Madame Web is what I would call aggressively fine. But it does have its moments. Those moments are all because of Adam Scott, but they are there. So the one thing I do have to give to the movie as a whole is the casting of Scott as Ben Parker.
We have never seen a “young” Ben Parker. Most every take on the character has been an older gentleman, retired and taking care of his nephew, Peter Parker. When we would have had a younger take on the character, it was omitted completely. (I just want to know who Marisa Tomei was married to!) So to see Ben Parker before he meets and marries May Jameson (better known as May Parker) is a treat. What we get in Madame Web is a hint of May, a splash of Richard Parker, and a whole lot of brilliance from Adam Scott.
Part of it is completely down to Scott just being charming, but there is something about his Ben Parker that makes you want to see his life with May and Peter, and then how he handles his new responsibility as Peter’s guardian. I want all of that after he is in this movie for maybe 15 minutes, tops.
Is this a symptom of my deep love and appreciation for Adam Scott, or is he just that good of a casting choice for Ben Parker? Personally? I think it is a bit of both, mainly because only Adam Scott could pull off making us all excited about seeing Uncle Ben again knowing that he is, eventually, going to have to get shot and killed.
Adam Scott as Ben Parker? Inspired.
In the comics, Uncle Ben is not a paramedic. To be fair though, he don’t know much of what Uncle Ben did prior to being Peter’s guardian other than his military background. He used to work at Coney Island and was maybe a police officer or an electrician. We don’t always know, so to have him as a paramedic isn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility.
But that’s not what I love about Scott’s take on Ben Parker. He’s sassy, funny, has a quick wit, and isn’t afraid to crack a joke. You know who is like that? Peter Parker. Seeing this version of Ben, I understand how Peter came to be that quick and funny when he is both himself and Spider-Man—not that previous Uncle Bens haven’t been funny, but they don’t have the same dry wit that Scott has in his roles.
That is, in most cases, the kind of humor that Peter Parker has. Yes, part of my love of Adam Scott’s Ben Parker can be completely boiled down to him acting like Ben Wyatt when he tells the girls to clean up after themselves, but it still has the energy that many of us have come to love from Uncle Ben, as well.
So, for all of Madame Web‘s faults, it is with a joyous heart that I state the obvious and say that Adam Scott is not one of them.
(featured image: Sony Pictures)
