Crown MRS. AMERICA

Article first published as TV Review: MRS. AMERICA on Seat42F.

FX and Hulu both make terrific shows in their own right. Now, a partnership has formed where viewers get FX series exclusively on the streaming platform. One of the first of those is MRS. AMERICA, a new miniseries based on the true story of the push for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. It completely lives up to the best programming from both sides.

Setting aside the politics, MRS. AMERICA is an extremely well-made, well-acted, compelling history lesson. It’s fantastic as a story, brilliantly directed and executed, with terrific production design. As a piece of television, it’s wonderful.

MRS. AMERICA begins with Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett, Carol), a housewife who has run for Congress twice. When the opportunity comes up for her to run again, her husband, Fred (John Slattery, Mad Men), balks because she might actually win. So to satisfy her own political ambitions and keep the peace in a marriage where she is subservient, she pours her attentions into organizing a national effort to stop the newly-passed Equal Rights Amendment, which must be ratified by thirty-eight states to become law.

It’s a good thing MRS. AMERICA shows us Phyllis before she embarks down this path. It doesn’t stop her from being a villain, but it does make her sympathetic at first, which viewers can hold in their minds as the rest of the story plays out. We get to see what motivates her, and why she makes some of the choices she makes. She is trapped in a patriarchal world and tries to grab power playing by the mens’ rules, even though her desire for power is antithetical to the system in the first place. This does allow for some sympathy, even when she’s being heartless.

Along for the ride with Phyllis are, most notably, Alice (Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story), Rosemary (Melanie Lynskey, Togetherness), and Phyllis’ sister, Eleanor (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Alice and Rosemary want the movement to succeed, and struggle with Phyllis’ leadership. But Eleanor’s story is the most tragic, as Phyllis describes the enemy to be pretty similar to her own sibling, while acting totally ignorant to how it sounds to Eleanor.

Lest you think MRS. AMERICA is just a liberal fantasy version of reality, the women on the other side are far from perfect. Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne, Spy) finds it hard to fit in with the organized opposition, preferring to chart her own course without oversight. Shirley Chisholm (Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black) risks wrecking party unity by staying in the presidential race too long. Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman) is opinionated and has the tendency to rub just about everyone the wrong way. Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale, The Americans) is willing to compromise far beyond what some of her compatriots are willing to accept. And hell, Jill Ruckelshaus (Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games) is somehow still a Republican! They can’t get on message together to actually accomplish anything, and they fail to take the threat Phyllis poses seriously until it’s too late, blind to people whose opinions are so different from their own.

Each of the leads could support their own miniseries. One might argue they’re lumped together because of their gender, rather than just because of the cause. I still like the format. Each hour includes all the leads, but the episode title reveals with woman will get a little more focus for that offering. Phyllis and Gloria are probably the two biggest characters overall, and that shows.

I’ll admit, that it’s impossible to judge MRS. AMERICA without political views creeping in. At least it is for me. So the next portion is written from the perspective of a liberal, straight, white man, which comes with much bias and unearned privilege.

It would be hard for many conservatives to enjoy a show, even one featuring flawed liberal women, when their own position is so blatantly misguided. But I hope they watch anyway. The liberal in me wants to say, if you have a problem with MRS. AMERICA, then don’t have such evil viewpoints. But here’s the thing: this is an inspiring underdog story of the rise of feminism, made all the more tragic by the lack of progress of the heroes’ central goals nearly fifty years later. Though, now it’s common for both parents to be forced to work outside the home to make ends meet and the classic family dynamic has eroded by necessity, not choice, so really, we all lost.

The real take-away, in my opinion, is the reflection on modern society. We see the misinformation and twisting of facts to serve an agenda, and how masses of people buy into it. We also see what happens when good people fighting for a just cause fail to unite in their mission. There are plenty of strong reasons for individuals to draw the line in different places, but speaking with one voice can prove very effective, even when that voice is wrong.

