I CAN’T GET ENOUGH. I could simply end this tv review with that and be done, but I’ve been told that little of a blog post isn’t a good idea so I will elaborate. Last night, I was bored out of my skull until I saw a commercial for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a new series on Amazon. I figured, what the hell.
The Pilot
The pilot begins as Mrs. Maisel or “Midge”, is giving a speech at her lavish wedding reception about her perfect husband Joe. It’s a witty, endearing speech that normally would bore me to tears but didn’t. I have a high threshold to comedy and this speech was actually enjoyable to listen to.
Fast forward 4 years, Joe and Midge have taken up residence in a luxurious, upper West side apartment with a door man. Conveniently, this is the same apartment building her parents live in. To support his family, Joe is in a job he loathes while his dream is to actually make it as a comedian. In a last-ditch attempt at this, he performs weekly at a lower East side comedy club. Midge attends each of Joe’s shows, taking scrupulous notes about each performance, providing feedback each time.
During this happy time we see Midge enjoying every aspect of being a housewife. She got everything she wanted. She has a wonderful husband, 2 children, an apartment worthy of any interior decorating magazine and most importantly, built-in babysitters in the same building.
Midge does not squander what she perceives as good fortune. She lives up to every expected standard of the time. One of the “WTF” scenes is when her and Joe go to bed together. The next morning, she races to beat the alarm clock. She rushes into the bathroom and brushes her hair, puts on 2 coats of makeup and spritzes herself with perfume. She jumps back in bed, just in time for the alarm to go off and Joe turns over to see his lovely angel.
The Fork in the Road
After a particularly tough evening at the comedy club, Midge and Joe have a fight. After bickering for sometime, Joe announces he is leaving Midge for another woman. This revelation sends Midge into a mental breakdown. She grabs a bottle of booze, gets drunk on the subway and heads over to the comedy club her husband performs in.
Then the magic happens. Midge jumps up on stage and begins a hilarious set about what has just happened to her. The more mad she gets, the funnier she becomes. Her comedy is fueled by her anger and it’s so believable and honest and perfect!
Final Thoughts
I relate to this woman. Perhaps that is why the show is getting such positive reviews. Maybe many women relate to Midge. I don’t relate in the sense of my husband cheating on me. His shit would already be in the pond. I relate in the sense of the expectations of today. Women are supposed to have their shit together, always a smile on our face and a perfect home. We are to hide a fucking elf on the shelf every night, while packing lunches, working out, cleaning, pay bills (on time), oh and have a full-time job. But not a job that interferes with all of the above. Oh, and that job should pay a huge amount of money. And all of this without the use of wine, stimulants and antidepressants. That’s adorable.
I’ve been watching the trailers of this that have been circulating Facebook, and your review has convinced me that I need to start watching! 🙂
Oh wonderful! You really do! I have no will-power and want to neglect all duties at home to binge watch the entire season. Then practical angel whispers to me, “it’s probably gonna be another year till season 2,” and I resist the urge. If you do end up watching, you’ll have to stop back over and let me know what you thought!
I will!!
It sounds like a great show!!!
Oh it sooo is! Please give it a chance!
Fantastic. I saw a trailer for this and am now DEFO going to watch it. And love your ‘And this is really Cheesey bit’ – it’s not! Thanx
Good! You simply must and if you remember, stop by and let me know if you like it as much as I do. Everything from the acting to the writing to the set and costumes are amazing!
This does sound great. I think your comment about women needing to be and do it all is dead on. Things are changing, slowly, but changing nonetheless. In the meantime, let’s have some fun and laugh a little about it. 🙂
Yeah, as taboo as this sounds to say, sometimes I feel like in the end, women still got the short end of the stick with regards to equal rights and equal participation in the home. Society was kinda’ like, “ok ladies, you can go get an education & a full-time career, but this is contingent upon you still being able to run the home and do the majority of the family and house stuff.” Women were like, “Deal! Where do we sign?” Fast forward 20-30 years later and adult women like myself are like, “fuck, this is not what the women’s movement was suppose to be about.”
I guess that Cinderella story is more true than we ever realized, eh?
So true…so true….
Hahahahaha…”And all of this without the use of wine, stimulants and antidepressants. That’s adorable.” Love it.
Glad you love it! When someone says something to me that’s completely ridiculous, I always look at them and smile a warm smile. I cock my head to one side and in my most patronizing tone announce, “that’s adorable”. It really is adorable, isn’t it?
When I first saw the commercial, I thought it was a serialized telling of Joan Rivers life because her first husband left her in a similar way and I believe that is when she started being a comedian, at least I think that’s how the story goes…Anywho, I am putting this on the watch queue.
Yes, please do! I’m about 5 episodes in and resisting every voice in me, telling me to WATCH ALL EPISODES NOW! LOL! What am I going to do when I have to wait for the next season?