THE ACHIEVER | Paul Bettany
THE SHOW | Disney +’s WandaVision
THE EPISODE | “Episode 2” (January 15, 2021)
THE PERFORMANCE | Through the first two episodes of Disney +’s Marvel series, there is not a single cast do not have impressed us with their commitment to the retro seating style. Elizabeth Olsen is great because this alt-universe Wanda and Kathryn Hahn and Teyonah Parris, among others, make excellent additions to the Marvel empire.
But with his fearless physical comedy and excellent ‘drunk’ performance, it was Bettany who caught our attention the most in WandaVision‘s second episode. The setup was simple: in the BetowerWhen the sitcom outing swallowed, Vision accidentally swallowed a piece of Big Red gum, causing its internal synthesoid gears to be all too bad. The result, perhaps in the funniest scene of WandaVisionHis debut in two episodes was that Vision acted as if he was drinking only a fifth drink while he and Wanda wanted to perform a magic trick on the talented talent in the area.
Bettany’s sitcom version of Vision is as different from the Marvel movie character we got to know, silly and animated as it is in this strange TV world. But the cleaning-on-chewing gum vision was an even bigger room, and Bettany leaned into it on every occasion. It’s hard to decide which aspect of the performance tickles us the most: a dull vision stumbling on stage (‘I’m so excuse me, ”he said to a stair railing after crashing into it; his hysterical frustration at not being able to find the playing card his friend picked out of the deck; or the way in which Vision is incomprehensibly obscure: ‘The cabinet of riddles!’ while introducing his and Wanda’s last industry.
Given the disturbing nature of the sitcom life of Wanda and Vision, there will undoubtedly be more dramatic material for Bettany and Olsen. But in the meantime, Bettany’s enthusiastic comic performance was a joy and brought an old-fashioned, nostalgic charm that we never quite expected from a Marvel series.
HONEST NOTE | We will never hear “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” again after the same week Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, who used the tune as the soundtrack for Max and Zoey’s first time together. The absurdity of the moment was the hilarious performance of Skylar Astin, while Max realized that he had subconsciously separated from the classic baseball song to the smooth sounds of Boyz II Men’s ‘I’ll Make Love to You’. Astin struck between the two effortlessly woes different musical numbers, while expressing the frustration of his character over his predicament with a comic flare that we had in stitches. Then Astin brings a sweet vulnerable trait of Max’s concern about Zoey’s powers, which leads the couple to perform a heavy worthy duet of ‘A Moment Like This’. These are three song numbers, numerous laughs and one moving confession, all impressively delivered by Astin during a set of seven minutes. Extraordinary, indeed.
HONORABLE MENTION | Nobody – repeat, nobody – likes to see ‘Party Marty’ feel defeated. But we do enjoy the performance from which a dark Deeks comes NCIS: Los Angeles‘Eric Christian Olsen. After a rough day at FLETC, where “gramps” were just as old among the younger students, a creaking Deeks jumped on the phone with Kensi. “I’m not going to lie, honey – I’m actually struggling,” he reported as Olsen tapped into his alter ego’s rare muted side. Summarizing the multiple reality test he has been treated to this season, he bluntly said, ‘It’s like this bus coming out of nowhere and crashing into you, and your energy, your youth, your work, your bar and … virility. Kensi barely knew what to say while hearing the hubs, but her memory that “there is no crying in FLETC” restored Deeks’ sunny smile, even if only for a moment.
HONORABLE MENTION | Law & Order: SVUA “#BroadwayOnSVU” mission, to Unemploy the New York Stage Actors Unemployed by the Pandemic, saw some Tony nominees this week – Eva Noblezada (Hadestown) and Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice) – investigating the state of emergency of a cam girl whose ‘astonishing’ role-playing game has taken a dark turn. Noblezada’s Zoe called ‘Kendra Dream’ when Brightman’s Gabe, a longtime fan, raided her apartment and raped her. Gabe, indicated by Benson & Co., insisted that he and Zoe were in a real ‘relationship’ – and worse, he had to act as his own lawyer – and they set the scene for unnecessary attacks where Noblezada our Zoe ‘s repeated feeling. of offense, while Brightman alternated between cunning lawyer and disillusioned cretin. When Zoe refused to read back a “love” that Kendra had made during the crossing, Noblezada made us strongly applaud, while Brightman’s eruption that followed made us tremble.
Which performance (s) took off your socks this week? Tell us in Comments!