Well for those who saw the last film I reviewed, you might need a much needed break from brutality. As good as The Northman was, it’s not a film to easily shake off after viewing. As I saw the box office numbers come in, it was both disheartening and understandable the weak totals that Viking epic brought in. A needed dose of mirth is just what the doctor would order. With the wealth of options what does one choose? And, after all, humor is highly subjective. In my fumbling way, let me guide those over to HBO Max for a couple choice program to get your yucks in.
High-seas adventure in the late 1700s doesn’t seem like the place for humor. But you would think wrong when it comes to Our Flag Means Death. Based on the real-life Gentlemen Pirate Stede Bonnet, we follow him from his staid existence in Barbados to the deck of his ship the Revenge. As the show starts, we are already sailing the Caribbean with Stede and his motley crew. Well, motley may be more charitable than what they really are; scrappy is more like it. I dare those not to burst out laughing from the very first episode.
Along the way, Stede, played brilliantly by Rhys Darby, meets many obstacles and threats. These including Leslie Jones’s Spanish Jackie, a tavern-owner out to harm his crew. On the other side of the spectrum Rory Kinnear’s Admiral Badminton belittles Stede and wants to expose his ineptitude. True, Bonnet takes a wayward approach until he finally encounters Blackbeard.
Taika Waititi, as an executive producer and co-star, has been on a roll in recent years. After the success of What We Do In the Shadows (and its subsequent television adaptation), he followed it up with the one-two punch of Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit. The latter of which, Waititi received the best adapted screenplay Oscar.
Many lucrative producing and directing gigs came his way, Our Flag being among them. But also here, he gets to hone his acting chops as the fearsome Blackbeard. The humor is apparent, but as the show continues the character reflects on how he came to this point. Fleshing out the pirate is not counterintuitive. Making us sympathize helps the jokes become more substantial.
And this brings me to the criticism of Stede Bonnet that some have leveled against the show. Some have stated that it is wrong to falsely portray a man who owned a plantation, and in effect slaves, as the protagonist of a comedy show. This has sprung calls for a historically accurate picture of the monster Bonnet was. Now, my personal feeling is that should be left to historians. No one watching the zany antics on this show believe the complete story is being told. I urge those who don’t know his real life to seek out books about him. If every television program and streaming show must adhere to these standards, why not Bridgerton? My review exists about how much disliked that show, but not once was it bring up the idea of interracial interactions and how those would have really gone down in Regency-era England. How about the budding love between Stede and Blackbeard that has taken the internet by storm? Let’s understand that these are not documentaries but historical fiction; liberties were taken.
We have been through a lot as a people. We need to see that the world is full of cruelty and pain, yes. Piracy has been accurately presented in the past as well as colonialism. Using any setting, even this one, to make us laugh is not controversial. Hopefully you will watch this and agree with me. Happy viewing, readers.
