Snippitts of Illusions

so the past weekend was filled with b-movie homages and surreal british comedy.
Little Britain, as the show is called, is a humorous romp through exagerated sterotypes and bizarre situations that are supposedly representive of the country of britain.
or, it's simply damned funny.
ok there's no reason it can't be both.
moving from scene to scene, Little Britain is sketch comedy with consistent re-occuring characters and themes. There are times when it gets a little repetitive, some of the characters are one note or one gimmick: like Lou and his "handicapped" friend Andy, who go through each scene with Lou presenting Andy with options in which he always picks the least desireably on, or Andy hamming up the fact to the audience (never to Lou who remains oblivious) that he's not as handicapped as he makes out to be. or the character "Emily" Howard, a crossdresser who insists on being a "Lady and doing lady's things."
that is a danger with sketch comedy, the repetiveness. but overall Little Britain does work, and at times is funny on several different levels: sometimes dialogue, some times it's slap stick, some times it's because the situation is simply unbelievable. an example of the last is the character that has an old person fetish: the sketches through out the episodes progress from him 'flirting' with his friends grandmother, too, in one scene sucking on her toes. this is discomforting, but played out so well through the acting (and the tongue in cheek dialogue) that it's funny.
the two creators, Matt Lucas, and David Walliams, play a majority of the roles, with a handful of other actors filling in when more than just two parts are called for (or when one of the actors feel they can't fill the part). there is a fair bit of distinction between most of the characters they play, and show an impressive array of talent. each of the sketches are tied together with a voice over by Tom Baker, that lends a unifying factor (and surreal feeling), as if the show were jumping from location to location to depict how different individuals live.
britain has had a plethora of sketch shows, (Monty Python anybody?) and Little Britain is a fine example.


The League of Gentleman, is another british comedy, and another sketch show. however this is one with an even tighter connection between the different each of the scenes than Little Britain. the series of the League of Gentleman has a unifying plotline set in the town of Royston Vassey. Royston Vassey however isn't your typical british village. it has a dark side, and the program, as a whole is much darker than the typical comedy you're likely to encounter on t.v.
The League of Gentleman is a four man troupe (with three of them acting and one soley as a writer), who like Little Britain or Monty Python, perform a vast majority of parts. the scenes move back and forth between several groups of characters: a young man staying on at his obsessive compulsive aunt and uncles house while in town for a hiking trip, a couple that run "a local shop, for locals" who are resistant to the road being built to their town, an incompetent veterinarian, a butcher who sells... something, as a side business, a group of three co-workers, and a group of unemployed with their unemployment instructor...
sounds pretty mundane, but the characters are highly exaggerated, and more than a little dark. The League of Gentleman takes dark humor to an extreme at times. and there are some horror elements to the series, that make it just a little edgy and discomforting. (i'd like to think of it as Monty Python meets Texas Chainsaw where all the skits are in the same place). another thing to note with The League of Gentleman is the moments of sheer drama. there are scenes where the humor is not comedic, but dramatic humor and the skit is not being played for humor. this happens in several skits, where the characters happen to be a little more "realistic" (the unemployment class, and the group of co-workers respectively).
that being said, if you like dark humor and british comedy, then The League of Gentleman is worth checking out. some of the lines are obscenely funny, and most of the characters will, at the very least, give you a little bit of the willies (if not haunt your dreams at night).

b-movie homage... Grindhouse....
now i know what happens when you get guns instead of legs.
but more on that later.

posted by F.G. Shaw @ 7:38 AM