WANDAVISION Blurry

 Article first published as TV Review: WANDAVISION on Seat42F.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers from the first two episodes.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first television show, the highly anticipated WANDAVISION, dropped its first two episodes yesterday on Disney+. Set in a fantasy sitcom world, the series is slow to reveal the mysteries at its heart, instead dwelling in the neighborhood that has been constructed, and not giving viewers many clues as to why or how these characters are here. It’s a strange, surreal comedy that touches every cliché of decades past, with a dark undertone for what will surely be revealed as the season unfolds.

Elizabeth Olsen reprises her role from the films as Wanda Maximoff, while Paul Bettany returns as Vision. This premise is immediately suspect as, last we saw Vision, he had been utterly destroyed by Thanos. Yet, here he is, happily married to Wanda and in a suburbia that never existed. This isn’t just a reimaging, as the presence of a beekeeper (a familiar symbol of AIM to comic book fans) and a garbled radio broadcast asking Wanda what was done to her make it clear there is a life beyond this constructed one. So the question seems to be, who captured Wanda and what kind of experiments are they doing on her that has left her locked in this dream with her deceased lover?

WANDAVISION could easily just be Wanda-centric, given she is possibly the only one truly existing here, but the title and the way the story unfolds gives equal weight to both heroes, hinting that perhaps something of Vision has survived the removal of the Soul stone from his lifeless physical form. Given that Vision started in the MCU as an A.I., it is reasonable to think perhaps he can continue as such, even as fans (including myself) may hold out hope for him to rejoin the rest of the Avengers in the real world eventually.

I could easily see WANDAVISION as a film instead of a nine-part series that presumably will run about four and a half hours. It lingers so, so much in the fake scenario, going through entire stories in each of the first two installments. The premiere is about Vision having his boss and his wife over for dinner, and of course Wanda isn’t prepared and things go wrong. This one looks like the ‘50s in a The Dick Van Dyke Show house. Yet, as the second episode begins, they’re shifted over to a 1960s Bewitched format (with no comment on the change) for a talent show scenario involving the local women’s club. Each are stand-alone entries of slightly different styles, but there are small hints at reality trying to bust through. As enjoyable as these are, I began to quickly grow impatient to get to the larger narrative. Though a Pleasantville-style occurrence in the second installment indicates the pacing might speed up a little soon, and the ‘commercials’ are definitely leading to something.

Despite my wish that WANDAVISION not move so slowly, there are many familiar faces to help it along and make the wait go easier. Kathryn Hahn (Transparent) is fantastic as nosy neighbor and friend, Agnes. Debra Jo Rupp (That ‘70s Show) delights as Vision’s boss’s wife, Mrs. Hart. Emma Caulfield Ford (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is perfect as the mean lady that heads the local ladies. Teyonah Parris (Mad Men) is immediately magnetic as Geraldine. There are many others, as well, and if there wasn’t a mystery box waiting to be opened, this could be a fun throwback sitcom outside of Marvel.

One of the actors above has been confirmed to actually be someone who exists beyond this, and was played by someone else in an MCU film, though to avoid spoiling, I won’t say which one. Additionally, other performers from the MCU movies have been tied to this production, they just haven’t shown up yet. I’m anxious to get to those reveals.

I liked WANDAVISION, but I do wish, because they’ve chosen the drag the story out over 9 episodes, that they’d just released them all at once for us to binge. It’s frustrating and hurts my enjoyment to not get much towards the big picture in episodes 1 and 2. After this much anticipation, I feel like we needed a little more payoff. Let’s hope the ensuing weeks make up for that (and I suspect they will). I can’t help but think most of the glowing reviews are from those that have seen more than has been released to the public at this point.

WANDAVISION streams weekly on Disney+.

Better With You greets the baby

     ABC's Better With You ended its freshman run with "Better With the Baby." By the title, it's easy to predict the main event in the episode: Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan) searches for her next career path. Oh, and Mia (Joanna Garcia-Swisher) also goes into labor. Everyone rushes to the hospital to be there for her birth, which is complicated when she suddenly decides she must be married before the baby comes. Casey (Jake Lacy), a.k.a. the most patient boyfriend in the world, agrees. The cast must pull together to make that happen, because unlike many first-time mothers, it is soon clear that Mia's baby is coming pretty quickly.


