Alison Bell plays "Roo", a morally-bankrupt woman who can't seem to keep her legs closed for anyone. She sleeps with men she's just met, her best friend's partner and an unconscious man on his deathbed. (In brilliant casting, her father is played by Graeme Blundell, Alvin Purple himself!) The trouble is, once these unfortunate men have slept with her, they die in freak accidents. With the help of her best friend, Roo sets out to find a way to break her curse.
"Laid" wanders rather contrived and distasteful territory. Its renewal for a second season is more an indictment of the Australian television industry than a credit to the series. While there are several genuine laughs in each episode, Roo is such a loathsome central character that we tend to keep her at arm's length to just observe.
Abe Forsythe plays a sulky-looking love interest who shows up at unlikely moments to cause embarrassment for Roo. In reality though, any man would run a mile once learning of her whorish past. Clearly the (female) writers know little about men.
Performances from the main actors are convincing, not easy given the farcical story, though the supporting cast, such as Roo's gynecologist, are pure caricature. Production values are limited due to obvious budget constraints, making the series look like a polished student film.
While there's nothing wrong with black comedy, this series constantly crosses the line. The biggest disappointment is that Roo's own life is never at stake. That, and the fact a vast sum of Australian taxpayer money was spent to bring this abhorrent series to the screen.
