It’s a testament to the star power and likability of Benjamin Bratt that The Cleaner is as compelling for as long as it is, which is however long it takes for the audience to realize how retrograde the show is in its political worldview. That may come in the pilot episode, when a confrontation between a teenage junkie and his concerned friend reads like it was written for an after school special, or later in the first season, when the results of drug addiction start to read like a laundry list of symptoms prophesied in Reefer Madness (death, bugged-out eyes, and lost teeth are all present here), but it will happen. This sort of nostalgia for the past in terms of drug politics keeps the show from ever getting the credibility required to merit the critical buzzwords such as “bold” and “gripping” that the show is so clearly gunning for; but it also limits the scripting and the actors (particularly Bratt) from ever getting the traction necessary to get the show off the ground.
William Banks (Bratt) is a former drug addict who made a promise to God that he would get ‘clean’ (a term repeated ad nauseum) if only he was given a second chance to get his life together. He’s still working on that, but in the mean time he’s set up his own ‘cleaning’ service with other former addicts, including Akani (Grace Park), Swenton (Esteban Powell), and Darnell (Kevin Michael Richardson), in the hopes of helping other people so that he may be able to redeem himself for his past sins. Since this is a basic cable show, they utilize unconventional means and scare tactics to get people to kick their habits (think Scared Straight). But unfortunately, Banks still isn’t too good at the personal stuff, which brings him into fairly constant conflict with his long-suffering wife Melissa (Amy Price-Francis) and his children Ben (Brett DelBuono) and Lula (Liliana Mumy), who are constantly threatening to break off relations with him.
On paper, it’s a pretty good premise for a show. Lord knows, drug addiction is a pretty harrowing thing, and the show’s almost religious mission to eradicate it acts as a nice counterpart to the nihilistic views of so many television shows out there. But its refusal to engage the reality of drug addiction or their social consequences is egregious. For the most part, the only victims of drug addiction that are ever seen on the show are affluent, suburban white kids who just need a little help getting back on the right track (and are usually under the sway of long-haired guys with five o’clock shadows). While there are understandable political issues with solely depicting minorities as drug addicts, for the show to not address the way that drugs such as crack cocaine have decimated American communities is positively negligent. Additionally, for drugs to solely be depicted as an invading plague intent on destroying otherwise perfect communities (instead of, you know, something that’s not necessarily horrible all the time) wreaks of a mindset that was easy to have prior to the collapse of the War on Drugs, but perhaps a little more difficult nowadays. It’s similar to setting an espionage show in Russia without ever acknowledging that the fall of the Berlin Wall occurred. As a result, for all of the Jerry Bruckheimer-camera work, purposefully ‘edgy’ content, and welcome help from a supporting cast that deserves better (Amy Price-Francis in particular), the show ends up feeling like the modern day counterpart of Nancy Reagan’s infamous ‘Stop the Madness’ music video.
Still, Bratt’s very good, his performance acting as a reminder that he is a very capable leading man and can handle much greater demands than the show is putting on him. With any luck, in subsequent seasons, the show will gain a little more nerve, and explore its thematic territory with the kind of curiosity and boldness that it (and its leading man) deserves).
DVD Bonus Features
“The Mystery of William Banks” is perhaps the strangest special feature to ever be included on a DVD. While most television shows are content to have behind-the-scenes documentaries, this one actually features the actors talking about one another in character, which has the result of being both off-putting and fascinating. In comparison, ‘On The Set with Esteban Powell,’ the deleted scenes, and the cast and crew interviews all seem rather mundane. The set also contains commentaries on certain episodes by Benjamin Bratt, Jonathan Prince, and Robert Munic (the series' two creators), in which the three all talk rather congenially about their thoughts on the show and their experiences shooting it.
"The Cleaner: The First Season" is on sale June 9, 2009 and is rated NR. Drama. Directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala, Leon Ichaso, Richard Dobbs, Steve Boyum. Written by Robert Munic, Jonathan Prince, Adam Glass, Norman Morrill, David Hollander, Eli Talbert. Starring Amy Price Francis, Brett DelBuono, Esteban Powell, Grace Park, Kevin Michael Richardson, Lilana Mumy.