     It's May sweeps, which is the biggest sweeps period for stunts because it overlaps with season finales. Better With You merges a wedding and a birth into one plot, serving the necessary big developments quota. By combining those two particular events, the sitcom could easily shoot itself in the foot, making the episode utterly unbelievable and ridiculous. For a freshman series to do so is unwise. Yet, the series pulls it off with a pretty charming episode.

     That's because 'baby' and 'wedding' are not pounded in the viewer's faces every minute. Better With You's strength is the tightly defined six main characters and their interactions and dialogue with each other. By structuring "Better With the Baby" as a series of those small scenes that happen to surround the hype story, the show strikes a delicate balance in entertainment, pulling off a not-terrible episode from a risky recipe.

     It probably also helps that one character is really not thinking much about the baby at all. Maddie steals a list of patients and their occupations from the nurses' station, and spends much of her time running around to discuss different career possibilities for herself. All of the Better With You characters are selfish, in the tradition of Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny..., but this may be a new low. Her sister is giving birth down the hall! In Maddie's defense, she does keep tabs on Mia, and does not miss anything important. But still...

     This is in character for Maddie, though. She is very career-orientated, and being without one has screwed her up. She needs purpose and goals in her life and doesn't have any. It would be hard for her to devote her full attention to helping anyone else before she rights her own course, which is a little like securing your own gas mask on the plane before your child's. From one perspective, Maddie's need to land that next job before devoting herself to her sister is actually the best way she can help Mia. It's justa bit twisted compared morally to what most people accept.

     Luckily, Maddie's side mission does help Mia, because she finds a judge (the talented Edward Herrmann, Gilmore Girls) who is a patient, and he agrees to perform the ceremony. Any opportunity to see Herrman on screen is welcome, especially one that finds him officiating a wedding in a hospital gown and robe. Perhaps a bit undignified, but funny.

     All of the characters on Better With You are a bit twisted. Joel (Kurt Fuller) and Vicky (Debra Jo Rupp) illustrate this best, especially in their marriage. Perhaps because they're older, they care less about what others think, and just say whatever they feel like saying. While their daughter is in labor, they are involved in a marital squabble about Joel throwing out one of Vicky's family heirlooms. An act he did decades ago, not recently, by the way. They are concerned about Mia, but not so much so that they can't find time to fight.

     Vicky and Joel's relationship works, despite the clashing, because they are both honest with each other, and mostly accept who the other is. Joel ends up screaming at Vicky that he would throw away the precious heirloom all over again because their marriage has been great and he wouldn't change one thing. It may sound like a cop out, but it comes from a place of sincerity. She is moved, and they make up. With lesser actors, this story would not work, because it exposes a very kooky pair that is hard to relate to. But Rupp and Fuller expertly balance real emotion with their weird quirks in a way where even yelling can be sweet. And very enjoyable to watch.

     As reported in other reviews, Better With You has really defined itself by finding a working formula. All six cast members have wonderful chemistry, and the writing is witty. For instance, this week, all of the Putneys couldn't understand why Ben (Josh Cooke) thinks he will be Uncle Ben (wonder why no one made the obvious rice joke?) when he isn't legally married to Maddie. They just state it so matter-of-factly, not intentionally hurting Ben's feelings, but doing so all the same. He rolls with it, used to their dismissal of him. It's almost a throwaway, but is memorable because it lands so well. These sort of amusing bits happen multiple times in every episode.

     That's why Better With You, a bubble show, deserves a second season. It has characters and situations that deliver, and it will break new ground. After all, how many sitcoms rearranged themselves around a baby? Especially selfish sitcoms? Yet, that is likely to happen, as in the confined world of the six main characters, it isn't realistically possible to hide the kid off screen too frequently, as is so often done on television. Please, ABC, give the show a chance to continue. It has met expectations so far.

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     To be notified when Better With You comes out on DVD, visit Amazon.com.

Article first published as TV Review: Better With You - "Better With the Baby" on Blogcritics.

Better With You is better all the time

     ABC's Better With You has refined the formular in introduced last fall. In last night's installment, the first in over a month, the series demonstrated exactly what it does. First, open with a joke strung between the three central couples illustrating their differences. This week, lies were talied up. Then present at least two stories that have some similarities and intersect between all six central players. Then, end with another gag split between all three. In this case, each couple takes some sort of magazine quiz. The younger two duos are searching for compatibility, while the eldest picks out a cemetary.

