Capsule Reviews (17)

The White House Plumbers (mini-series on Max)

I know the story of Watergate fairly well, but here’s a fresh take, told as high black comedy, primarily from the point of view of Watergate plumbers Howard Hunt (played by Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux). Playing it as farce fits the story and characters—whatever success and respect Hunt and Liddy may have achieved working for, respectively, the CIA and FBI, as political fixers (they called themselves plumbers because they promised to plug the leaks), they are portrayed as bungling amateurs ith delusions of grandeur. Too caught up in self regard and confidence—and, indeed, initially only a sideshow to Nixon’s re-election campaign—they tripped themselves up and ultimately brought down the entire administration. (As shown in the series, those in the campaign wondered why dirty tricks were even necessary with polls showing Nixon comfortably well out in front of his opponent, McGovern, who was in meltdown.) Indeed, in many ways, when one looks at the basic incompetence at the heart of the January 6, 2021, attempted coup—and in Trump’s brain trust in fighting the election results—it’s hard not to see that the GOP hasn’t changed all that much. Nor has the far right’s zealous and somewhat irrational hatred and fear for liberals, also on display in the show.

Theroux nearly steals the show as Liddy—while Hunt clearly is as much a true believer in their cause, Liddy makes Hunt seem like the sane one. (In one hilarious scene, as Liddy makes a presentation of proposed dirty trick operations, each one more half-baked than the other, Hunt desperately tries to shut Liddy up when he is unable to read the room of Nixon staffers who are appalled at the inanity and extremes of their suggestions). Ultimately, however, it’s Lena Heady as Hunt’s wife, Dorothy, who steals the show. A competent agent herself, Dorothy is the glue that holds their family together and tolerates her husband’s efforts to get back in the game to salve his ego. But in the penultimate episode of the series, in which she is the focus, both the character and the actress become a force of nature as she tries to open her husband’s and Liddy’s eyes to the fact that they are being made scapegoats. She knows there is no true loyalty in their world and they owe nothing to those who would gladly have them take the fall for all the President’s men.

Powerless (CW)

Powerless was a short lived mid-season sitcom that only aired 9 of 12 episodes on NBC. I vaguely heard of the show and after it came across my radar again, I decided to seek it out and found it available for streaming free on the CW app.

Set in the DC universe, actress Venessa Hudgens plays Emily Locke, who is hired at a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises in a second-tier metropolis called Charm City, as the new Director of Research and Development at Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises that develops products to help superheroes and ordinary people fight and protect themselves against supervillains and the collateral damage they cause.

The show has the trappings of a typical offbeat workplace comedy, á la The Office, Community, and Parks and Recreation. The strong cast of quirky characters includes, among others, Hudgens, Danny Pudi (who was in the cast of Community, and currently is part of the ensemble of another great workplace comedy, Mythic Quest), and Alan Tudyk. (As one would expect, Tudyk is particularly hilarious and unhinged, as Bruce Wayne’s jealous, resentful, narcissistic, and much less intelligent cousin.)

This is a comedy that definitely finds its rhythm with well defined quirky characters who drive the stories and comedy, with a bit of heart and character growth and self-revelation in most episodes. Unfortunately, I suspect that the show’s very low-rent special effects and production values, and the second/third string superheroes making cameos in the show, undercut its appeal. Existing in the netherworld between superheroes and sitcom comedy probably limited its appeal to comics fans and general audiences alike. In many ways, Disney+’s She Hulk mini-series more successfully pulls off what this show tried to do, more effectively integrating into the Marvel universe than this show does into the world of DC Comics.

Rogers: The Musical (YouTube/Disney Theme Parks)

After referencing and showing, largely as a goof, a short number from a fake (but hilarious) Broadway musical about Captain America called “Rogers: The Musical” in Disney Plus’s Hawkeye miniseries, Disney has produced an actual live full-length mini-musical (about 40 minutes) that currently be seen at its theme parks, including at Disney’s California Adventure.

In terms of catchy music and reflecting the tropes of musical theater, it’s a terrific and entertaining show, essentially telling much of Captain America’s story from his first film (Captain America; The First Avenger) to the first Avengers film, the Avengers, using the romance between Cap and Agent Carter as its spine. The musical includes fun songs and show stoppers like “Save the City” and “I Can Do This All Day!” The full show, with music and lyrics by musical theater stalwarts Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, is now viewable on YouTube.

Shortly before the San Diego Comic-Con, friends of mine told me they were planning to go to Disneyland (before attending Comic-Con), so I suggested they check it out. They loved it lol!