Matthew Macfadyen and Elizabeth Banks star in screwball marital comedy
Miniature Wife ★★★★
A lot happens in this marriage comedy starring Matthew Macfadyen (Inheritance) and Elizabeth Banks (Miss America) as a couple whose alarming dynamic has been resized into sci-fi proportions, but the most important thing you need to know is this: the show is wonderfully absurd. What does someone whose height has become shorter by 15 centimeters do? They go on a fantastic journey in their home. Doing large brain lab work? All nerds are required to wear flashy red uniforms. For Miniature WifeNonsense is a divisible material.
Liberally expanded on Manuel Gonzales’ short story of the same name, this 10-episode limited series features absurdist logic and a sappy affection for flawed people. When literature professor Lindy Littlejohn (Banks), 18 years removed from her bestseller, says “my husband belittled me,” it’s not a therapy conversation. She accidentally unleashes her science superstar husband Les (Macfadyen)’s latest invention, a device that shrinks anything put in front of it. Small problem: Les couldn’t figure out how to safely reverse the process.
Some references on the subject include the Coen Brothers chirping (Unbearable Cruelty), black comedies of the 1980s (War of the Roses) and Marvel’s Ant-Man has always been shrunken and rogue. It gives the relationship between Les and Lindy a firework dynamic, no matter the size. They both hope to save their marriage by using a “green light response” instead of a “red light response,” but he tends to be consumed by his quest to get the Nobel Prize and she has anger issues that don’t get any smaller.
with Greg Mottola (Confess it Fletch) as lead directors, MacFadyen and Banks demonstrate a deep affinity for adult comedy; Their bond is constantly changing, and this is before Les locks Lindy in a dollhouse for her safety. The supporting cast is full of crazy scene-stealers like Ronny Chieng as the billionaire brother who buys Les out, OT Fagbenle as Les’ sidekick who only has eyes for Lindy, and Zoe Lister-Jones as a disciplinarian who has complete Garbo control.
Because it’s not tied to any genre, Miniature Wife It may be confusing to some viewers, but I was pleased with the creativity the plot brought out and was intrigued by the side quests; whether it’s Lindy in a life-or-death battle with a fly (I loved her journey). Thor action hero framing) or the squabbling, mismatched leads having to work together for the good of their resentful daughter, college student Lulu (Sofia Rosinsky). Every piece here sticks together, like the Lego Lindy uses.
Miniature Wife It airs on Stan (owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead) from April 9th.
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Craig Mathieson is the TV, film and music writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X.
