Y tu Luna también: Home Movie: The Princess Bride: Episode 3 – “Chapter Three: The Cliffs of Insanity” (2020)

This is an artifact from the early days of the pandemic, when a lot of people were staying home and those who could afford to were indulging their boredom. The entertainment industry was kind of at loose ends, and a lot of actors wanted to “pitch in” and make something that people could enjoy. Home Movie: The Princess Bride was an offering to come out of Quibi (we hardly knew ye.) Very simply, it was a bunch of actors reenacting parts from The Princess Bride, separately in their own homes, with the resulting footage edited together. It’s deliberately cheap and homemade-looking, and the roles are cast with multiple actors to allow as many people to get in on the action as possible.

Episode 3, as you can guess from the title, covers the Cliffs of Insanity scene. Vizzini, Inigo, and Fezzik have kidnapped Buttercup and are fleeing the pursuit of the Man in Black. He follows them up the cliffs, and Vizzini leaves Inigo to deal with the masked stranger if he reaches the top.

Each episode of the miniseries is 5-6 minutes long—that was Quibi for you!—but even in that time, we see some doubling up in the cast. At the start, we’re treated to an Office accountant reunion, with Angela Kinsey as Vizzini, Oscar Nuñez as Inigo, and Brian Baumgartner as Fezzik. Since Buttercup has no lines in this sequence, she’s mostly “played” by what appears to be one of Baumgartner’s kids as he pretends to climb.

The series is very clearly just a bunch of actors goofing around in their homes with homemade costumes and quick-and-convenient props, which is very much the point. It elicits memories of playing around as kids, making silly home movies that you take very seriously. There are some amusing touches, like using Lego models for “long shots.”

Diego Luna comes in during the second half of the very short episode. Nuñez heads off with the rest of the Office alum and Luna takes over as Inigo, playing against Jack Black’s Westley. (Side note: Black isn’t an actor who would ever get cast to play a character like Westley, but he is committed to this, and it’s kind of great.) Together, they handle Inigo’s impatient wait for Westley to reach the top of the cliffs and the story of the Six-Fingered Man.

Like Black, Luna plays things completely straight, despite the silliness of the proceedings—his stand-in for the six-fingered sword is an umbrella. He’s a little rougher than Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo, cranking up the gruffness in his voice and shifting in manner between conversational and aloof. Because of the scene he’s covering, he gets to be the first Inigo in the series to say that line

Not really too much else to say. It’s The Princess Bride, reenacted by celebrities who are bored at home. I think there might have been a charity involved. It’s pretty much just what you’d expect.

Recommend?

In General – We’ve definitely moved out of the period in which people were eager for this brand of DIY entertainment, so it’s not a must. But it’s cute—you might have fun with it.

Diego Luna – Why not? His episode is less than 6 minutes long, and it’s Diego Luna playing Inigo Montoya. What’s not to like?

Warnings

A bit of peril and some discussion of violence.

Other Doctor Lives: W1A: Series 2, Episode 2 (2015)

*A spoiler from episode 1*

Another pretty good episode. On the whole, I’d say I’m liking series 2 better than series 1. I still prefer the episodes with Joel Fry in them, naturally, but for the most part, I’m enjoying myself now.

People are throwing their hats into the ring for the new Director of Better position (whatever that is,) creating added professional tension. In episode 2, Will was able to stay on due to his unexpected connection with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who the BBC wanted to court as a new commentator for Wimbledon. He’s now in a (temporary) position as Ian’s PA, causing havoc as he tries to do his introductory training on the BBC’s office software. Lucy tries to rally a disheartened Dan as he contemplates giving up on Home Truths.

Our character of the week is Dan Shepherd, played by Tom Basden. I’ve never tried to sell a script, but his storyline really makes me feel for him. The BBC has been making him jump through endless hoops, changing practically everything about his story for no discernible reason. I definitely understand why he’s starting to wonder if it’s still worth it. But at the same time, Lucy hates getting roped in to help her colleague with his dumb reality show ideas and would much rather work on something real with Dan. The thought of throwing away all their hard work is gutting for her.

The BBC’s office software, Syncopatico, has been a recurring thorn in the characters’ sides throughout the series. All through series 1, Ian would try to contact people or share documents with them through Syncopatico, and he could never get it to work. It’s no surprise that Will is a total menace with the software, stumbling into heretofore unseen glitches. It creates extra work for Izzy, along with some personal awkwardness that arises as a result.

