Swanson, Kiorein, and Stairmaster approach the end of Redwall season 1 as Matthias fights a giant hypnotic snake and Cluny continues his descent into madness. Plus, a look at the great horse names from the Kentucky Derby and the possibility of a gorilla rampage. Want to request a future bonus episode? Donate to our Buy Me a Coffee page https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tvtuners
The 2001 film Legally Blonde has had a surprisingly long pop culture life. Mainly thanks to being a comedy film in the early 00s that hasn’t aged horribly and by virtue of Reese Witherspoon’s performance as Elle. Elle works as a character because the audience knows beyond her all-pink, all-blonde appearance she is smart and capable. Well, what if we got to see her before all that character development in the movie? What if she got to experience a similar fish-out-of-water scenario before going to Harvard Law?
Elle, Prime Video’s new prequel series, explores that well-trodden territory and many more. The show follows Elle (Lexi Minetree) a popular 16-year-old who has her upcoming school year all figured out. Her parents’ announcement that they are moving to Seattle for work dashes those plans. This being the mid-90s, everyone in school is sporting the very best in Cobain style. Elle stands out like a bright pink thumb. Will she be able to fit in, or will she learn that being yourself is more important? The answer can be found in the film Legally Blonde. What Elle offers instead is stale teen drama and punchlines that land with a thud.
Minetree does a fantastic job mimicking Witherspoon’s mannerisms, and her version of the character remains upbeat despite constant challenges. The series finds a real strength in the relationship between Elle and her mother Eva (June Diane Raphael). Raphael constantly steals the scene as both a reliable comedic presence and a source of comfort for her daughter. Their eventual conflict is the most engaging part of the season. The rest of the cast suffers from a lack of appealing development. Characters like Elle’s bully-to-friend Kimberly (Chandler Kinney) have recognizable arcs, but not enough care put into seeing them through.
What ultimately sinks Elle is a lack of stakes. We know she ends up being the same person years later with no ill effects from her brief time as a social outcast. This puts a damper on any consistent development for Elle herself, but it also saps the viewers of their investment. Why should I care about this event that mattered so little to our heroine that it never even comes up in the movie? Instead, the series doubles down with a love triangle that we know leads nowhere and a conspiracy plot involving the school’s secretary. There’s no reason to care about any of it because it reveals nothing new about Elle or the people around her.
With the irrelevant subtitle From the World of Legally Blonde, Elle is yet another prequel that refuses to justify its existence. If there’s a “world” to this franchise, it certainly isn’t expanded on in any meaningful way. Instead, we’re treated to a direct-to-video level effort that lasts nearly 8 hours. A series where every winking nod to the films you remember feels like an insult. There are no stakes, no growth, and no reason to care.
Elle is currently streaming on Prime Video.
A little over 30 years separates the two film versions of Cape Fear, and you can feel the differences plainly when comparing them. The movies follow the same general story with changes that reflect the mood of the era. For instance, the Scorsese version darkens the tale with more lurid thrills. It’s telling that, 35 years later, the latest update isn’t a movie but a prestige miniseries. What was once a 2 hour film has become a 10 hour TV show. It’s certainly the closest the new series gets to capturing the vibe of our modern times.
For the unfamiliar, Cape Fear follows convicted felon Max Cady (Javier Bardem) recently released from prison and determined to seek revenge on his lawyer. Max does this by threatening him and his family in ways that signal that murder is on the mind. In the Apple TV+ series, there are now two lawyers for Max to target, and they happen to be married. Anna and Tom Bowden (Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson) were Max’s attorney and the prosecutor, respectively, during his trial. This element adds some new wrinkles to the story and certainly fares better than the subplots involving their children, Natalie (Lily Collias) and Zack (Joe Anders).
Part of what makes the previous versions so interesting is the powerlessness that the Bowdens experience. Cady, memorably portrayed by Robert Mitchum and Robert De Niro, is the lynchpin and the most engaging presence. Javier Bardem may not be a “Robert” but he still finds a new spin on the character. Bardem’s take is more subdued, letting the rage and resentment slowly boil as he enacts his revenge plot. It’s no surprise that the scenes involving him are the most striking. After all, he’s the only active character in the story. Everyone else is simply responding to him.
