“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is gut-busting, genuine fun.
Nearly everyone has one friend they look at and think, “You know, that person should do comedy. They make me laugh whenever I’m with them, and why not share that gift with the world? Can’t be too difficult; it’s not like it’s ‘Hamlet’ or anything.”
Well, like the old saying goes, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in Amazon Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The comedy-drama is set in the late 1950s in Manhattan, and follows housewife and mother Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan, “House of Cards”) and her attempts at breaking into the tough game that is New York stand-up comedy.
The pilot begins with Midge’s wedding to a fellow New Yorker, the mousy Joel Maisel (Michael Zegen). Four years later, Joel is trying to become a comic himself, and Midge supports his dream by cooking briskets to bribe club owners to give him a spot. After a particularly bad performance, Joel admits he is sleeping with his secretary and leaves. When seeking pity from her parents Abe and Rose (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle) doesn’t help, a drunk Midge returns to a comedy club and gives an impromptu rant about her problems, leading to applause from the patrons and starting her off on a new career path.
From here, it’s Comedy 101 as Midge and her aspiring manager Susie (Alex Borstein, “Family Guy”) conceive an image, battle indecent exposure charges, put together a “tight ten” and even debate stage names together.
The story alone is enough to set up a great program, but it’s truly the characters and writing that make it bingeworthy. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has plenty of experience writing quirky individuals, thanks to her other show “Gilmore Girls,” and because of this every person on the show has something more to them: Joel is a likable loser, Abe a caring but distant father, Susie a hard-nosed but self-conscious loner, and Midge herself is a naïve, insecure wit with a desire to be heard. Taken together, the cast is explosive onscreen, creating laughs or tears whenever they are called for.
Personally, my favorite part of the show is Sherman-Palladino’s choice to make legendary comedian Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) a recurring character. Bruce, one of the first “blue comics” and often recognized as a founding father of the form, serves as a kind of unofficial mentor to Midge after she bails him out of jail in the pilot. This could have been just a cameo or Easter egg, but Kirby brings a charisma to Bruce’s already electric personality that’s impossible to ignore, and like the rest of the cast, he and Brosnahan work remarkably well together.
Speaking of which, Brosnahan really is the heroine here. If one element or trait were off about Midge, the whole series would fall apart, but thankfully the actress makes her one of the funniest and relatable lead characters in recent comedic memory.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” succeeds because of its ingenious premise, stellar performances and uproarious writing, and even those who aren’t fans of standup will find this to be a worthy watch.
