Television Reviews : ‘Tricks of the Trade’ Offers Female Bonding Comedy

Contrary to the connotations of its title, “Tricks of the Trade” (CBS Channels 2 and 8 tonight at 9) is a caper comedy, not a shlockumentary. Writer Noreen Stone is more interested in female bonding than in male-female bondage. She also has a sense of humor that compensates for the more outlandish twists in her plot.

Cindy Williams plays a sheltered housewife from Brentwood (which is not Beverly Hills, she huffs; out-of-towners won’t appreciate this joke, but it’s funny in its context). Her life is turned around when her husband (John Ritter, unbilled) is found shot dead in the Hollywood quarters of a prostitute (Markie Post of “Night Court”).

When the killers then threaten the two women, the wife recovers from her shock remarkably quickly and joins forces with the prostitute to find out what’s going on.

Don’t ask how they accomplish this. Just relish the adept comic byplay between Williams and Post and the zingy dialogue that Stone wrote to illustrate the differences between the two women.

The sleuthing takes the women onto each other’s turf, and each contributes something to the search. In other words, although “Mrs. Brentwood” easily could have become the sole target of the script’s jibes, she’s allowed to demonstrate a degree of competence within her own sphere. The only truly sour note in the script is the unnecessary death of one of the prostitute’s friends.

Jack Bender’s direction is brisk and blithe. Leonard Hill and Robert O’Connor executive produced.