Wednesday normalizes the outcasts as Tim Burton indulges every The Addams Family whim.
ThisWednesdayreview contains no spoilers.
The Addams Familyis iconic.
Created by Chas Addams, the single panel cartoons debuted in 1938 inThe New Yorkermagazine.
Director Tim Burton is an obvious fanboy, eager to put his unique spin on the family dynamic.
TheNetflixseriesWednesdayis an original spinoff.
Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday Addams without much family support, the way the character prefers it.
The series opens with the traditional dysfunctional unity.
Wednesday protects Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) from bullies because only she is allowed to torture her brother.
Her ghastly genius sets the tone immediately.
Swimming with piranhas in a school pool is all fun and games until someone loses a testicle.
Then its a one-way ticket to Nevermore Academy, a place which encourages artful dodgers.
ForThe Addams Family, a plot is merely a unit to hang gags on.Wednesdayis a simple story.
Itt does not make an appearance.
Yet, this person uses the supernatural, invoking both dark magic and Mary ShellysFrankenstein.
This should put her in solid with Wednesday, but the crack remains.
The internal logic is tested on a few fronts.
The Wednesday Addams character was originated for series TV by Lisa Loring, who remains the spookiest.
Chloe Grace Moretz, who voiced the character in the animatedThe Addams Familyfilms, is the ookiest.
The kookiest reimagining may be Melissa Hunter, who played her in the sadly underseen YouTube seriesAdult Wednesday Addams.
The gold standard, however, is Christina Riccis embodiment inthe Barry Sonnenfeld films.
She appears in the Netflix series to endorse and champion a new generation with a harsher take.
This has little to do with screen time.
He brings lust and a soft heart, all the better for piercing, but leaves the madness behind.
His eyes bring more sadness than mischief when he is not lost in amorous entangling.
He must be given more to do ifWednesdaymoves on to a second season.
He is the black sheep in a very colorful family.
Danny Elfmans score is a major character, not only thematically, but as an emotional delivery system.
It makes the chills creepier, the jokes funnier, and the tingles tangible.
The introduction music still features the harpsichord, but does not melodically cop from the original theme.
The series leaves the snapping to the secret society.
The Nevermore Academy student body is a diverse group of contrarians, eagerly played.
Myers is consistently enthusiastic, and makes a very effective contrast to Ortegas Wednesday.
The duct tape which delineates the room expresses this great divide with emotional clarity.
Joy Sunday mixes vulnerability with imperiousness as Bianca Barclay, big siren on campus.
Off campus, Hunter Doohans latte-pouring Tyler Galpin is a multidimensional character in many ways.
He is a foil, a creep, a loving friend, and trusted ally.
Gwendoline Christie fromGame of Thronesis a tricky Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy.
Very protective of her students, she is always a veiled threat away from being the problem.
Honored to just be there, she loves her pupils to death.
Introductions and prefs are exquisitely laid out.
The bright contrast of the surrounding town carries its own freakish atmosphere.
Wednesdaydoes some disservice toThe Addams Familyitself.
There is an uncomfortable twist to the family dynamic.
Wednesday doesnt want to be anything like her mother, but Morticia is a rebel youths dream mom.
As are the ever-ulterior motives Wednesday has for estranging herself from the cheerfully strange supernatural student body.
Like any school, Nevermore has its cliques.
Fangs, which are vampires, Furs are werewolves, sirens are called Scales, and Gorgons are Stoners.
A nicer group of marginalized creatures you may never meet, and talk about afterward.
They are at odds with the title character who is the epitome of odd.
The peer pressure feels displaced.
Wednesday has a mother and a therapist, isnt that enough torture?
But making her an adversary to the adversary bothers me on a cellular level.
Didnt she see the way those werewolves played frisbee?
And her classmates have their priorities intact.
Wait, were never eating that cake, are we?
Gorgons know whats important.
Wednesdayis creepily cheerful, and as delightfully subversive as the best of the franchise.
The series dynamic resemblesChilling Adventures of Sabrina,which owed a great debt to Burton.
Wednesday delivers a promising opening season, which should be given room to grow, like a black dahlia.
Like a monkeys paw, I hope it comes back.
Wednesdaywill drop all eight episodes on Netflix on Nov. 23.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5
