlikely that Brenda would strap a bulletproof vest over her suburban-mom ensemble but forget to change into more chase-friendly shoes.

Of course she catches the bad guy regardless, and when the scumbag pedophile begs Brenda to “keep this white� (as in “let’s keep this between us honkies, dig?�), you can see the struggle in her eye not to clock him herself. Of course our heroine perseveres, eventually coaxing a confession with her trademark coquettish charm. Still, it must be said: Sedgwick’s facial contortions of late are growing so extreme as to render her hard to watch. She’s a pretty lady! Must she make her character totally unappealing to ensure that she’ll never be accused of lazy acting? —Sara Cardace