Weekend Watch: Wednesday, Goodnight Oppy, The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special
A kooky Addams Family spin-off, a Mars mission and festive fun from James Gunn
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, an Addams family member stakes out her own territory, a Mars rover explores a new world, and the Guardians discover Christmas. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
Can an Addams Family story work without (for the most part, at least) the Addams Family? While we’re not sure anyone is queuing up to watch Pugsley, TV veterans Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) and director Tim Burton (you don’t need me to list his credits, do you?) have certainly found a way to make Wednesday work.
As a teen-centric high school drama-meets-monster-murder-mystery, Wednesday blends the genres effectively, anchored by a spot-on performance from Jenna Ortega. As the none-more-serious Addams child, Ortega nails the mannerisms of a character that for years has been seen as owned by Christina Ricci in the movies (as a grace note that works without feeling like fan service, Ricci also has a great role in the show).
We’re introduced to this version of Wednesday as she’s expelled from her latest regular school. In a last-ditch attempt to find her an educational institution that can cope with her, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) enrol their daughter in their alma mater, Nevermore Academy. Here, outcasts and the supernatural co-exist – the student body includes werewolves, vampires, sirens and more.
Yet even here, Wednesday finds a way to feel like an outsider, though she slowly starts to make friends and – because this is a high school drama – considers dating. Though you do think she’d be happier carbon-dating corpses.
The scripts are full of witty, morbid lines for Ortega to deliver with dark humour, and while some of her schoolmates fall into slightly cliched clique territory, it’s all handled with grace and style. The supporting cast is also without flaw; the likes of Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome and notably Emma Myers as Wednesday’s perma-cheery lupine roommate all helping the show succeed.
Though Burton slightly tones down his usual dark and quirky visual style for the show, there’s enough of it to make the series look good. Wednesday doesn’t challenge the heights of the two live-action movies, hewing closer to the likes of Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, but it’s certainly worth a watch.
The first season of Wednesday is on Netflix now. I’ve seen all eight episodes.
Image Credit: Amazon Studios
Space nerd alert! I’ve talked before of my love for all things to do with space exploration and NASA in particular, whether it’s fictional or in the case of Good Night Oppy, entirely factual (with just a little help from Industrial Light & Magic, which created visual effects for moments where there is no footage of the Rover).
Ryan White, who has previously made documentaries about Serena Williams and the attempt to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage, here assembles archive footage and new interviews to chart the Jet Propulsion Lab team’s efforts to successfully land the Opportunity Rover on Mars, in this case, Opportunity.
It’s history, so hardly a spoiler that despite setbacks, Opportunity performed beyond the specialists’ wildest dreams – originally intended to operate for 90 days, it would go on trundling across the Red Planet and sending reports back for 15 years. And though we know the mission is a huge success, the documentary still captures the highs and lows of the humans involved, having you rooting for everything to work out. And yes, you get emotional when “Oppy” finally stops talking to its handlers back on Earth.
The archive material is by far the most compelling, though the context of the new talking head pieces is essential. The visual effects work, though naturally impressive, is almost distracting at times, though I did welcome the clear-headed narration of Angela Bassett.
I had the opportunity (no pun intended) to meet one of Oppy’s sibling rovers, Perseverance, at JPL during a press day for The Martian, and that tends to form a more palpable connection. Regardless, this is a documentary well told about smart people doing something amazing for good reasons. And what’s better than that?
Good Night Oppy is on Prime Video now.
Image Credit: Disney+
Staying with space, it’s time to head once more to James Gunn’s particular corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As if it wasn’t enough of a job making Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (due out next year), Gunn set himself (and his team) the challenge of shooting a holiday special featuring some of the Guardians characters at the same time, marking the second Marvel Special this year after Werewolf By Night’s spooky season chills.
Christmas Specials run the risk of being cloying and cheesy (ask anyone who has seen the Star Wars version or one of far too many sitcom festive episodes that choke on tinsel), but Gunn’s love of subversion means that the Guardians example has plenty of snark to go with its heart-warming stuff.
With several of the Guardians on Knowhere, they discover that it’s nearly Christmas, and decide to try and cheer up Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) in the wake of Gamora’s loss during Avengers: Infinity War (and the fact that her earlier era version now kicking around the galaxy wants nothing to do with him).
Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) take this effort to a ridiculous degree, rocketing off to Earth to “gift” none other than Kevin Bacon (appearing as himself) to their mournful colleague. What follows is a silly riff on Holiday traditions with bags of charm.
Klementieff and Bautista throw themselves into the story, welcoming the chance to have more of the spotlight, while there’s a catchy song about aliens trying to figure out Christmas, co-written and performed by Rhett Miller and his band The Old ‘97s.
If you’re an MCU completist, this is like a Christmas chocolate box – sweet enough, and you only need so much. But it’ll certainly put you in the mood to see more from this offbeat Marvel team ahead of their return in 2023. Will it become a hardy Christmas perennial? That’s less easy to guess, but there’s fun to be found.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is on Disney+ now.