Some Season 4 Thoughts on Missy (Big Mouth)

*Missy-related spoilers for season 4.*

There was a lot of discourse about race, especially Blackness, in the summer of 2020, and while the protests and activism have yet to result in the type of systemic change that community activists are really striving for (police and prison reform, economic opportunities, educational equity,) a lot of smaller, arguably cosmetic changes have been made. We’ve seen a lot of symbolic gestures that are nice but don’t amount to very much, and a number of companies have ditched mascots/logos rooted in racism, from Aunt Jemima to the former mascot of the Washington Football Team. The world of voice-acting, meanwhile, saw a larger push toward casting people of color to voice people of color. That’s been a trend in voice-acting in recent years, and it’s served films like Coco and Raya and the Last Dragon well, but in 2020, a number of white voice-actors on TV shows stepped aside to make room for their characters to be cast more appropriately. Some of these were actors from long-running shows like The Simpsons, while others were from newer shows that ought to have “known better” in the first place, including Big Mouth.

In June of 2020, Jenny Slate announced that she was stepping down from playing Missy. I like Slate a lot as an actress, but this was the right decision and I appreciated it. However, when season 4 debuted, Slate was still voicing the role; Ayo Edebiri, Missy’s new voice actress, didn’t take over until the tail-end of the season’s penultimate episode. After the fact, I nosed around online and found that season 4 was already in the can when Slate announced her decision to step down, and rather than have Edebiri spend her first season imitating Slate’s already-recorded/animated performance, the show decided to make the switch at a pivotal moment for Missy toward the end of the season.

You see, Missy’s main arc in season 4 was already about exploring her racial identity as a mixed girl, which makes the retroactive decision to recast even more important. Because I do really enjoy seeing Missy exploring her Blackness – getting her hair done by her older cousins, bonding with DeVon and learning about code-switching, responding to microaggressions – but seeing that storyline with Slate still voicing the character is uncomfortable.

Throughout the season, there are a few explicit references to the fact that Missy is voiced by a white actress, most notably a moment when Missy squirms over her cousins using the N-word. When they tell her that it’s fine for Black people to say it, Missy looks directly into the “camera” to re-emphasize that she in particular can’t say it. And just generally, it’s not great to have it be Slate voicing Missy’s hurt feelings over another girl making fun of her braids and other very race-specific beats in her storyline.

Another uncomfortable angle here is the fact that this racial-identity journey is Missy’s only storyline for the whole season. She gets several highlight episodes that focus on her navigating her Blackness, but in episodes that don’t involve that plotline, she hardly appears at all, maybe just popping up for a line or two but rarely taking a meaningful part in anyone else’s plot. Since my Big Mouth episode reviews come courtesy of The Book of Rannells, I’ll draw a parallel to another Andrew Rannells project, Girls. In season 5, when Elijah has his only major arc that’s truly about him as he fumbles through his relationship with Dill, he almost immediately stops having scenes with Hannah and the other girls. His own plot is off in its own part of the show, virtually cut off from all the other major charactes. That’s kind of what’s happening with Missy here. We don’t see her much with Andrew, Jessi, Nick, or Jay, and the most prominent characters to appear in her storyline are her parents, her cousins (who were only introduced in this season,) and DeVon.

All that said, I do really like how this plot resolves, which coincides with the change in voice-acting. During episode 9’s “Horrority House,” Missy, like the other main characters, is drawn into a fantasy sequence that feeds on her inner conflict. For Missy, she finds herself in a room full of Us­-like funhouse mirrors, and in each one, she sees a different Missy. “Woke” Missy, history nerd Missy, unabashedly-horny Missy, geeky fangirl Missy, and so on. Her escape from her hallucination involves smashing all the mirrors, after which a piece from each “Missy” is puzzled together into one whole, a conglomeration of all the different parts of her. All the pieces cohere into one, and this is the Missy who emerges, voice by Edebiri instead of Slate.

I like that, that the change in voice actress is done meaningfully at a climactic moment. Instead of just quietly debuting Edebiri at the start of season 5, the show draws attention to it by switching voice actresses in the middle of a scene, right at the culmination of Missy’s journey. Edebiri does a fine job with the character, and while I can hear that she’s not Slate, she still sounds like Missy to me, which is key. I don’t agree with all the decisions the show made here, going back to casting Slate as Missy in the first place, but I appreciate how they bring it to bear in the end.

