If you love comedy, girl power or period pieces The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel covers it all.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an Amazon Original Series, follows a rich Jewish housewife, Mariam “Midge” Maisel, in the 1950s as she separates from her husband and finds herself on stage as a stand-up comic.
I should preface all this by saying that I’m not really a TV person.
I don’t usually have a lot to say about shows because I don’t watch all that much TV.
While I don’t know much about TV, I do know a lot about comedy: sketch, improv, stand-up, anything that makes you laugh, I love.
Since, the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a show about comedy I connected with it in a way that I haven’t connected with many other shows. One of my best friends is actually a stand-up comedian, so I felt like I related to a lot of what I saw.
The show is empowering, well-paced and absolutely hilarious. It’s no wonder it took home 8 Emmy’s in 2018, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress and Supporting Actress.
The show’s pacing is near perfect. It flows from episode to episode in the way that I believe any streaming series should – effortlessly. The plot is evenly drawn out through the current two seasons in a way that doesn’t feel rushed but still leaves you wanting more. I can’t think of show that moves as seamlessly along as the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The comedy throughout is a big part of keeping it all together. It’s not hard watching an hour-long episode when it’s hilarious.
Along with the impeccable pacing, the show is incredibly powerful as we watch Midge learn to navigate life on her own after her husband, Joel, leaves in the first episode. Midge isn’t the stereotypical Upper West Side housewife. She’s fiercely independent and outgoing. She has children, but she’s aware that she’s more than just a mother. Not to mention she curses like a sailor, which makes her all that much more likeable.
She faces a lot of backlash as a woman pursuing a career in comedy in the 1950s. She’s played by the beautiful, Rachel Brosnahan, and her looks don’t go unnoticed on the show. Most characters on the show make remarks about how she should be a singer or doubt that she will be funny as a comedian. But that’s completely wrong, in fact, Midge is funnier than most of men on stage.
Just like Midge’s routines, the rest of show is hilarious. You fall in love with Midge as a comic from the first moment she steps on stage. But the laughs don’t just come from her routines, it comes from every character on the show.
There’s Susie, Midge’s manager and sidekick played by Alex Borstein, who is a completely contrasting character filled with blunt comments and attitude.
There’s Midge’s mother who is overly dramatic and critical of everything her daughter does in a way that you can’t help but laugh at.
Then there’s Abe, Midge’s father, who steals the show. He’s a math professor at Columbia full of oddities that will have you in near stiches.
All of the Maisels – Joel and both his parents – keep the show moving along with well-integrated side plots. One of favorites is when Joel goes on a treasure hunt because his parents hid thousands of dollars in the walls because they don’t trust banks.
I can’t emphasize this enough; the show is just that funny.
I’m a HUGE fan of stand-up comedy so it was a pleasure to watch. It was inspiring and empowering to see a woman in the 50s fighting to have her spot on stage and killing it while she was up there. The show will probably make you want to get up and try stand-up comedy for yourself.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel does girl power in an underrepresented area — comedy — and I can appreciate that.
I’ve never wanted to be a comedian myself, but after watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel I’m seriously considering an open mic night.