     Each of the six has now defined who they are. Like many sitcoms, Better With You doesn't so much as go for layers, as it does slightly eccentric characters with hilariously exaggerated flaws. Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan) loses her job, but lies to her parents about it because she is super-career driven and prideful. Mia (Joanna Garcia-Swisher), Maddie's younger sister, also lies to her parents, but because she is selfish and doesn't want them to know. Her guy, Casey (Jake Lacy), has discovered a book handed down and read to generations of Putney children, is worth a lot of money. Mia only puts up a facade of not wanting to hurt her mother Vicky's (Debra Jo Rupp) feelings, but actually prefers the cash. Both daughters tell untruths to avoid looking bad, and both of their men support them in their deceit.

     The children's book turns out to be extremely racist, and so Mia, in another effort to not look bad, exposes the offense to the potential buyer and doesn't sell the book. While Mia and the buyer quickly realize how bad the book is as soon as they read it as adults, apparently Vicky did not when she read it to her children. Yet, she also sees the flaw as soon as she flips back through the pages. So that means Vicky was racist two or three decades ago, long after it was permissible?

     The truth is, the characters aren't all that likeable. But they are funny enough that viewers will forget that, as they do with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Seinfeld. Perhaps it's because it can make people feel superior to watch characters that are more broktne than they are. Or maybe it's just that Better With You is very, very funny, and so it doesn't really matter what types of people are featured. Either way, be sure to watch it.

     The show also stars Josh Cooke and Kurt Fuller. Better With You airs Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Click here for an alphabetical list of all of Jerome's Current Season Reviews.


Other Better With You reviews I've written:

• Better With You really shaping up
• Better With You is better than most

Better With You Really Shaping Up

     All new shows have little bugs to work out. When ABC's Better With You began last fall, it had fewer than most. Months later, it is rapidly becoming a must-see. Even though newcomer Casey (Jake Lacy) arguably bonded with the rest of the family a little quicker than realistic, the six central characters have wonderful chemistry in any combination. The series frequently mixes up who spends time with who to delight in new arrangements, but it is strongest when all are together, as was the case for most of this week's episode, "Better With a Leather Jacket".

     Casey has an important job interview to play a mascot named Maddie. This mascot is known as Maddie because it's for a WNBA team that plays at Madison Square Garden. Showing clever writing, Joel (Kurt Fuller) remarks that daughter Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan) is also named Maddie for Madison Square Garden, as he is pretty sure she was conceived in the bathroom there during a concert. Never mind the coincidental names, that one line, and Maddie's reaction to it, made the entire bit totally worth it.

     Anyway, Casey borrows a jacket for his interview from Ben's closet. It's a leather jacket in a box at the back of the closet. Unaware of the family incidents involving the jacket, he takes off. When the others discover what Casey is wearing, they are horrified, as it is the storied unlucky jacket that has brought misery on every single one of them when they wore it. We see four of the five bad things happen in flashback, though for some reason, Vicky (Debra Jo Rupp) is always interrupted before she gets going, so we never see her tale. Is the show saving it for a stand alone episode in a year or two? Because that would be a really cool reference later on. If not, I still found it bizarrely humorous that she was left out.

     Casey is actually having pretty good luck in the jacket, until the others catch up with him and try to rip it off his shoulders during the interview, making a mess, and screwing things up. Later, when he gets the job anyway, Casey uses his unique perspective to point out that the jacket actually brought them all luck, in a round about way. Too bad Ben (Josh Cooke) and Maddie have already given the thing away to their trivia rivals, who now go on a six month winning spree, decimating Ben and Maddie in competition.

     I like that Casey is the outsider, who can often make the others see something they didn't notice before. The other five have been together so long, they have shorthand and traditions and ways of doing things set in stone. They don't even question themselves anymore. Having Casey marrying into the family is a great way to upset their balance a little bit during season one. As the series goes on over the years (as I genuinely hope that it does), this will wear a little thin, though. Soon enough Casey will start adapting to them. What will the show do then?

     At first glance, Casey is also the weird one, but if you stop and think about it for a few moments, Casey may actually be the most normal in the group. Vicky thinks her alcoholism isn't a problem, and everyone lets her get away with it. Maddie's perfectionist ways are annoying, but again, everyone in the family lets her get away with it, only making it worse. Even Mia (Joanna Garcia, who recently added a Swisher surname), who thinks she's the sanest in the group, has her quirks, usually demonstrated by a subtle gesture or offhand comment. Her story when she was in denial about needing pregnancy pants was LOL worthy.

