Rolling UK Comedy Thread - "Ricky Don't Lose Larry David's Number

ehhh it's ok

second ep p much exactly the same as first but less good

the idea is they're 'going there' and really exposing coogan's insecurities, but really they're indulging them

i think we're meant to think he is good enough to be a big hollywood star, and not only that, but to feel sorry for him about his failure to be one, and share his weird bitterness towards the uk

he could maybe make a british 'greenberg' if he cut the shit and found a director/production team more talented than winterbottom

I disagree. I feel we're meant to take Brydon's point that Coogan should just be happy with making people laugh instead of worrying about Hollywood all the time. (Just watched all six for a DVD review so basing my interpretation on the whole thing)

well, apparently it was shown at festivals as a film, with some stuff cut out, carlos-style. that might work better, if there is plot progression. coz it felt with ep 2 that he was having the same convo with his agent as in ep 1.

The Richard Gere bit was killing me, as was Coogan's performance of "Popcorn" on his throat. Also, the woman from "9 Songs" is really pretty.

who was 9 songs woman playing?

9 songs was yet another terrible winterbottom film, possibly the worst

yeah the gere bit was funny

the bits of the show i don't like are the emo bits, also the pointless bits of food prep

also i just think it isn't 'well made', shot, etc

She's Coogan's American ex-girlfriend isn't she?

There's a back-and-forth in episode three which had me doubled up, crying and shaking with laughter, for the first time in about two years, so I'll defend this pretty strongly.

I quite like the food-prep on the same level as the road shots - adds to the rhythm and atmosphere of the whole thing. Makes an interesting snapshot of a moment in British cuisine as well - enough with the scallops, everyone.

Dd you get to see the extras too, Dorian? The forensic examination of the art of the continuity voiceover that doubles as a riff on Trevor Eve vehicles was a real highlight.

(Was ep 3 the "daybreak" thing?)

"enough with the scallops, everyone"

welp, im half-manx so was glad to have a namecheck for queenies

had not realized they'd become a thing among rich diners tho

No, ep 3 bit that slayed me was the riff on Holbeck Gill, the ageing bit-part actor, though the daybreak routine was also terrific.

Didn't get the extras, sadly. Bet they're just a continuation of the show.

I don't watch Masterchef but apparently they bitch about scallops becoming a cliche on that.

i just think it isn't 'well made', shot, etc

I think it looks great! It's really well edited.

coz it felt with ep 2 that he was having the same convo with his agent as in ep 1.

Ha!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00c1jj0

"You can't treat your entire life like a Radio 4 panel show."

"Bzzz, yes you can."

ok that was lol

maybe i wasn't in the mood

the daybreak routine was also terrific.

About 43min of that in the extras!

Yeah I'm really enjoying The Trip - can't put my finger on why, but I guess I just like seeing these guys being these guys with that constant one-upmanship and having so many shared frames of reference with each other.

"Oh Joshua, they say you ain't comin' back to the village"
"Pa..."
"I'm not your bloody dad!"

got a HUGE laugh here.

I've been watching Pete Versus Life on 4OD. It's got some good jokes.

said this on the partridge thread (only seen the first ep of trip yet though, might change my mind after watching more. esp interested in seeing ep 3 after what dorian said above):

MMM was great, not perfect but plenty of good smart laughs. i thought the trip was bloody awful though. brydon and coogan just don't work well together. it always descends into a not particularly amusing set piece of coogan snapping at a faux-naif brydon hamming it up. after coogan's universally panned live show last year and his shitty appearance on CYE (interesting how there are very very few fellow comics who coogan can gel with onscreen) i thought he'd completely lost it but i'm pleased that MMM has disproved that.

really? am loving every minute of the trip tbh. mmm is okay, but feels a little like DVD bonus out-takes or summat.

I like Te Trip despite it's self indulgences, but MMM is miles funnier. Miles.

Gonna just carry on enjoying Miranda in unhip silence.

just watched 2nd ep of the trip, liked it a lot more. the ray winstone impressions and the hair/neck things made me laugh. watchable but not great, seems like something they've half thought about and somehow got roped into making a full series. still, nowhere as much of a slog to endure as that damn tristram shandy film

not sure why he gets such a bad rep in certain corners of ilx, but the madonna skit at the end of the new sean lock dvd is fucking brilliant

Gonna just carry on enjoying Miranda in unhip silence.

Me, too. Supporting cast bug me, but she is funny.

