Mrs. Maisel balances sauciness, vulnerability
The Show: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Season 1, Episode 2 The Moment: The fitness class Fifteen flawless women in pastel shorts and sweaters take an exercise class, early-1960s style, including Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) and her friend Imogene (Bailey De Young). Midge’s husband just left her for his secretary. But as they talk, the friends never stop moving, in perfect unison with the class.
The women pick up elastic bands, stretch their arms wide and pump. At the same time, they rise on their toes and high-speed-tiptoe backwards. “These girls go to secretarial school,” Imogene says. “That gives them entrée to our husbands. Then our husbands entrée right into them.”
The women lie on their backs, raise their knees and twist from side to side. “The worst part is, I didn’t suspect a thing,” Midge says.
The women tuck bottles between their feet and do sit-ups. “Stop breathing so hard,” Imogene warns Midge. “You’re starting to look like them.” She gestures to the back, where grim-faced women are really pushing themselves.
“The divorcees?” Midge whispers. She touches her brow. Sweat. Uh oh.
Sometimes you hear the words “cheeky” or “madcap” and want to run the other way. But this series comes from Amy Sherman-Palladino, the mistress of madcap ( Gilmore Girls). Having characters talk at top-speed while executing perfect co-ordination is vintage her and it’s charming.
So is Mrs. Maisel, a plucky dame who was happy to bury her dreams in wife-and motherhood, but instead finds her voice in adversity — as an unlikely standup comedian. Brosnahan inhabits a sweet spot that winks at Midge’s era but doesn’t shortchange her sauciness or her vulnerability. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel streams on Amazon Prime Video. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop-culture moments. She usually appears Tuesday and Thursday.