Will this story have a happy ending? That remains to be seen, and it certainly won’t within the span of nine episodes, as the battle still rages on in 2020, reignited by the last presidential election in ways it hasn’t been since the events depicted in MRS. AMERICA. Hopefully, those that want to finish what was started learn a few lessons and draw inspiration from this story.

The first three episodes of MRS. AMERICA are available now on Hulu, with new installments weekly.

"Thirst" for ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Quenched

Article first published as ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Review Season 2 on Seat42F.

Note: This review is for the season two premiere, “Thirsty Bird,” and does contain spoilers from that hour. It does not contain spoilers from any episodes after the season two premiere.

Netflix’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK has returned with a second batch of episodes, beginning today, streaming for their subscribers. It is the story of a woman named Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), who is serving fifteen months in prison for her role in a drug ring, which she got involved with through her girlfriend at the time, Alex Vause (Laure Prepon). Piper’s life has drastically altered and she has to learn to her adapt to her new world while, possibly for the first time, recognizing the humanity in others.

As season two begins in “Thirsty Bird,” Piper has been in solitary for beating would-be assassin Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) severely. In the middle of the night, Piper is ripped from her cell, taken by bus and plane to a much higher security facility in Chicago without explanation. Panicking, Piper now has to adjust to an even tougher world with more dangerous inmates.

This is a very well-crafted hour. I feel Piper’s frustration and terror at not knowing what is happening and being unable to get answers. As a prisoner, she has few rights, and information about where she is being taken and why is not among them. Those working for the system have no obligation to be forthcoming because she is low on the totem pole, but it would still be extremely unsettling to be the one so out of control of oneself. Much of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK is about life as an inmate, and “Thirsty Bird” hammers that helplessness home more than most installments.

Unfortunately, it cannot salvage the character of Piper, a drama-addicted narcissist who is wishy washy with her moral compass and often does and says the wrong thing. A flashback to her childhood, showing when Piper catches her father, Bill (Bill Hoag), cheating, and her mother, Carol’s (Deborah Rush), bad reaction to the news does inform on why Piper is the way she is, but it doesn’t make her sympathetic. Her forgoing the chance to pee in her search for answers, then paying for that decision later, illustrates how ridiculous she is in her self-righteousness. We, like her potential father-in-law / lawyer, Howard Bloom (Todd Susman), grow frustrated that she can’t pull herself together, but are done rooting for her.

One wonders if there is a happy way out for Piper. Her fiancé, Larry (Jason Biggs), seems to be done with her, though he remains a main character, so forgiveness is a possibility. Her sentence is likely to be lengthened both from beating up Pennsatucky and because she lies under oath. She doesn’t have anything to go back to, anyway, though.

For some reason, Alex is more likeable than Piper. Yes, she betrays Piper, twice, but she is consistent. We know who Alex is, and Alex actually shows compassion for others. Even if she does stab Piper in the back by convincing Piper to lie on the stand and then confessing the truth herself, Piper deserves it, so it’s hard to be mad at Alex, someone who has the right crisis of conscience at the right time. Sadly, Prepon has been down-graded to “special guest star” status, so she isn’t likely to be around much, if at all, moving forward. This makes sense because her arc with Piper has run its course, but is regrettable because I hate to lose the character.

What “Thirsty Bird” is lacking, despite being a terrific stand-alone, isolated episode, is the ensemble that makes ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK so good and gives the show its identity. All of the various women who are locked up with Piper have become memorable and intriguing personalities. From Red (Kate Mulgrew) to Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) to Taystee (Danielle Brooks) to Nicky (Natasha Lyonne), all of whom are now main characters, as well as a slew of recurring parts, each has landed with the audience. I miss them, none of them appearing in this season premiere.

In episode two, I assume things will get back to normal, and I look forward to that. At the same time, I don’t think ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK makes a mistake by departing here because, as I said, taken on its own, the hour is solid, even if it doesn’t feel like the same show. Plus, it furthers along the story of the protagonist, Piper, and what is going on with her case. Great start, Netflix, and I look forward to what else the show has in store for us this year.

All thirteen episodes of ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK are available now on Netflix.