The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a wonderful show filled with continuous laughter and fantastic jokes. However, sometimes those jokes just don't hold. Let's take a look and see which ones worked and which ones didn't.
Throughout its 3 seasons, Midge Maisel, played by Rachael Brosnahan, has gone on a fantastic journey on her way to comedic stardom. Although her quest for fame comes with its ups and downs, the audience enjoys every step she takes and every chaotic idea she has. All the love for Midge Maisel makes it extremely rewarding to see her succeeding up on stage but makes it all the more challenging to watch when she either bombs her set or makes some rather questionable jokes.
11 Absolutely Hilarious: "You've Heard About The Shorthand Girls? These Are Girls Whose Skill In Life Is Not Writing Full Sentences?"
Every time you read this it's funny. The reason why this works so well is due to the audience's dislike of Penny. Although it takes two to tango, Joel ultimately left Midge for her, and she stormed into B. Altman's to publicly yell at Midge too. Which ultimately gets her demoted. Every time Midge goes off on one of her rants both the audience in the show and out of it are left in fits of laughter, proving that she is most definitely at her best when going off of her subconscious without any preparation before.
10 Complete Flop: "These Aren't Girl Groups, These Are His Clothes"
This cringe-worthy joke is full of juxtapositions. On one hand, this set, and this joke specifically get a complete uproar of laughter from the entire Apollo, but on the other hand, as an audience, this joke is particularly hard to watch. After watching Midge bomb her last few sets whilst opening for Shy Baldwin, she is told to make the jokes more fitting. However, in the process, she ends up offending Shy and getting fired from the tour entirely. Something that sours the whole set when watched for the second time. Although it's hardly easy to watch on the first viewing as it is so clear what is happening and what the subtext is.
9 Absolutely Hilarious: "Calling That Thing A House Is Like Calling The Vatican A Church"
Another one of Midge's famous rants. One of the first times the audience really sees Midge get angry, aside from her first performance in the pilot. During her performance, it's easy to feel a sense of pride as she stands up for herself and refuses to let someone belittle her.
The entire set is exciting as she is so fired up and full of hilarious non-stop jokes that she doesn't fully realize what damage and drama she is causing for hers and Suzie's future. However, it doesn't stop the entire set from being thoroughly enjoyable and causing this line to be one of her best.
8 Complete Flop: "You Know Where We Met? In The Ladies Room"
The ultimate cringe. This set made everyone want to bury their heads in the sand and wait until Midge has realized just what she has done. Taking place in the latter half of season 3, this set marks a turning point in Midges career. After a series of failed attempts at opening for famous Shy Baldwin, Midge is told to make the jokes less about New York and more about Shy. Something she definitely does. Just in doing this she manages to naively out Shy to the entire Apollo theatre. Although the audience is laughing, the sense of awkwardness is felt by everyone watching.
7 Absolutely Hilarious: "Am I Supposed To Find Them Intimidating? Because All I See Is A Lineup Of Men Who Had To Go Into Comedy Just To Get Laid"
The majority of Midge's best lines are in her unscripted rants. Including this one. After scoring a gig in the middle of town whilst being blacklisted from everywhere else, Midge and Suzie are thrilled to be back in the game. However, they are pushed later and later and later by the male comedians so that when she finally gets on stage, most have left and those that have stayed are too drunk to pay attention. In noticing this she makes jokes about the comedians that are also there waiting for her to fail therefore bringing an overwhelming sense of patriarchy crashing down onto their heads.
6 Complete Flop: "Those Women Who Marched To Earn That Right And Protested And Wore White, Which May Be Their Greatest Sacrifice"
The humor and lightheartedness are understandable and recognizable here but it cannot be denied that it takes a pivotal point in history and completely ignores the main attribute of it. For all the times that Midge talks about the suffering and inequality of women, it was confusing and odd to see her make jokes like this.
Again, it should be recognized that this is a joke and is meant to be taken lightly but it is ultimately an unexpected type of humor for her. After all, women died and starved themselves for the right to vote not long before she made this joke and it left some viewers feeling rather uncomfortable.
5 Absolutely Hilarious: "I Get It Now, Why Men Rule The World: No High Heels!"
Funny and fitting. This line sent the crowd into fits of laughter and put at least a smile on everyone's faces. Midge talks a lot about the sexual inequalities of the 1950-60s so this line does just sum her up. As the end of season 2 draws near, Midge is in full swing with her comedy and is practically wowing every audience she performs for so whenever she appears on stage we just know it's going to be funny. This line was no exception. Pulling a punch on the patriarchy whilst opening everyone's eyes on the harsh reality of an ever-present inequality Midge strikes at the society that screwed her.
4 Complete Flop: "This Pretty, Dainty, Elegant Thing, Primping In The Mirror, And There I Was, Right Next To Him
Although this joke ended with an eruption of laughter, as the viewer it is hard to not cringe and hide away as they watch Midge essentially out Shy Baldwin to the world. As previously mentioned, this set is full of flops and fails as Midge gets the best reception of her life only to be told afterward that what she did was completely and undeniably not what Shy or his team wanted and that she is now off the tour. It cannot be denied that her jokes are funny but when given the subject matter it becomes impossible to enjoy her set for what it really is.
3 Absolutely Hilarious: "And Yes There Is Shrimp In The Egg Rolls"
This one just sets the tone for the rest of the show beautifully. Taking place in the pilot, Midge Maisel makes a speech at her wedding filled with her back story and how she and Joel met. At the end of it, Midge declares to the room full of Jewish people, that they have all eaten shrimp. As stated in the chaos by Abe, Midge's father, it doesn't say they can't eat it but everything is up for interpretation in most cases.
The joke itself is wonderful but it's ultimately the reaction afterward that is the funniest part. The wedding erupts into chaos enveloping a lovestruck couple which leaves you smiling from the offset.
2 Complete Flop: "Las Vegas Nevada, The City That Was Build, Like, What, A Week Ago? It's So New Its Bris Is Tomorrow"
This joke flops for so many reasons. First of all, it is particularly rare for people to know what a bris is. After all, it is only mentioned twice in the entire 3 seasons and is a predominantly Jewish term. Secondly, it's clear that not only do most of us not get the joke but the crowd doesn't either. Typically, if someone laughs, people feel compelled to laugh with them so when this doesn't happen in her set, everyone watching is left cringing at her struggling to get the attention of her audience.
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