The “Director of Better” plot ends up touching all the other storylines in the episode. Ian is annoyed that he was out of the loop on the creation of this new post, and it throws his own position into stark relief: “Oh great, so I’m too important to apply for the job, but I’m not important enough to sit on the interviewing panel.” Lucy is bowled over when her incompetent colleague asks for a reference for his (delusional) application and is given added busy work from an exec who’s also applying. It puts the PAs’ dynamic in question as well, since Jack’s boss Anna is going up for the job and that could mean a promotion for him. Anna, by the way, is very unslick about her aspirations—multiple times during meetings, she slips in remarks like, “We have to do better than this,” or, “We want to make it better.”

A few entertaining David Tennant lines in this episode:

• “It’s Tuesday, another in a long line of Tuesdays at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House headquarters in central London.”
• “As part of his new role, Will has established himself at a desk in the same general area as fellow assistant and colleague Izzy Gould, as well as to a lesser extent, Jack Patterson.”

Y tu Luna también: Maya and the Three: Episode 9 – “The Sun and the Moon” (2021)

*It’s the finale, people. I’ll avoid major spoilers, but there will be a few details that get mentioned.*

In a word, stunning. For a miniseries that, apart from the gorgeous design, I found to be good but unremarkable in the first episode, it does so much over the course of the story and brings everything home just beautifully. Let me put it this way: going through the episodes in preparation for Y tu Luna también was my third watch of Maya and the Three in less than a year. Masterful.

Although Maya tries to send her friends away for their own good, attempting to save them as the kingdom of Teca faces Lord Mictlan alone, they’ve instead rallied all four kingdoms to take on the gods together. The battle calls for contributions from everyone, but as the Little Eagle and the daughter of death, in the end, it has to come down to Maya.

Since this episode is almost entirely dedicated to this final battle, it could’ve been a Battle of the Five Armies-style slog fest (though less interminable.) And to be sure, it is a supersized episode compared to most in the series. But the finale works on pretty much every level. The action is cool and varied, leaning on the different abilities of all our heroes and their kingdoms, and everyone gets their moments—in the fight and on a personal level. After their tragic, lonely backstories, it’s so heartening to see characters like Rico and Chimi finally be embraced by their communities for who they are. Even more minor characters get a nice chance to shine, like the Widow Queen of the Jungle Lands facing off against the goddess of illusions and the barbarian king and princess of the Golden Mountains appreciating one another’s talents.

Maya remains at the center of the story, and the climax is all hers, but it’s her very character growth that makes space for everyone else to get their moment. Whereas in the pilot, she was out to prove herself in the fighting pits, she’s now grown into a true leader, delegating to the strengths of those around her and leading with love. The way she, her friends, and their kingdoms pull together is in sharp contrast to Lord Mictlan, who will do anything to stay ahead. He has lackeys and warriors, but not allies, because he ultimately doesn’t care about any of them. While Maya, Lady Micte, or Rico will pull back in order to save someone in trouble, everyone is expendable to Lord Mictlan.

And the final scenes. Oh god, the last ten minutes are simply exquisite. It gets me in every single feel. I won’t spoil anything, because it deserves to be seen. I’ll just tip my hat to Jorge R. Gutiérrez, along with Zoe Saldana and the rest of the voice cast for their wonderful work.

As for Zatz, he’s an absolute champ in this last episode. Considering that his first scene in the series is interrupting Maya’s quinceañera to announce that he’s taking her to Lord Mictlan, he’s a true hero here, brave and fierce. A real partner for Maya as well, worrying about her safety but trusting that she can handle herself.

Diego Luna gets run the gamut of emotions, which is really satisfying to watch. He gets humor—I love his deadpan delivery of, “The barbarian princess tried to bite me”—romance, heroics, and drama. There are moments of despair and moments of triumph, and of course, one more, “Be well, Princess Maya. I’ll see you soon.” It’s a great final outing for a strong character.

And that’s the excellent Maya and the Three! Last thoughts:

Recommend?

In General – 100%, yes. This is so good, so beautiful, so funny, so sophisticated. I need everyone with even the slightest inclination toward animation to watch this miniseries.

Diego Luna – For sure. I love Zatz, and Luna does a fantastic job in the role.

Warnings

Violence, scary moments for kids, some gross-out humor, mild sensuality (including references to cheating,) thematic elements, and characters with disabilities voiced by able-bodied actors.