The Book of Rannells: Vampirina: Season 3, Episode 23 – “The Curious Case of the Giggles / International Treasure” (2021)

Yep, we’ve got more kids’ TV voiceacting here. Welcome to the Wayne definitely remains my favorite kids’ show Andrew Rannells has been in, but Vampirina always seems to make good use of him when he pops up, which I appreciate.

In “The Curious Case of the Giggles,” Vampirina is visited by Dr. Heidi Jekyll (get it?), a young monster scientist who asks for her help in mixing a new potion. Vampirina is eager to help out, but she’s concerned when she notices how upset Heidi gets over an unusual condition she has, turning into a troll whenever she laughs. And in “International Treasure,” King Pepi excitedly/anxiously prepares for an important ceremony naming his niece Nefi his heir, but he’s not sure she’s ready to handle it. When a crucial ceremonial headdress goes missing, Vampirina and her friends pitch in to help search for it scavenger-hunt-style.

This is pretty standard Vampirina, which is enjoyable for what it is. It’s crammed full of puns – in addition to Heidi’s punny name, she also consults the “Feariodic Table” of monster elements – has obvious but earnest lessons to teach, and features a couple entertaining songs. This episode gets extra points for its smart-girl guest stars. While Heidi is a monstrous STEM whiz, King Pepi’s niece Nefi has been studying up on all things ancient Egypt, which comes in handy on their historical scavenger hunt. Both girls are also a little heavier than Vampirina and her slim friends, and body diversity is always nice to see, especially in kids’ TV.

As usual, Rannells is a lot of fun here. In addition to playing the vain and excitable pharaoh, I enjoy seeing him framed as the doting but slightly nervous uncle. Rannells plays off of his young costars well, especially the girl playing Nefi.

One of the best things that Rannells’s appearances on Vampirina have to offer is that the show never neglects him when it comes to the songs. This time around, he’s got a quick ditty about the importance of tradition among mummies. It’s cute, Rannells sounds great as usual, and it includes the amusing line,  “So come on, let’s all party like it’s BC 95!” Take note, Ridley Jones: this is how you cast Andrew Rannells as an animated mummy on a kids’ show that includes singing (which is weirdly specific but definitely true.)

Favorite Characters: Sersi (Eternals)

*Spoilers.*

The Eternals I’ve highlighted so far have definitely been supporting characters. Figures integral to the story, but not the main drivers of the story themselves. Sersi is the first major Eternal I’m writing about, and I do think being a protagonist can make her character pop a little less than some of the others onscreen, but I genuinely like her and the direction the film takes her.

Some of the Eternals, like Ikaris and Kingo, came to their mission on Earth primarily focused on battling Deviants, but Sersi’s focus has always been on helping the people of Earth in other ways. Throughout the millennia they spent protecting/shepherding humanity, she stood shoulder to shoulder with its peoples, aiding them in their harvests, traditions, and development. To her, humans aren’t just faceless lifeforms to preserve. They’re people, and she involves herself, learning their languages and taking part in their communities.

Even when the Eternals split up, each laying low as they wait for the Celestials to recall them, Sersi doesn’t seek out some reclusive home to wile away the centuries. She integrates herself into society. By the 21^st century, she’s living in London and working as a professor at the Natural History Museum. She’s got a boyfriend, she goes out at night, she seems for all intents and purposes like an “ordinary” person. But of course, no one knows that she’s actually a nigh-immortal being from the stars, one who presumably needs to uproot herself every handful of years to keep people from noticing that she doesn’t age. (Since Sprite, who has the appearance of a child, is living with her as well, she probably has to move around even more often.)

So by necessity, she’s unable to truly put down roots anywhere, but if London is any indication, she gets close to people wherever she goes. It must be a hard life for a warm, empathetic person like her, but she keeps on doing it until the day the Deviants reemerge, at which point she immediately sets about bringing the whole group back together to investigate the mystery and address the crisis.

