Susan Granger’s review of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Are you ready for the fifth and final season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”?
If you haven’t been watching, this witty, wisecracking dramedy revolves around a bright ‘n’ beautiful Manhattan wife and mother, Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), who, after discovering her husband Joel (Michael Zegen) cheating, marches into an East Village comedy club, grabs the microphone and electrifies the audience with an impromptu rant.
Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”) with her husband, Daniel Palladino, the concept profiles a Jewish woman who thinks she ‘has it all’ by 1950 standards only to discover she’s one helluva comedian.
It became the first TV show on a streaming platform to win an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series; subsequent seasons amassed 66 Emmy nominations with 20 wins.
Battling rival Sophie Lennon (Jane Lynch) and boosted by Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby), the first four seasons chronicle Midge’s journey as she pursues a career in the male-dominated stand-up comedy profession, aided by her intrepid manager, Susie Meyerson (Alex Borstein). In a flash-forward segment, it becomes obvious that Susie also becomes a major player – being ‘roasted’ at the famed Friars Club.
There was a major cultural shift for women and families during the 1950s and 1960s. While Midge is still living on the Upper West Side with her two young children and neurotic parents, Abe and Rose Weissman (Tony Shaloub, Marin Hinkle), she lands a job as a writer for a late-night TV talk show.
“Midge was like a female Lenny Bruce in the sense that she’s stream-of-consciousness and talking about her day-to-day,” explains Alex Borstein. “She’s extremely forward-thinking as a divorced woman raising kids.”
Tying up the plot’s loose strands in the last episodes, it become obvious that resilient Mrs. Maisel has hit the ‘big-time’ – but what does that really mean – for her and those around her? What are the consequences of her choices? And what has she sacrificed?
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season Five” is an insightful, unabashedly poignant 8 – streaming on Fridays on Prime Video.