Adams and Wilson, in contrast, try to add some depth to their characters, but the writing fails them. Adams fares better mainly because she quickly picks up on the obvious threats Cady makes. Wilson and their godawful children take much longer to pick up on it. The 10 episode run also requires more story, which means Cady’s plan gets needlessly complex. It also means more time spent with the dysfunctional Bowden kids. We explore Natalie’s crush on a friend and Zack’s mysterious gamer girlfriend more to fill time than provide any useful insights. It becomes a welcome relief when harm comes their way because the plot is finally moving.
This new Cape Fear boasts Scorsese and Spielberg as executive producers. While their actual contributions were minimal at best, the mere presence of their names seems to have affected the quality of the directing. The frequent visual nods to the 90s film get grating after a while, but there’s still plenty of visual flair. At its best, the series gets great mileage out of using shadow and color, specifically teal, to create a foreboding atmosphere. Add in the references to Bernard Herrmann’s excellent score, and you have a style that captures your attention.
It’s a shame, then, that so much of the plot fails to do the same. Cape Fear’s stacked cast is let down by writing that drags out the story to the detriment of everything else. Bardem is the only one who comes away from this unscathed. In a strange way, that ends up being the one thing that best captures the spirit of the films. The portrayal of Cady remains the most intriguing part. The rest fails to realize its potential. Maybe they’ll do it better in 30 years.
Cape Fear is currently streaming on Apple TV. New episodes air on Fridays.
Swanson, Kiorein, and Stairmaster continue through Redwall as they make it to two uneventful episodes. Along the way they discuss the constant betrayals by newcomers and the worst siege attempt of all time. Plus, the Shrek Rave is coming and you’ll never guess where. Want to request a future bonus episode? Donate to our Buy Me a Coffee page https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tvtuners
In retrospect, the name should have clued me in to the problem. Has anyone ever typed “NSFW” and thought the “S” stood for “suitable”? How many times was the title of Mindy Kaling’s new comedy workshopped before they landed on “suitable” over “safe”? This is far from the biggest issue plaguing Not Suitable for Work, but it serves as a perfect guide to its myriad of problems. At first glance, this seems like a fine, if generic, title that promises a bit of risqué comedy. Only after watching do you realize how far off that assessment is.
The Hulu comedy follows the Mindy Kaling style of being both full of pithy one-liners and devoid of actual jokes. Set in Manhattan, the series follows a group of five twenty-somethings as they search for professional success and personal happiness. Vague premise aside, there is one potentially interesting conceit here: our cast of Gen Z workaholics aren’t exactly a friend group. Instead, we meet two separate groups residing in neighboring apartments. This theoretically allows the cast to interact in ways that should be fun but rarely are.
In one apartment, we have AJ (Ella Hunt) a Boston transplant ready to start her new career, and Abby (Avantika Vandanapu) a fashion designer. Next door, we have a trio of bros, including the insufferable nepo-baby Josh (Jack Martin), med student with dreams of acting Kel (Nicolas Duvernay), and Davis (Will Angus), who is desperate for love. It’s a cast full of young, pretty faces who have zero chemistry with each other. Hunt and Angus fare the best, which might be why they’re quickly turned into the show’s Ross and Rachel. Martin’s Josh, meanwhile, falls on the wrong side of the love-to-hate tightrope thanks to some poor attempts at character development.
The characters aren’t the only element suffering from a lack of identity. It’s not enough to call the show’s writing cliched because it reaches a level that is almost admirable. Not Suitable pulls from an array of hackneyed trends to really complete the generic tableau. You have your rom-com cliches like a meet-cute between co-workers that quickly turns complicated. There are workplace bromides like demanding bosses with the added bonus of harkening to The Devil Wears Prada. We even get classic sitcom tropes like misunderstandings that spiral out of control. This all adds to the prevalent feeling of déjà vu you get when watching the series. You’ve seen this all before, done better.
It’s hard to tell who specifically this program is for. A good hangout sitcom requires characters worth investing in. A romantic comedy needs a romance you root for. Other programming exists for the Gen Z demographic. What you’re left with is a show with no apparent purpose beyond delivering lukewarm jokes while tired scenarios play out. The awkward title might actually be the most interesting thing about Not Suitable for Work.
Not Suitable for Work is currently streaming on Hulu.
