Let me just say this right off the bat: Based solely on its trailer, I thought the new Disney+ series "WandaVision" looked pretty stupid.
I said it many times: I had absolutely zero hype for this show.
BUT... because it's Marvel and I'm a slave to the system they've created, where you have to watch everything they put out in order to understand the stuff they continue to put out, I knew I'd watch it anyway. They proved me wrong with "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Ant-Man," both of which I also was not looking forward to paying money for, and I was sure that "WandaVision" would be fine.
Another thing that's important to understand is that I don't care for sitcoms. Anything with a laugh track, really. If a show needs to tell me when I'm supposed to laugh, it must not be that funny in the first place. I'd recently seen articles circulating on the internet describing the initial episodes of "WandaVision" using the words "sitcom hijinks," and that did not rub me the right way. If there are "hijinks" involved, it's not generally for me.
Finally, I must confess my biggest problem with Marvel: they just will not let their characters die. We've already seen multiple fake-out deaths with Nick Fury. Loki has "died" like four times. They're doing a prequel movie for Black Widow, who (allegedly) paid the ultimate sacrifice in "Endgame" (if her spin-off ends with her lying at the bottom of the cliff, with her opening her eyes and saying, "It worked," I'm OUT!), now they're bringing Vision back from the dead (if you'll recall, he died, I think, TWICE in "Infinity War"), and, to top it all off, there were rumors flying around yesterday that Chris Evans, who literally gave up his shield at the end of "Endgame," is in talks to reprise his role as Captain America in future movies. What? Is he just going to show up and be like, "Um, Sam, I'm gonna need that back now"? JUST LET THESE CHARACTERS GO!
[Inhales sharply]
Anyway, suffice it to say that I was not particularly excited to watch "WandaVision," but I did anyway.
Let's break down what we saw.
It's black. It's white.
As shown extensively in teasers, the first two episodes of "WandaVision" are presented in grayscale. There are major "Bewitched" and "I Love Lucy" vibes, complete - yes, indeed - with a laugh track and plenty of "hijinks."
The show centers around Wanda Maximoff (A.K.A. Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Not-Mary-Kate-Nor-Ashley Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as an unorthodox and quirky couple in "Leave It To Beaver"-style America. The episodes focus on Wanda at home and Vision in the workplace, as well as their new life together in a brand new neighborhood. Of course, this opens the door for the introduction of a slew of nosey neighbors and gossipy co-workers.
The aforementioned "hijinks" come from the notion that Vision is not an actual human being and, therefore, does not eat nor do many things that a normal person would do, and the fact that Wanda is a telekinetic who can move things with her mind and, therefore, is not your typical American housewife. This leads to some, honestly, pretty silly interactions and, I admit, I did laugh out loud several times during these two episodes.
Keeping up with the Joneses
One of my favorite parts of these two half-hour installments was the inclusion of characters like the naughty next-door neighbor, Agnes (Kathryn Hahn); the bossy if-not-brainwashed resident, Dottie (Emma Caulfield Ford); and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), the somewhat aloof wife of Vision's boss -- not to mention the small circle of Vision's at-work acquaintances, many of whom had little moments in the spotlight. It's a pretty fun cast of characters, and I hope that, as the show inevitably shifts genres, these folks stick around as alternate versions of the people we were introduced today. I strongly believe this will be the case, and I look forward to it.
Slapstick superheroes
While I didn't necessarily chuckle at every single sitcom gag they pulled in the hour I spent watching "WandaVision" today, I do think it was more "hit" than "miss," and the show was much funnier than I thought it would be. Of course, there are a bunch of clichés that sprout from misunderstandings between Wanda and Vision, as there were prone to be in such 1950s programming - like Wanda expecting a romantic evening at home while Vision, meanwhile, is preparing to invite his boss over for dinner. Some of these lead to genuinely humorous interactions - most notably an impromptu musical number by Vision, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
A major plot point in the second episode leads to Vision becoming mentally and physically impaired, as if inebriated, and this really lets Bettany showcase his comedy chops, which I am not sure I understood he actually possessed. I loved (and will always remember) Bettany as Jeffrey Chaucer in "A Knight's Tale," in which he has some great one-liners, but seeing him act the way he does during his magic act in Episode 2 really was a treat.
Olsen holds her own, as well, and she gets some silly scenes around the house (particularly, in the kitchen), and I'm glad to announce that Marvel has not yet destroyed my opinion of Scarlet Witch by reducing her to a comedy act. So far, so good!
Things are not as they seem
As expected, Marvel teases the fact that strange things are afoot with this series. We already knew that Wanda and Vision are not actually married, so that's not a spoiler or anything. We also know that Vision is dead. It is rather safe to assume that somebody is messing with Wanda's mind and this is all playing out in her imagination.
Throughout the first two episodes, we get a little tiny taste of outside interference or a "glitch in the Matrix," as it were, and those are the moments that are making me want more. We know this simulation is going to come crashing down at some point, and we're going to catch the proverbial "man behind the curtain" - whose identity appears to be the mysterious organization known as S.W.O.R.D., based on some company insignia that could be spotted on occasion. But I guess we'll have to wait to find out what, exactly, is going on behind the scenes of the fake television program we're all tuned into.
Also, uh, Wanda is suddenly like four months pregnant now... What the heck?
Easter eggs and other tidbits
"WandaVision" comes complete with its own commercials to break up the programming. The first of these was advertisement for a toaster. I hoped (and, deep down inside, knew) that this would be a Marvel Easter egg. Ultimately, it turns out that Stark Industries didn't just make weapons, back in the day. We now know that they also had a line of kitchen appliances.
The second commercial was for a watch produced by "Strucker" - a nod to the blink-and-you'll-miss-him MCU villain Baron Strucker, whose secret base was assaulted by Earth's Mightiest Heroes at the beginning of "Age of Ultron." Closer inspection of the watch face reveals an octopus logo and the word "HYDRA." It should also be noted that Strucker was the one who was using Scarlet Witch and her brother, Quicksilver, as test subjects.
One other tidbit that was of note to me was the red and yellow RC helicopter that Wanda found crashed in her bushes. This strongly resembled a scene from "The Truman Show," where Truman is surprised when a studio light falls out of the sky - his first indication that the world he is living in is... a little different.
Final thoughts
All in all, I thought these first two episodes were fun. This is starting out as a very different ride than what we're used to with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in a weekly, streaming format. I am relieved to confirm that this show is not as dumb as it first looked, and I'm intrigued to find out what happens next week... in color!
*****
Did you watch "WandaVision"? What are your thoughts? Your theories? Did you have a favorite part of either episode? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments section below, on Twitter (here and here) or on good old Facebook, so hit me up and let me know, friends!
Until next time,
No comments:
Post a Comment