     The reason these people are funny, though, is because they think they are normal, and really, almost perfect. Anytime a flaw is revealed, whoever has the flaw laughs it off, or throws it back on the person criticising them. No one ever learns anything. For some viewers, that may be a turn-off, as generally character growth is a hallmark of a long running show. But Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia both have enjoyed many seasons without any character ever getting the slightest bit better. I see Better With You as the next in the line of unlikable characters being entertaining to watch.

     Yes, all six are unlikable, in the most charming way possible. Despite their flaws, or really, because of them, it is loads of fun to watch Mia, Maddie, Vicky, Joel, Ben, and Casey every week. For now, they don't even need guest stars, as most shows do, and have frequently gotten by without them. I recommend you join me on their adventures.

     Better With You airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

Article first published as TV Review: Better With You Really Shaping Up on Blogcritics.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional TV news, follow Jerome on Twitter.

Better With You is better than most

     When I watched the pilot of ABC's Better With You nearly five weeks ago, I thought it was amusing, but perhaps lacking in that special something that makes it worth tuning in week after week. I didn't watch a second episode until yesterday. But when I did, I had to watch a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. I joyously devoured the entire run so far of what I consider the best new sitcom this year, though admittedly the competition isn't steep.

     Better With You has a team of experienced actors at its center. The parents are Joel (Kurt Fuller, Psych, Supernatural) and Vicky (Debra Jo Rupp, That '70s Show), a couple that has been together a few decades, are definitely set in the way they do things, even if it's not always the best way. For example, in one episode, the other characters were trying to figure out ways to resolve their problems, while Joel and Vicky just passive-agressively hid each others' stuff. Both actors are tops, and play much the same character they have before, but do it wonderfully. They conceit is wonderful, and Vicky has more of an edge that Rupp played on That '70s Show. Their chemistry is believable, though far from romantic, but I believe that's what they're going for.

     Their eldest daughter, Maddie (Jennifer Finnigan, Close to Home, The Bold and the Beautiful) has been with her beau, Ben (Josh Cooke, Big Day, Four Kings) for almost one decade, and live happily together, but have no plans to get married. They consider that a "valid life choice", though Joel and Vicky disagree. Recent plot has centered on Joel not considering Ben part of the family, and Maddie's frustration with that. Even in 2010, choosing not to get married seems a little weird, but as more people are doing it, it's nice to see it respresented so well on television. That doesn't mean I'm not rooting on them to tie the knot down the road (series finale?). However, if they do, will that invalidate the relationship they are portraying? Possibly. Interestingly, Finnigan and Cooke starred opposite each other in the short lived sitcom Committed back in 2005. I remember enjoying it, and it's gratifying to see them reunited.

     Younger daughter Mia is played by the talent Joanna Garcia, who starred in the ill-fated Privileged, and more recently did a four episode stint on Gossip Girl. She became engaged to Casey (Jake Lacy, the one unknown in the cast) in the pilot, and also admitted that she was pregnant with his child. We're only a month into the series, but Mia and Casey have only been together for two months. They seem to be adapting to living together quite well, and are lacking many of the problems a couple in their situation would face. The characters are so charming I forget that when I'm watching, but hopefully a little more depth will better round them out.

     The six starring players have plenty of failed shows this decade between them, although a lot of those failures weren't bad. Hopefully the mix of them together will prove to be the right formula to keep them on the air. They're off to a good start. ABC recently ordered a full season of the series, so they're not going away anytime soon. The comedy is good, but there is also sweet affection between them. The grown up sisters are still close, and while a tight-knit family is far from rare on television, another good one is always welcome. Plus I can't think of a show quite like it on the air, in terms of the way it delivers.

     My only complaint is the theme song and transitions featuring those strips of pictures.  People don't really use those a whole lot, and it's not something I see the characters doing much of.  It seems forced and kitchy, and does not really fit in with the rest of the show.  In my opinion, ditch it.

     If you haven't seen it already, I recommend checking out Better With You. It airs Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on ABC.

For frequent mini-reviews and occasional tv news, follow Jerome on Twitter.



Article first published as TV Review: Better With You is Better Than Most on Blogcritics.