We live in a time when everyone has a voice and no one is heard. I can safely say something controversial on my blog without fear of criticism, because my readership is low. A famous person can’t say anything controversial without backlash, because their audience is high. It’s a frustrating balance, but also the height of democratic discussion (No one ever claimed democracy isn’t messy).
Finding her voice
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 4 (two episodes every Friday, Amazon Prime) takes us to 1960 – a time that won’t exist again both because backward time travel is impossible and because the nature of communication has changed.
Yet Amy Sherman-Palladino (who writes and directs episode one) and Daniel Palladino (episode two) comment on the nature of finding and sharing one’s voice in an energetic, non-dated way. As they ask “Who gets heard?” and “How does one get heard?,” “MMM” plays like a comedic B-side to “American Dreams” without being pure nostalgia. The journey of Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) is urgent and exciting.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Season 4 (2022)
Amazon Prime, 8 episodes (two episodes air Fridays)
Creator: Amy Sherman-Palladino
Stars: Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub
I’ve heard it said that Midge’s comedy acts are the worst-written part of “Maisel.” I agree, with qualifiers. They are the hardest part of the show to write, and the least funny. But they are fascinating and essential.
“MMM” explores how someone with a unique voice rises to the top in an industry where dumb luck matters, but it’s not the only force in play. As Midge’s act gradually wins over audiences, it mirrors changes in culture.
In a feedback loop, changes in culture inspire Midge; she’s never shown to be above it all, someone with wildly original thoughts. She’s simply driven. But she’s stuck with flypaper to her clan the way Lorelai was stuck to the Gilmores. Past seasons have shown Midge to worship Lenny Bruce (reflecting the Palladinos’ respect for the late legend as a real person) and to learn from him, but not to be as consistently funny.
Strawman competition
In Season 3, Midge learns things about the world beyond the Upper West Side when touring with Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain), who is black and gay. She’s fired as his opening act for being too much of a free speaker, but I don’t remember the details (Season 3 was way back before the pandemic). But as I waited for these episodes to remind us of the details and they never do, I realized the details might not be the point.
Season 4’s premieres (“Rumble on the Wonder Wheel” and “Billy Jones and the Orgy Lamps”) start with a strawman tactic, albeit one that gets the ball rolling: Show that the competition is way worse than Midge.
Driven to frustration and inspired by manager Susie’s (Alex Borstein) practical joke of locking headliner Billy Jones in the back alley, a drunken Midge takes the stage and does his precise act. She illuminates the shallow nature of Jones’ misogynistic humor, but at the same time Midge’s tactic is abominable. If she never worked in comedy again, one could sympathize with those blackballing her.
Meanwhile, we can’t help but ask “What if Midge wasn’t so adorable?” In that case, she wouldn’t get one second chance, let alone endless second chances. Midge riffs in a jail cell, and the audience is not merely captive, but truly rapt. Such is the nature of the Palladinos’ protagonists, though. We’ve had nearly a quarter-century to bow out if the favored nature of the Gilmore girls, the Bunheads and Midge bothers us.
Meanwhile, Abe (Tony Shalhoub) was formerly a rich Columbia professor; now he’s a low-paid newspaper columnist. “MMM” doesn’t have Abe say anything specific – yet. We simply know that he – like Midge — has a voice because of his job. As with Midge, he’s excited about it.
Funny money
Season 4 tackles something the Palladinos have never mastered with consistency: writing about money. Every character’s life is defined by finances. Joel’s (Michael Zegen) music club is successful, so now he must venture into mob payoffs. Susie needs the payout from her arson insurance scam to return to square one.
The Palladinos douse these threads in comedy – the mob is a quirky Chinese gambling ring, and Joel is dating the daughter (Stephanie Hsu). But I’m not complaining: Outside of Midge’s act, “MMM” is gloriously funny, with its own candy confection flavor. When Midge says she’s at her best when riffing, “MMM” might be looking in the mirror.
Then again, maybe “MMM’s” off-stage stuff is meticulously planned. Certainly it has to be “staged” carefully. The entire Maisel and Weissman families discuss Midge’s firing from the Baldwin tour on Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel – each person yelling from a different compartment.
That sequence is a testament to how “MMM’s” pastel colors and rhythmic patter makes even exposition tasty. But that’s not the truly inspired stuff; that’s just the Palladinos’ goofy side. (Daniel is generally the goofball, but the Ferris wheel sequence comes in Amy’s episode.)
Laugh lines
In a successful absurdist bit, Abe and Rose (Marin Hinkle) hold their grandkids’ birthday party five months early because it fits into their schedules and young Ethan is too dim to notice.
For a broad running gag, I look to Susie’s sister Tess (Emily Bergl), whose sexual favors with the fraud investigator are too successful. She not only gets the guy to cut the check, she also lands a job as a secretary at the insurance company. So now Susie has to worry about Tess saying the wrong thing at her job.
As for the standout one-liner of early Season 4, I of course go to Susie, commenting on magicians: “If he pulls one more quarter out of my ear, I’m gonna shove a rabbit up his ass.”
That zinger is a cut above Susie’s tried-and-true F-bombs, which don’t bother me because the dialog’s rhythms are so musical. On a Venn diagram, “MMM” has the biggest overlap in TV history of cute pastel sets with unfettered swearing.
In Season 4, Midge is finding her voice, and she might tackle specific 1960s issues going forward. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” found its voice in Season 1, episode one. I’m still enamored by it.
Top 250 trivia
- “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” ranks No. 90 among IMDb’s Top 250 TV shows, with an 8.7 rating.
- “Gilmore Girls” rates an 8.2, and “Bunheads” comes in at 7.6.
Click here to visit our “Gilmore Girls,” “Bunheads” and “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Zone.