TV is, once again, king. Certainly there have been some big film openings with “Toy Story 5” leading the pack and “Minions and Monsters,” which is, despite the dire predictions of the entertainment trade magazines, a hit with audiences and critics alike. For adults, “The Invite” and “Disclosure Day” have also gotten some eyeballs and “The Odyssey” is the big event of the summer. But this is all to say that TV, primarily streaming, holds the most sway over us all.
July openings on the small screen are either wonderful or dreadful, with very little in between. But as a lead-off, I’d rather talk about the wonderful and leave the dreadful (entertaining in their own way) for later.
“Zorro,” that old chestnut, continues to entertain. And now, there’s a new cape in town and he speaks French. Jean Dujardin, an Oscar winner for “The Artist,” is Don Diego de la Vega, f/k/a Zorro. It’s 1821, and Diego hung up his mask 20 years ago. Married to lovely Gabriela, he is the assistant to his father, Don Alejandro, the mayor of Los Angeles. Alejandro is as charming as he is corrupt. Diego is as uninspiring as he is upstanding. Diego has progressive ideas and a rigid moral backbone. When it’s finally his turn, his father refuses to give way and it is only Alejandro’s massive coronary that propels Diego into the spotlight and onto the hot seat. With a population just above 500, Los Angeles is filled with banditos, corrupt developers, poverty and crime that he seems powerless to stop. Only his faithful servant, the mute Bernardo, knows what to do. He pushes Diego, against his will, back into the closet where his mask, cape, sword and leather accoutrements have been waiting for him these last years. No one is more frustrated by Diego’s ambivalence than Bernardo, unless it is his very bored wife Gabriela. Still, Bernardo persists and Diego dons the attire and vaults his horse, Tornado.
His first order of business? Rescue Gabriela who has been jailed for vagrancy in a case of mistaken identity. Soon in Zorro’s arms, she is smitten enough to break her vows of fidelity. Both are thrilled with this turn of events, but it will cause complications beyond what Diego has envisioned.
This series, played seriously, is laugh-out-loud hilarious with sight gags, clever dialogue, delicious character roles and a bit of history rolled into the mix. Dujardin is delightful and warm in a role that calls for restraint. He doesn’t ham it up and takes his wide-eyed pratfalls with aplomb. Audrey Dana as Gabriela has a fine line to walk when she embraces what she thinks is her infidelity. She is the straight man to every other character and without her, many of the jokes would fail. Salvador Ficara, the mute Bernardo, whose inelegant gestures are reminiscent of a bad game of charades, is never the brunt of a joke, always the instigator. Grégory Gadebois is the sergeant of the garrison. A source of comic relief, he has, admittedly, missed Zorro for the last 20 years. Seeing him unsuccessfully come up against Zorro is a delight, no less when he tumbles into a massive depression when he thinks he’s killed his “enemy.”
I have deliberately avoided revealing any of the sight gags, jokes, humorous storylines because you must discover them yourselves. Truly one of the best series out there, it is comedy par excellence with a dose of social justice and revolutionary history.
Now playing on MHz Choice, reason enough to sign up for a subscription.
“Elle” is a prequel series that imagines the high school life of Elle Woods, the deceptive airhead of “Legally Blonde.” Elle leads a pretty-in-pink life with acolytes, spa days, tanning by the beach and convertible rides down the fashionable streets of Beverly Hills. Life as she knew it is overturned in an instant when her father uproots his pampered wife and daughter to Seattle. Dr. Woods, plastic surgeon to the stars, has botched a high-profile nose job and must get out of town until the bleeding can be staunched, so to speak. From a mansion in the flats to a colonial in Seattle, there’s a lot of adjusting to be done. She isn’t just the new girl at school; she’s an alien. From mani-pedis, she’s landed in grunge and eco-warriors. How will she find her crowd? Is there one for her? Every episode unwraps parts of a new Elle where making friends is a challenge to be met.
Lexi Minetree is a terrific Elle. She effectively channels the shallow to find her deeper waters. June Diane Raphael is Elle’s mother Eva, a case study in superficiality and arrested development. Tom Everett Scott is Wyatt Woods, the deposed king of rhinoplasty, whose growth mirrors that of his daughter. All three are a pleasure to watch along with an outstanding supporting cast.
As the series progressed, it became more engrossing and universal in its appeal. Lucky for us, Elle still has one more year of high school.
Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
“Little House on the Prairie” is a new take on the Laura Ingalls Wilder novels with, for me, a new beginning. Accurate retelling or not, it is thoroughly engrossing and includes perspectives that were missing from the original Michael Landon series.
The Ingalls family has been exiled from father Charles’ family in Wisconsin. What he has done remains something of a mystery throughout, although hints are given. We experience his personality early on as you see an unprepared man in a poorly equipped covered wagon lead his family blindly into the Indian country of Kansas. The promise of free land by the government has set him on this path, although the source of the offer is suspect.
City dwellers, Charles and his very unhappy wife Caroline, are ill-equipped to start life in the wilderness with their two warring daughters, Laura and Mary. There’s shelter to be built and money to earn, and Charles is starting from scratch on all of this. As new as this settlement is, hierarchical lines have already been drawn. Caroline Ingalls is barely on the right side of Harriet Oleson, self-proclaimed social leader of the town; White Sun, mother of Laura’s best friend Little Eagle, is not.
This newest incarnation of “Little House on the Prairie” is a well-written story of survival, sibling rivalry and racism with deep character development that will capture your imagination. Creator/developer Rebecca Sonnenshine has built a world of possibilities and a path for us to follow.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Worth watching:
“Not Suitable for Work,” the Mindy Kaling comedy where he loves her, she loves someone else who in turn loves someone else and then she changes her mind. A workplace comedy where everyone is inappropriate in how they approach work, life and love. A charming cast sells this show. No new ground is broken but “Not Suitable for Work” is an enjoyable watch, so give it a try.
Now streaming on Hulu.
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
