“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (2022) is the sixth Disney+ television series with nine episodes and a total runtime of close to five hours, so it is possible to watch in one sitting. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and features a plethora of special guest appearances which do not require homework to understand, but viewers with a working knowledge of every Hulk/Bruce Banner appearance, including the television series, at least the fighting tournament scene in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021), the last two “Thor” movies, the “Doctor Strange” and the Netflix “Daredevil” franchises will have the edge. Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), accidentally gets exposed to Bruce’s blood and becomes She-Hulk. Determined to keep her life the same, she continues to practice law and not become a superhero until she is forced to unveil her secret identity to save lives, which jeopardizes her career. Fortunately, a law firm hires her on the condition that she practices as a Hulk. Jennifer must strike the balance between her two identities, stay true to her values while fighting the haters.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” is the perfect series to multitask to. If you are expecting the usual MCU high stakes, you will be disappointed. Think “Ally McBeal,” which is visually referenced in one scene, set in the MCU; thus a legal comedy with special effects and a skosh of action. Jennifer is a lawyer first and a superhero if she feels like it. Maslany is a versatile actor best known for her astounding work in “Orphan Black,” but if I was not familiar with her before, I would not realize how underutilized she is. The material does not match her level of ability, and the dialogue is hacky: basic break the fourth wall and crack jokes to the audience fare. Walters leads with her insecurity and awkwardness even in Hulk form so when she is unblinking, firm and uncompromising, it is a relief. It is so dissonant and disappointing compared to the way that she so easily lapped her cousin in adjusting to her new powers compared to him. The good news is that She-Hulk is the most normal person with powers in the MCU, so the series feels like a nostalgic sitcom.
The semi-regular special guest star appearances are contrived and shoe-horned in, but still delightful. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) was probably the least interesting one. Emil Blonsky/ Abomination (Tim Roth) was unexpectedly fun and had lower stakes. His character was more of a riff on the spiritual guru who feels like a scam, but the plot twist is that he has some decent points that Jennifer needed. It is the most chill Roth performance in his career. Wong (Benedict Wong) is so dramatic and over the top, but fun, and Wong the actor proves that he has a good sense of humor as he is put in some ridiculous scenarios. I would not mind more down-to-earth MCU projects and pairing Wongers with Madisynn King (Patty Guggenheim), which still worked even though it was obvious that viewers were getting manipulated into the dissonant pairing. Manipulation worked in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and here, so good job. It will be no surprise that my favorite guest star was Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
Jennifer/She-Hulk and Matt/Daredevil actually brought out the best in each other. It was nice to see a woman dig him but also josh him out of his brooding. Matt was a good lawyer in his appearances. He also brought out the vigilante and more confident side of Jen. They had decent chemistry, and their scenes were funny. Matt/Daredevil hasn’t smiled that much ever. Matt/Daredevil needs to move to LA, or Jennifer/She-Hulk needs to move to New York, but their pairing was the strongest element in “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” Also, the MCU has been critiqued for being sexless, but no one could accuse Jennifer of that. It is interesting that the MCU television series do more with that casual plotline than the films.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” did a great job of skipping the usual angst about living a double life with friends and family, and Jennifer had a decent support system. As the series unfolded, it did a better job of establishing Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga), Jennifer’s paralegal and best friend, as a supporting character in this world. She has a lot of street smarts and fashion sense, and Gonzaga really shines as her role expanded, and she began to work with other characters. It was unsettling to see Josh Segarra in a good guy role as Jennifer’s fellow attorney, Augustus “Pug” Pugliese, after seeing him as a villain in “Arrow,” but once acclimated, he adds some much-needed good guy energy. Mallory Book (Renee Elise Goldsberry), another lawyer who works with Jennifer, got stronger as she appeared more, but it took a while for the writers to develop the character and determine how she would relate to Jennifer. Basically, the writers took too long to warm up, but once they did, the supporting cast became another reason to watch the series, but if there is a second season, hopefully they will need less of a runway before taking off.
“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” had a villain problem. It had a good idea of sardonically skewering the manosphere, especially considering it ended up being prophetic regarding how people, mostly men, would critique the series, but it felt tired. Then Disney+ did not remember that it anticipated it and seems to not be considering developing a second season. The storylines had potential because if a super powered woman was not immune to revenge porn, online mobbing, job insecurity, crushing student loan debt, then no one stands a chance. The series went from trying to kill her to trying to psychologically destroy her in a romantic relationship context, but instead of taking the “Jessica Jones” route and embracing it, it pulled back or made it two dimensional. The writers agreed because they went meta in the last episode and let the protagonist make the same complaints. Titania (Jameela Jamil), a social media personality with powers, is underdeveloped and two dimensional. Titania is also a woman with powers (how? Who knows) and cares more about appearance than Jennifer. That is it. Other random villains of the week are forgettable or laughable in an “at you,” not “with you” way.
Because I watch so many movies, when I have free time, watching television can feel like an onerous time commitment, especially when I feel compelled to focus if it is high-level quality content. If I have other things to do, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” is the perfect series because it is just good enough to occupy my attention and entertain, but not so good that it demands your best self. It feels weird that dumb humor featured in the “Deadpool” franchise mostly elicits laughs, but here often falls flat. The writers need to hone their funny bone because there are enough good ingredients and solid storylines that the series could have soared, but it cannot quite stick to its initial resolve.
