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Picture courtesy of Mark Pook.
| Value for Money | 7.7/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 7.9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 8/10  |
By wbafcben on 15th Jul 2007
| Starring (Main Performers) | Matt Lucas and David Walliams |
|---|---|
| Value for money | 10/10 |
| Overall value | 10/10 |
 wbafcben's recommendation | |
Hilarious yet true to British life today, an interesting type of humour, modern.
None really, though it possibly could offend sensitive audiences, may cause discomfort.
When Little Britain first entered our living room, we couldn't get enough of it. Laugh after laugh, sketch after sketch it never failed to disappoint in the comical department. A few shows later, with the last series now going into the repetition stage, the humour is starting to age - not good at all for a show that used to have me in stitches.
WHAT IS IT?
Little Britain is a comical sketch show, played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams, whom re-enact the daily life of certain groups of people in modern Britain (hence 'Little Britain'). Each sketch is different, and encapsulates you from the start. The way in which the two main actors' face expressions and comical statements are put across is very funny, in that it begs a reaction from the audience.
Some of the content, for instance, is racist, homophobic or cheeky towards a particular target group, yet in a funny way, making the audience see a funny side to their doings (rather than it being offensive to them) as well as making them think of their feelings towards the matter.
Do you know of that teenager a couple of doors down from your house who is always trotting about in that same pink Kappa tracksuit, with scruffy hair and a loud appearance? When asked a question, does she respond in utter confusion and bewilderment, then leading on to a completely different topic, leaving the poor old questioner confused? That'll be the Vicky Pollard type...
THE CHARACTERS
-VICKY POLLARD (Matt Lucas)
Vicky is a teenage rebel, always back-chatting in school, always answering in long prose, barely answering the actual question and always appearing in a scruffy manner. This is the anti-social type of person that Little Britain is trying to portray.
Personally, this is a contender for my favourite character as her common saying of 'Yeah but no...' leading on to a fast-paced, teenager-style excuse is hilarious. She makes stupid claims up for actually being above the legal limit for alcohol, or claiming to have knowledge of the criminal (for a £10,000 reward, which she understood as being 'ten hundred thousand pounds?!'). When the police understand her claim is utter twaddle, and send her out, she points her finger at the cleaner and cries "She dun et!"
-ANDY (Matt Lucas) and LOU the carer (David Walliams)
Andy is in a wheelchair, and has an initially sad appearance, leading quite a poor quality of life. He never really seems to be happy. But once you get to know him through the show, you understand he isn't really disabled. Lou, who looks after Andy every minute of the day, is completely oblivious to this, and is always feeling sorry for Andy and willing to help him. Yet Andy makes it as difficult and frustrating as possible for Lou.
In one sketch, Andy and Lou are painting and re-decorating a room. Lou asks Andy if he is sure he wants to paint it red. Andy replies 'Yeah' in a comical sort of way. He simply blurts it out as if it was really hard to say 'Yeah'. This in itself may cause offence to some disabled people, yet the way in which it is done is funny. I don't feel people would be offended by it.
When the room has been completely painted red, Andy cries 'I doh like et!' Quite confused and annoyed by this, while I am laughing throughout, Lou's facial expression is simply hilarious. 'But you said you wanted it red?' he asks, rather annoyed now. 'I want it blue!' It is the kind of misunderstanding that is enough to make anyone laugh, but you must see it to believe it. The facial expressions and the way in which things are said is comical in itself, and very hard to describe.
Other misunderstandings include Andy using his common phrase of 'I want that one', whereby he points at a card he isn't even looking at. Lou says 'But it's his birthday, you won't want to give him a sympathetic card!' Andy points again, and says 'That one!' When it is paid for and they are both out of the shop, Andy cries 'It's his birthday not his funeral!'
Andy and Lou have many sketches in the show, and I shall not cover them all here for it may spoil it when you do watch them. These pair are a definite centre piece of the show though, and one has to consider whether there really are people of this type in Britain? Could anyone be so frustratingly annoying, yet at the same time his carer appear completely oblivious to the fact that he isn't actually disabled?!?
-EMILY HOWARD (David Walliams)
Emily is a transvestite, but unfortunately not a very good one. She (I mean he) goes around the town and the pubs etc. trying hard to persuade folk that he is in fact a lady. Emily enters a pub with her umbrella now down, exclaiming 'Ooh ooh wooh whuh - It's wet out there. I'm a lady you see'. Then he goes up to the bar and a man, who is the only one in both series to think this, actually believes she is a lady. Quite funny to see!
He then sees Emily in the toilets, taking a number one in the urinal, so it becomes obvious she isn't a lady! Again, the face expressions tell it all.