When she’s selected to be Ajak’s successor as the leader of the Eternals, most everyone is a little unsure about that, including Sersi herself. Hers is a quiet voice, thoughtful and intelligent but not really one to put herself forward in a commanding way. As she works to reunite all of her friends, she struggles with whether she’s able to lead them. But really, Sersi’s soft, compassionate leadership is just what they need. After learning the truth about their mission, that Earth is really just an incubator for a new Celestial and humanity will be wiped out when he finally emerges from deep within the Earth, Sersi is quietly resolute in her determination to save the humans from this fate. It’s a resolve that comes between her and Ikaris, and this is where she shows her strength, refusing to back down as her former lover openly turns against her.

Sersi’s powers at first seem neat and, while helpful in the whole “aid humanity’s development” thing, not super useful in a fight. She can transmute non-living matter with a touch, for instance creating fertile farmland or changing falling rubble during an earthquake to dust that falls harmlessly to the ground. It’s cool and lovely to see her transform things, but in the action scenes, her powers are initially defensive at best. When she, Sprite, and Dane are beset by a Deviant, she temporarily liquefies the pavement, then solidifies it again as a short-term means of trapping the Deviant. But as the film goes on, she discovers new dimensions to her power – turning a Deviant into a tree is wild, beautiful, and badass – and she’s ultimately crucial in defeating the emerging Celestial, harnessing the energy of everyone’s power to amplify her own and transmute the Celestial to stone before it can break the world apart.

I appreciate this depiction of a quiet, gentle heroine whose compassion is her greatest strength. Superhero personalities tend to run more towards extroverted confidence, so it’s cool to see this woman, ageless and incredible as she is, win the day with love rather than force.

Other Doctor Lives: King Lear (2018)

Okay, so I already reviewed Christopher Eccleston playing a major role in a Shakespeare film that wasn’t quite Shakespeare (the Iago character in a modernization of Othello.) Now I’ve got him in an actual Shakespeare film, but he’s only playing a minor role. Clearly, at some point, I’m going to have to find the recording from the RSC production of Macbeth he starred in, because I need my proper Christopher Eccleston Shakespeare fix.

As his mind begins to desert him, King Lear doles out his inheritance for his children based on their professed love for him, cutting his younger daughter out of his life when she won’t go along with his game. However, neither of Lear’s self-serving older daughters are willing to put up with his increasingly-erratic behavior. As his descent continues, Lear is shown who truly cares for him, not in words but in deeds.

It’s an interesting experience to watch this film after having seen The Father, because Sir Anthony Hopkins’s performance as Lear is very similar to his Oscar-winning performance in that movie. Stands to reason, since both are men dealing with severe dementia, but it really highlights the timelessness of this kind of story. Even though Lear is a king, his position doesn’t protect him, and his declining cognitive function wreaks havoc on his relationships.

The moody, stylish film has a strong cast backing up Hopkins, although I wouldn’t say all of them are used as effectively as they could be. Florence Pugh is an excellent Cordelia, frank and steady, but neither Emma Thompson nor Emily Watson make a major impression for me as Goneril and Regan. I normally love Andrew Scott (Moriarty!), but his Edgar is a little uneven for me—while he’s really effective in the quieter, more honest moments, I’m not really a fan of him in the “mad” scenes. I’m not familiar with John Macmillan, but I find him quite engaging as Edmund. The film also features Jim Broadbent, Karl Johnson (who makes a great Fool,) the reliably-weasely Tobias Menzies, and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter (Mr. Carson!), who does a pretty lovely job as the Earl of Kent.

Christopher Eccleston plays Goneril’s steward Oswald. While it’s a small role and he only appears in a handful of scenes, Eccleston does a fine job in the part. Oswald is an incredibly-prim and buttoned-up toady, ready to serve his mistress at every turn but ill-suited to deal with Lear and the rowdy entourage of knights who follow him around. This creates some good comic clashes, with the fussy Oswald futilely trying to get the rough ‘n’ tumble knights in line, but it’s a source of genuine conflict as well.

This being King Lear, that means yet another project in which a sighted actor plays a blind character. This time around, it’s Jim Broadbent. Since I started really keeping track of problematic casting elements (sexual harrassers, whitewashing, etc.), ablebodied actors playing characters with disabilities are by far the most prevalent. Sigh.

