What comes to mind when you think of the Knesset? Tied men, dominant women, too many omissions and too little logic? Because in the new comedy “Here”, which came up last night with a great timing in honor of the election, there are all of these, only more extreme, more blatant – and fortunately, also much funnier.
It would not be a complete mistake to call “Bull in the middle” – “Polishuk 2.0”, since it was also conceived and directed by Shmuel Hasefri, who spent many months in the Knesset corridors in favor of writing the script, and like the first – also sheds comic and satirical light on what happens in the Knesset corridors Israel. This time, instead of the tie-dyed and eccentric MK, we get as my main character my baby Mordechai, perhaps his perfect antithesis:
Baby Mordechai (Photo: Benjamin Nimrod Hiram)A young and popular reality cast from the ruined house that was reserved in an unrealistic place for the “middle ball” list mainly to sweep young voters, but after a series of unusual events in the Knesset finds herself, to the astonishment and astonishment of her list colleagues, sworn in as a full MK. , For a variety of socio-political events that are wrapped in gimmicks and jokes, but it is not at all difficult to link them to reality:
The impromptu committees that do not help talk, the parody of Meirav Michaeli (the excellent Ofira Rahamim!), The MKs’ lack of freedom to vote as they please, the fan pages and the intense documentation, the influence of the lobbyists, the exorbitant benefits the MKs receive (many brilliant scenarios) and many other scenarios And are well executed so that they manage to convey the message despite the use of silly names like my baby, shasha yolk and basalt nut.
Anat Waxman in the series “Baby Bull in the Middle” (Photo: Benjamin Nimrod Hiram)I would be happy to name all the participating actors but we all have more things to do today, so at the tip of the fork: Kobi Maimon, Moshe Ashkenazi, Anat Waxman, Yaniv Bitton, Dana Devorin (!), Naomi Lvov, half of the cast “The Policemen” (Danny Stegg, Daniel Gad and Ruth Asarsai), and believe me, this is far from over. This excellent cast is led, surprisingly, by two young and still quite anonymous actors who do particularly fine and funny roles – Yakir Shukron, who plays Zif, the personal assistant, and Gili Itzkovich (“Blackspace”, “Kadbra”), who is my baby Mordechai, In and of itself.
Itzkovich carries the lead role on her shoulders and marvels at a particularly versatile performance: she manages to keep the viewer captivated, funny when necessary and also makes him think, not to mention, worry (for example in her debut speech in the Knesset). It’s a brave choice, to choose an actress at the beginning of her career to lead a new show, and the stakes have paid off – the casting for the series is almost flawless (ignoring Daniel Gad, whose character has not proven its necessity so far and also represents the annoying phenomenon of choosing 30-year-old actors to play soldiers) .
Itzkovich carries the lead role on her shoulders and marvels at a particularly versatile performance (Photo: screenshot)Along with the talented actors, the sharp lyrics and the fast pace – “Baby Bull in the Middle” also stands out in smart and relevant marketing moves designed to help it penetrate the public consciousness as quickly as possible: opening * real * profiles on Facebook and Twitter as expected from a new politician; Uploading authentic and up-to-date materials that wink at content raised by politicians we all know and current issues (spoiler: cam cam shasha shasha); Opening a website for the “Ball in the Middle” party that includes an improvised and entertaining platform, and if I had to gamble – in a week from today, the WhatsApp of us all will also be flooded with matching stickers. In light of the fact that the series aired today and will be broadcast daily, in two weeks it will be behind us but thanks to the above – we will probably not forget the baby so quickly.
At the beginning of each episode in the series, the following text appears: “All the events in the ‘Baby Ball in the Middle’ series are completely imaginary – did not happen, do not happen and will not happen, God forbid. Anyone who finds a connection to the reality of our lives does so at his own risk.”
The corporation’s refusal is clear (legal defense and that, you know) but the painful truth is actually, that if we change the funny names and ignore the witty gimmicks – we get a kind of documentary about what happens instead of deciding what our lives will look like. This is not the first time we have been exposed to this omission called “The Knesset”, simply this time, instead of another series of investigative articles in an edition or episode of “The Original”, we also get a chance to laugh. So true, it’s not entirely original and you can omit some jokes and distractions from it, but the end product is fun enough. What is certain, especially now, is escapism – it really is not.
“Baby Bull in the Middle” airs Sunday-Thursday at 9:15 PM on Channel 11 here and digitally starting today (07/03/2021)