-ANNE (David Walliams)
Anne is supposedly a mental patient, and makes the most mess a mental patient could possibly manage. Flinging across plants in the garden, and lobbing a great big wheelbarrow on top is complete slapstick style comedy!
The man who runs the mental home is always showing somebody around, and Anne always seems to be in the way. It is hilarious seeing their reactions to a mental patient's actions. But when Anne hears her mobile ring, she stops and answers it just as a normal person would: 'I'm kind of busy right now, call you back.' And then she goes 'Eh eh eh!' This is another common saying from Little Britain, so if you ever hear anyone doing this, you know where they got it from!
-MARJORIE DAWES (Matt Lucas) and the fat fighting group
Marjorie is the leader of the Fat Fighters group, much like Weight Watchers. She is pretty funny in that she criticizes the way anyone eats, claiming they should eat foods such as dust! In a treat that she had given the group for Christmas, they went out to a restaurant. Marjorie said they should have a treat once in a while and so they were all looking forward to it.
When the time comes to order however, Marjorie puts a stop to everyone's desires. Paul: "Pie and chips please" Marjorie "Erm, I don't think so Paul. You can have a bit of lettuce!" Marjorie also advises the group to try dust. They all look really shocked by this, but Marjorie goes on a 5 minute triangular speech, where she says: "Dust, any dust, no?" continually, each stage looking at a different person!
She then throws her fork, and says 'Oh dear, I must get my fork back'. In doing so, she spends a good time under the table scoffing all she can manage! I stress again, the facial expressions of the group here are very funny.
Then it comes round to Myra who is of Indian origin. It is obvious Marjorie doesn't approve, and Little Britain have handled this topic pretty well, without it being too offensive. Marjorie tells Myra that it would probably be best if she just points at what she wants from the menu. This is based on the previous sketches of Marjorie not understanding a word Myra says (more on this in the next paragraph). This had me in hysteria! Honestly - you will all have your favourites, but I think the relationship between Myra and Marjorie is incredibly comic.
When in the fat fighters room, Marjorie asks the group about cravings. It comes around to Myra, who says 'Fish and chip' in quite a broad Indian accent. 'I'm sorry, do it again' says Marjorie in total confusion as to what had been said. After repeating it 3 or 4 times, Marjorie says 'Oh it must be something we don't get around here' and writes CURRY on the board! This too made me laugh a lot, and I think this relationship is probably my favourite.
DAFFYD THOMAS (Matt Lucas)
Daffyd Thomas is always fighting for gay rights, and claims he is gay and proud. Yet he also wants to be 'the only gay in the village', which you may have heard people saying in conversation by now! The trouble is, whenever another homosexual turns up in Llandewi Breffi (hope I spelt that correctly), Daffyd takes rage and forces the poor men out.
This is quite a silly sketch really. It occasionally made me laugh through the strong Welsh accents and the squeaking of Daffyd's incredibly tight leather pants as he walks. This isn't such a good part of the show however (in my opinion - obviously, you have your own and you may find this completely hilarious!).
Those are the main characters. There have been other less featured characters however, and it's good to see a bit of variety in the show. Other characters include Kenny Craig, a hypnotist who uses the saying 'Look into my eyes, look into my eyes....' to hypnotise people and get his way. Occasionally funny. The best part was probably when he crashed into the back of a car in the car park and he had to hypnotise many people to persuade them he didn't do it!
Another character is Sebastian, who is the Prime Minister's assistant. To the viewer, it is obvious Sebastian loves the Prime Minister, and will do anything to turn him! May make some people uncomfortable, or even offend others, but it is occasionally funny. For instance, Sebastian dives on top of the Prime Minister claiming he thought a sniper was about to shoot him. When the PM realises this isn't true, he asks if Sebastian would get off now... 'Give it a minute' he said, as he was obviously enjoying the situation!
The second series also saw the introduction of new characters, such as Florence, an equally bad transvestite to accompany Emily. Also, a grown man seeks 'bitty' from his mother i.e. he wishes to breast feed. This, in my opinion is quite disturbing and isn't funny at all. Especially when watching it with the family, one considers changing channel unfortunately.
Finally, other minor characters include:
1. the young man who has a crush on a grandmother,
2. a comic relationship between a shop-owner and an indecisive customer,
3. disproportions between an employer and a little boy who seeks a job,
4. two posh women who sample or view products, and when told who it was made by, one of them throws up all over the people (quite discomforting, but sometimes funny),
and 5. Dame Sally who can't quite make the best novel.
You will have to see it to believe it! Look out for the face expressions, and visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/littlebritain/clips/ for more information and viewings of past clips.
Thank-you for reading.
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BENJAMIN RICHES (wbafcben)
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