I Wonder You

I felt bad for casting aspersions on Wonder Man without watching it properly so I went back and watched the first two episodes. It's not as bad as I originally thought though it does fail the test, "Would I Watch This If It Weren't the MCU?"

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams. In the comics, Wonder Man was a supervillain who became a superhero who eventually became a Hollywood actor. In the MCU version, Simon watches Wonder Man movies as a kid and grows up wanting to play the fictional superhero. In the first episode he meets Trevor Slattery, a recurring MCU character played by Ben Kingsley. He first appeared in Iron Man 3 and in short films. The director of the first two episodes of Wonder Man, Destin Daniel Cretton, directed Shang-Chi, in which Trevor Slattery also appeared.

In this show, Slattery is a pathetic has-been, a more forlorn version of Steve Martin's character on Only Murders in the Building. Simon's youthful over-enthusiasm gives the two nicely contrasting personalities. Kingsley gives a good performance, of course. Abdul-Mateen II is a little bland but sometimes charismatic. It's nice listening to them trade movie trivia.

Joe Pantoliano plays himself. In the MCU, he used to star on a hospital drama with Trevor. There's a funny scene in the second episode involving him. Pantoliano is so good, gives such a sharp, witty performance, it's kind of a shame he isn't playing a superhero or something. Maybe he will anyway.

Hollywood loves to make movies about itself but they're only occasionally successful at the box office. Here's my top ten list:

10. Tropic Thunder
9. The Other Side of the Wind
8. All About Eve
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
6. In a Lonely Place
5. Inland Empire
4. Sullivan's Travels
3. Sunset Boulevard
2. Singin' In the Rain
1. Mulholland Drive

Wonder Man is available on Disney+.