There were three things I loved as a kid: Tim Burton, The Addams Family and the colour black. I can’t even begin to explain how happy it makes me that the three have collided in splendid serendipity on Netflix’s Wednesday.
About
If one thing is true about Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), it’s that the only person allowed to pick on her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez) is Wednesday. When she finds out that the school bullies have picked on Pugsley yet again, Wednesday reacts in the only reasonable way a big sister can: she puts piranhas in the school swimming pool, while the bullies are swimming in it.
Unfortunately for Wednesday, she manages to get caught
Her parents, the besotted duo Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), decide that it is time for Wednesday to attend the school where they met. Designed to be a home and finishing school for young outcasts, Nevermore Academy is the place of Wednesday’s nightmares, and not the good ones either.
As a brilliant, independent and terminally cynical young person who just happens to be allergic to colour, Wednesday is horrified to discover that she must room with the bright, cheerful and colourful Enid (Emma Myers). This is not going to turn out well for anyone.
Things do take a turn for the better however when Wednesday discovers that there is a vicious monster lurking in the woods, targeting both townspeople and students at Nevermore. With her emerging psychic abilities providing dark glimpses of the future, Wednesday realises there is a place for her at Nevermore and a mystery to solve.
Now if she can only get the messy business of making friends and forging alliances out of the way before she becomes the monster’s next victim.
What Wednesday is Really About
Wednesday is about friendship and trust, about how there is always a lot more to people than their appearance and insecurities will betray. Wednesday is not a hugger and emotions are definitely not her strong suit, but over time she learns that team activities and school dances are not so bad after all absolutely the worst thing ever.
She finds friendship in places she doesn’t expect and learns to care about people in ways that she couldn’t have imagined in her worst nightmares.
Throughout it all, Wednesday is plagued by an innate sense of right and wrong and will always choose to stand up for others in the face of bullying and injustice. It’s the story of her life: if anyone is going to make people’s lives a misery, it is Wednesday.
Wednesday Has All the Original Characters
The enduring appeal of The Addams Family lies in its cast of kooky, spooky characters dating back to the original black-and-white series. They all return for Wednesday including Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Lurch (George Burcea), Thing (Victor Teodor Dorobantu) and even Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen).
Ten Times Wednesday Addams Spoke the Absolute Truth
Wednesday is full of one-liners that remind me of how witty and punny the original material was. Here are ten times Wednesday Addams spoke the truth.
I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation
Editors are short-sighted, fear-based lifeforms
We all die alone
Dead people are notoriously bad at returning calls
Emotions are a gateway trait. They lead to feelings which trigger tears
I don't hold seances very often. I can barely tolerate the living, why would I want to commune with the dead?
Every day is all about me. This one just comes with a cake and a bad song
I don't bury hatchets. I sharpen them
The dead can be just as annoying and unreliable as the living
Ultimately, thieves turn on each other
Six Pet Names for Wednesday Addams
Adorable as she is confounding, Wednesday gets under people’s skin and provokes a variety of pet names, some more fond than others and many undeniably spot-on.
- “My little death trap” – Gomez
- “Grim Reaper Barbie” – Tyler
- “Exhausting” – Principal Weems
- “Velma” – Sheriff Galpin
- “My little rain cloud” - Morticia
- “My pig-tailed protégé” – Uncle Fester
Of course, she prefers to think of herself as different, an original thinker and an intrepid outlier.
Verdict
Like any good Tim Burton production, Wednesday is fun, irreverent and has a whole lot of heart. It’s full of one-liners, delivered with superb timing and there were times when I cackled maniacally out loud. Wednesday has the best facial expressions and Jenna Ortega gave a brilliant performance as the sardonic little burned cupcake.
Just like with my favourite Burton films Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, Wednesday has you caring for characters you did not expect to care for, always rooting for the outcasts and being surprised by the actions of supposedly good people.
Honestly, the only disappointment was me because I absolutely did not guess who the monster was. I was shaken, I tell you, so much so that I had to rewind that scene and witness again how it all fell apart.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Wednesday navigate the minefield of human connections and friendship. A great example was her unexpected rapport with Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) and how the two came to grudgingly respect the other.
It was extremely refreshing for a teen, paranormal series not to only focus on romance. There were definite interests amongst the characters and exploration of identity, including an LGBTQI+ storyline with a character at risk of conversion therapy, but it was more an exploration of character depth than a plot point and I appreciated that a lot. I also appreciated the message that it’s okay not to be interested yet, if at all.
If I had to compare Wednesday to my Netflix favourites I would say that it's got the heart of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina but not the diversity, and it doesn't have the plot depth or quality of writing of The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. Nevertheless, it's a lot of fun, has excellent acting all round and I hope we see a second season.
★★★★☆
WEDNESDAY premieres globally November 23, only on Netflix