Accent Watch

A pretty good-sounding RP.

Recommend?

In General – I think I would. While not the complete slam dunk I was hoping for based on the cast list, it still has a fair amount to recommend it.

Christopher Eccleston – A soft maybe. As a Shakespeare fillm, it’s dense, and Eccleston isn’t in it very much, but he is genuinely good in the role.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements, violence, nudity, drinking, and characters with disabilities played by ablebodied actors.

Cowboy Bebop (2021)

Before we get into it, I’ll say this from the start: I haven’t seen the original anime, so I can say nothing about this live-action Netfllix version specifically as an adaptation. I know the (unfortunately) short-lived series drew mixed reactions from fans of the anime, but for me personally, coming in cold, I enjoyed it quite a bit and was bummed out when Netflix so swiftly canceled it. (Side note: the original anime is definitely on my watch list, just taking a breather between the two so I don’t have the adaptation so clearly in my mind when I’m watching the original.)

Jet and Spike are “cowboys,” bounty hunters trolling the star system in their ramshackle spaceship the Bebop. In between chasing bounties to earn enough to keep the ship in the air, the two bicker, banter, and deal with personal issues to a varying degree of success. When they cross paths with Faye, a chaotic but industrious amnesiac who’s also in the bounty-hunting game, they’re unsure whether they’d be better off remaining at odds or teaming up.

That summary captures the basics of the show but not really the feel and flavor of it, which are its main assets. I love the space-western-meets-retro-noir feel of these characters and the worlds they inhabit, their quick humor, and their offbeat energy. The storylines juggle bounty-of-the-week type caper plots with gradual movement on a season-long arc involving a dark and tragic backstory.

For me, the bounties are always hugely entertaining—wild, weird, and fun, they flirt with a variety of styles and genres, which keeps them from ever being forumulaic. I’m reminded a little of something like A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has an inventive new backdrop and cast of colorful characters every two episodes, constantly keeping itself fresh as the Baudelaires continue on their travels. No two planets are the same, each bounty presents different challenges and quirks, and development for the main characters is woven into some of these different plots.

I’d say the season-arc storyline isn’t as successful. I wouldn’t call it bad, but it’s uneven. The way it affects the main characters and their relationships is pretty much always compelling, but moving it forward by degrees every episode requires spending a number of scenes with backstory characters I don’t care about as much. Their ongoing plot feels repetitive to me and far less entertaining, and I’m only really interested in it to the extent that it affects Spike and his relationships with Jet and Faye.

At this point, a trio is such a solid genre convention that I have no idea who was the first to popularize it, but Spike and Jet are a terrific pair of odd-couple partners whose combative friend chemistry is only made better by the introduction of wildcard Faye. These three are so much fun together while also bringing strong moments of heart when it counts. I love hanging out in these worlds, but the main trio is absolutely my favorite part of the show.

To wit, John Cho brings a delightful, irreverent cool to Spike, along with these hints of something deeper from his past. While the initial trailer on the whole looked fun to me, I was already on board with the series purely because I knew he was in it. Cho has this understated leading-man quality that’s just so endlessly watchable to me, and it’s wonderful to see him in a series where he gets to play humor, drama, and action in every episode. Mustafa Shakir is a lovably-gruff Jet, a practical man who’s forever exasperated with Spike and Faye but still considers them family. He’s a bit of a teddy-bear-with-teeth type, which I enjoy, and I like how he often plays the role of the annoyed father figure to the other two. (I do need to mention that Jet is an amputee who uses a prosthetic, and Shakir is not.) As Faye, Daniella Pineda is funny, mercurial, and loud, full of energy and violence but also capable of stunning moments of still clarity. I really like getting to watch her relationships with the other two gradually develop by fits and starts. The series also features nice performances from Tamara Tunie as a world-weary club owner and Mason Alexander Park as her unruffled emcee. I’m not super familiar with either of them, but IMDb tells me that Tunie has had a long run on SVU and Park is going to be playing Desire on the upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Sandman.

Warnings

Lots of violence (including domestic violence,) language, sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug references (albeit fictional space drugs,) strong thematic elements, and characters with disabilities played by ablebodied actors.