Wednesday Review

Things are about to get a little kooky on Netflix because Wednesday is incoming on the 23rd of November! Director and Executive Producer Tim Burton makes his Netflix Debut, this time Burton is putting a spin on the quirkiest family in pop culture: The Addams Family. Tim Burton, spooky vibes, dark and mysterious characters, teen drama and a Danny Elfman score, Wednesday sounds like my type of dream show. Wednesday is great fun to watch full of intrigue and dark comedy. The core family members: Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Thing and Lurch all feature although it is perhaps the most interesting member of the family Wednesday that is the protagonist. Thank you to Netflix for allowing me to watch the series before release, I am so excited to share my review with you all! Read on for my non-spoiler review. 

Although Wednesday breaks no moulds with its narrative, the generic teen drama is enjoyable. The predictable narrative twists are still fun to watch as they are uncovered, due to a stellar cast and fantastic visuals. Whilst Wednesday has elements that are at the very core of all teen supernatural shows: relationship drama, family tension, high school friction, it still feels refreshing, there is a sophistication which must stem from those in charge of the show. The compact episode size of the show also helps, Wednesday has 8 episodes rather than 20 plus, which means there's no time for excess relationship parings, side quests and endless deaths. 

We are introduced to Nevermore, the school for outsiders, and Wednesday's (Jenna Ortega) new adventure. Wednesday sent to the school by her parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman), must attempt to master her psychic abilities whilst investigating a killing spree that is terrorizing the local school. Along the way she is thrown into close quarters with unicorn lover Enid (Emma Myers), the pair sharing a visually juxtaposed room. The cast is rounded out by Xavier (Percy Hynes White) a tortured artist type, Bianca (Joy Sunday) the queen-bee Siren, plant obsessed teacher Marilyn Thornhill (Christina Ricci), town sheriff Donovan (Jamie Mcshane) and his son Tyler (Hunter Doohan) and Principal Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie). The show is perfectly cast with Jenna Ortega giving a particularly iconic performance that rivals Ricci's performance in the same role in the live action Addams Family films. Ortega is captivating, fully embodying Wednesday, delivering each dark comedic line with precision, her dance scene is incredible, and her ability to not blink when she is onscreen is impressive and just a little unnerving. Gwendoline Christie gives one her best performances. Whilst Catherine Zeta Jones and Luis Guzman only have guest roles in the series, they leave you wanting more, I really hope we get an Addams Family season which gives the duo more time to profess their love for one another to Wednesday's disgust. 

Aesthetically Wednesday excels, fully committing itself to its gloomy vibe. Recently, it's become quite the tread to have a gloomy aesthetic, however most shows struggle to create the perfect balance of gloom instead creating a bleak or beige look which does nothing for me, yet Wednesday doesn't struggle at all, in fact Burton has brought his recognizable style to the show. But this isn't the overly famous Burton style full of swirls and clowns, its more subtle, with a dark colour palette, slightly unusual camera angles and themes such as a poor child parent relationship and a love for misfits. Burton's artwork also features, which is great to see. It wouldn't be right for a Burton project not to feature either some sort of fair or circus and Wednesday does not disappoint. Costume designer Colleen Atwood gives us some fantastic costumes, her reimagining of Wednesdays traditional white shirt and black dress is fully committed to the character of Wednesday who cannot wear colour due to an allergy that sees her skin fall from the bones. The modern take on Wednesdays whole wardrobe is faultless and no doubt we will be seeing more black and white ensembles in stores in the coming months. Everything about this show is about to be ICONIC. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesday loving every moment from start to finish, the show deserves at least another two seasons. The story possibilities are endless, especially when the cast and aesthetics are this perfect. For me it was an eye-opening experience to watch Wednesday before everyone else, I got to enjoy something without seeing other views, to fully embrace the darkness and the sadistic comedy. If you are looking for a scary show, or a full-blown stereotypical Tim Burton creation then you may not enjoy Wednesday as much as I did. Although in my opinion Wednesday is a great example of Burton's work and style.  Wednesday is a terrifically dark and mystical show, Jenna Ortega perfect, easily one of the best shows of 2022. 

If you want to read more about Wednesday Addams and her media appearances read my post on Future of The Force:https://thefutureoftheforce.com/2022/11/29/family-values-the-evolution-of-wednesday-addams/

Thank you for reading, leave a comment below xx