The thing deserved an Emmy for every finger ✌️.
The TV series “Wednesday” is out on Netflix . Even if you haven’t watched The Addams Family, you probably remember this gloomy girl with a hard look and two pigtails. The film was released 30 years ago, its audience has matured, and the main character too (albeit slower than us). What has she become?
What is the series about
The new Wednesday is played by Jenna Ortega , but the episodes will feature all members of the family. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the audience greeted the series very warmly – a rating of about 8.3 on Kinopoisk and IMDb.
The plot in one sentence:Wednesday is transferred to the Nevermore Academy, now she has to find a common language with her classmates, master psychic abilities, stop a series of murders in the town and solve the mystery of her parents.
I waited for the return of the Addamses with apprehension. The first half of the season was directed by Tim Burton – it would be time for him to take on a creepy family, but his remakes do not always fall into the original (remember the same “Alice in Wonderland” or “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”). And in the hands of Netflix , a story about the coming of age and socialization of a gloomy teenager is in danger of going down the path of Sabrina or Riverdale. Here you have a strange hero with superpowers, and a paranormal threat, and the potential for a love line and conflict between schoolchildren.
It is impossible to imagine that the gloomy Wednesday eventually made friends with everyone and found a guy. What then will remain of our beloved sadist and how else to show the development of the hero?
“I have been compared to Wednesday all my life because of my sarcasm and dry humor, oddly enough,” the actress said. I was also surprised by the similarity, although Ortega does not play a carbon copy: the grown-up Wednesday has become darker, wittier and more elegant.
The most memorable moment of the show is Wednesday’s dance from the school party: crazy, emotional. And in some places passionate – this is how Morticia danced, so her connection with her mother comes through, which is important for the plot. And the movements were invented by Ortega herself.
2. Morticia Addams is still the epitome of elegance.
Morticia and Gomez appear in just two episodes, with Fred Armisen as Fester Addams in one more. The first emotion from the appearance of Wednesday’s parents is bewilderment. Don’t get me wrong, 53-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones gracefully revived the gothic look, but… Looks tired. Those who love the 1991 cult film will fall into the trap of constantly comparing characters.
Morticia from Netflix is noticeably older, she is no longer dragged into hellish corsets for an exaggerated hourglass silhouette. And only after the series you understand that Zeta-Jones opens the hero from a new side: now Morticia is a truly sensitive and wise mother. You empathize with her complicated relationship with her daughter.
What can not be said about other family members – they seem to be superfluous here. I never got used to Luis Guzman (“Narcos”, “Traffic”, “Carlito’s Way”) in the role of Gomez, he simply did not have enough screen time. Yes, and Uncle Fester was very little.
3. Wednesday from the 90s is also back – now she’s a redhead
Little Wednesday in the 1991/93 films was played by Christina Ricci. In the series, she has the role of botany teacher Marilyn Thornhill: the only teacher without oddities (but this remains to be seen).
Two Wednesdays in the series – well, how can they work on the same site? Ortega admitted in an interview that she never talked to Ricci about heroin.
“I didn’t want to repeat what she did 30 years ago,” Ortega says of the role. Our heroes are two very different people. She [Christina Ricci] did not interfere with my performance, but at first it was hard for me to relax in her presence and warm up before filming.
In any case, the actresses hit it off and praise each other in front of the media, and the reference in the series turned out to be the cutest.
4 Brienne Of Tarth Protects Children Again
Gwendoline Christie ( Game of Thrones , The Sandman) played Nevermore director Larissa Weems. Vampires, werewolves, sirens and other unusual teenagers study at the academy. Normes, that is, ordinary residents of the city, do not like them, although under the supervision of the director, schoolchildren have nothing to fear.
Larisa has an interesting story, she once studied at this academy with Morticia and was inferior to her in everything. Is she now trying to annoy her daughter and keeps some secrets? It is interesting to follow the character, and even more interesting to watch the transformation of Gwendolyn Christie herself. The actress says she has never felt so beautiful before:
“For the first time I felt beautiful on the screen. Colleen Atwood [costume designer] looks at you and skillfully highlights your strengths. She made me feel that my body is really beautiful, I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
5. Metallica and Rolling Stones cello covers. You will definitely like them!
The music for the series was written by Chris Bacon and Danny Elfman, who had previously worked with Burton on Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands.
Wednesday plays Paint It Black on the roof of the academy and maniacally performs Vivaldi as people run around in terror. The audience liked the music so much that there are now a lot of cuts from the series on the network. Beware – they contain spoilers. Better watch the original, and for the preview, hold the cello cover of Nothing Else Matters – the musicians on Reddit say that Luka Sulic’s performance is exactly the same as in the first season.
6. The thing is annealing. Hand paints nails and dares
The Addams family pet has a completely independent role.
Tim Burton wanted the shooting to be the same as in the old films. Therefore, the stump is not entirely incorporeal – it is controlled by Victor Dorobantu, a magician and illusionist. The actor gesticulated with his right hand, crawled on the floor, rode a cart, and everything was removed in post-production.
In the series, the Thing becomes an accomplice in all of Wednesday’s antics. True, often he is simply bribed with hand cream, a nail file or a cuticle spatula. And sometimes he steals silver moon polish himself.
Usually the magician improvised on the set, inventing gestures as he went. It came out profitable.
7. Black humor – quotes have already been stolen into memes
We are all a little Wednesday. We love to sleep in…
“– Attempted murder – how would it look in your personal file?
– Terrible. Everyone would think that I don’t get things done.”
… we scold social networks, but still we sit in them,
What is the result
The first season looks in one breath, although it could not do without minuses. In some places, typical dialogues on socially important topics enrage – not all of them fit well into the plot. The educational process at the academy is almost not shown, and other students are revealed with light strokes, for a sketch.
The emphasis is on Wednesday’s detective investigation, but let’s write it down as a plus: the showrunners tried to confuse the viewer and scatter more tricks.
The main thing is that “Wednesday” has retained the spirit of the films of the 90s, but it’s better not to compare it with the classics and tune in to a new story. So get more pleasure from watching, the series will go perfectly for a couple of dank evenings.