Yeah everybody else is mostly terrible - partly deliberately, mostly not I think - but she carries it all by herself.

not sure why he gets such a bad rep in certain corners of ilx, but the madonna skit at the end of the new sean lock dvd is fucking brilliant

Does he get a bad rep? I've always really liked him. His blokey persona is pleasingly at odds with the lateral weirdness of his jokes.

he's one of the better guests on yer mock the weaks and so on

Yeah, another Sean Lock fan here. He completely makes 8 out of 10 Cats watchable, which is no mean feat, and I watched one of his stand-up shows on the telly the other night and laughed a lot.

15 Storeys High was the best BritCom of the OOs. [/challops]

#team_miranda over here

Another Sean Lock fan here. He completely makes 8 out of 10 Cats and QI watchable, which is no mean feat...

Actually he doesn't quite manage, but he's still quite a good pricker of pomposity.

He manages it for me. If he wasn't on it, I don't think I'd watch it. I'm kind of warming to John Bishop for similar pomposity-pricking on panel shows, even though I don't care for his stand-up at all.

The Trip is the best thing on tv.

I think Sean Lock's pretty funny, and I don't like many stand-ups. His persona of not being an obnoxious dick gives him the win over 90 percent of the competition.

The Trip is a bit repetitive though...By episode 3, I was feeling I'd seen all this in episodes 1 & 2.

Does he get a bad rep?

not hugely, just that he doesn't have a thread devoted to him and the only mentions of him (on this thread, by mr mayne there) are furious disses. but yeah agree that 15 storeys is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and his standup is reliably brilliant.

watched the first 5 mins of the new ricky gervais science standup (doesn't seem great so far, mad how much weight he's lost) and both he and lock have made v similar quips about michael jacksons funeral. lazy new comedy meme?

one thing i did notice about lock in this lockipedia show is how similar his observations are to how karl pilkington thinks, but more knowing obv. been listening/reading/watching a lot of pilkington stuff lately. idiot abroad is probably one of the funniest shows of all time, easily the best thing gervais has ever been involved in. all the 'is he/isn't he faking' bumf just gets in the way - if he is faking it he's a genius character actor, if not he's a genuinely stupid man, doesn't detract from how funny it all is.

Ep 3 was best yet of the trip. The aha into the valley was ;_; yet lol

Putting Sean Lock into the ILX search engine has reminded me that it was him that delivered a quality takedown of Ian Wright on They Think It's All Over. The passage of time had convinced me it was actually Rory McGrath.

(I am glad it wasn't Rory McGrath, I can go back to thinking he's a massive twat again now)

ooh sounds good, is there a youtube link?

From ian wright is stuuuuuu-pid!!!=

Ian Wright is on They Think It's All Over just now. They are talking about Germany selling out by having American beer.
Ian Wright: *mutters something about selling out*
Sean Lock: "yeah, England have never sold out to foreign influences. Like having a non-English manager"
Ian Wright: *glowers*
Sean Lock: "You'll be looking forward to seeing Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium then"
Ian Wright: *glowers, looks for something to slit wrists with*

I believe it was the timing and Lock's general affability that was the killer.

all the 'is he/isn't he faking' bumf just gets in the way - if he is faking it he's a genius character actor, if not he's a genuinely stupid man, doesn't detract from how funny it all is.

I used to know a bloke (geordie) who was exactly like Karl, right down to the shaved head. He played up his own naiveté to get a reaction. Thick in an endearing sort of way, but only inasmuch as he would get laughs out of it; if you pinned him down and forced him to be serious, you'd find an intellectually aspirant person in there. I reckon Karl is exactly the same.

A giveaway is that he's comfortable in front of cameras, even when he's in considerable discomfort and despite his loathing of crowds.

I'm not explaining this very well.

I find the concept of this programme extremely distasteful, having never watched it and never really paying much attention to Karl Pilkington. the "lol stupid person lols at weird foreigners" thing hasn't got much mileage in it, surely? I prefer the "genial person gets perplexed but gets stuck in" versions that Fry, Palin etc do, which seem to be done with affection and an attempt at exploration rather than just blatant lolz.

Is it not like this at all?

It's not like that at all. The fact that it's called An Idiot Abroad is misleading — it's actually meant to be read as Gervais's and Merchant's view of Karl. Karl himself does a lot of incredible things, moans a bit, learns an awful lot and says three or four dumb things per episode. There's even quite a big deal made of R and S wanting to call the show An Idiot Abroad and Karl being annoyed about it.

Basically it's a travel show with a witty star and a misleading title.

Also Karl willingly does a load of things that I would never do. As a viewer my respect for the man skyrocketed.

Ah, OK. So shitey false advertising then? The trailers don't give that impression AT ALL, nothing even close, which is why I've given it a very wide berth.