[/caption]Another week, another episode of Angry Boys. And following the trend, there's an exposition of another major character.
We're up to Episode 3 now and so far, the show has received praise for Lilley's acting ability, as well as for his new character Gran, who has proved to be a perfect mix of funny ("Gran's Gotchas") and tough love.
Apart from that however, it has been expressions of disappointment for Lilley's caricaturist and plain unfunny portrayal of s.Mouse, a down in the dumps rapper, in which Lilley has donned a blackface get-up - not that that was why it wasn't funny.
The existing characters of Daniel and Nathan Sims fit somewhere in the middle. The main shtick there is their rude behaviour and language, which admittedly was funny at first, but after a while, it seemed like the same old stuff we had seen in We Can Be Heroes, and to an extent, Summer Heights High in the form of Jonah.
But I just want to make clear the fact that it is not a bad show, by any means. There is a clear attempt at humour, and let's face it, there isn't much of that (well, none of it) on Australian TV at the moment and it is clear the direction Lilley is trying to take the show.
However, the problem is, is that the "funny" came in dicky, sweary bursts by dumb or self-obsessed characters, and Lilley seems intent on shoe-horning in moments of pathos, which does not always gel with the tone of the episode, and obviously comes at the expense of laughs.
However, I was still open to have my mind changed by Episode 3 and the introduction of surfer Blake Oakfield. In fact I was quite excited.
The conceit of a surfer who lost a testicle in a shooting incident didn't exactly excite me, as it seemed in the vein of the same "dick balls poo f*ck" comedy he had been running with the past couple of episodes, so... Was it?
The opening scene was all about setting up the overarching plot of Nathan's deaf-school party, drawing together all the various celebrities (as well as Gran Sims).
Then we got introduced to Blake Oakfield and we find out what type of character he is. He is "in love with himself" as well as being a "bit of a dickhead".
He is a member of the "Mucca Mad Boys". And we also learn that it is one of two rival gangs in the town, which has been a source of violence (we are treated to a re-enactment of a scuffle).
Blake is under the impression that he is protecting the town.
So, Blake is an idiot with a hero complex. Which I guess is kind of funny, in that it plays on the destructive nature of gang mentality, as well as the male tendency to protect your territory.
Unfortunately, there weren't many jokes at all in that plotline.
Instead, we were treated to re-enactment on top of re-enactment as an establishing tool. Unfortunately, it was in graphic, unfunny detail; we got to see a gory picture of presumably, some bloody male genitals. Why? Blake has lost his testicles.
And it would be easy to critique the joke of people kicking Blake in the balls- or lack of- repeatedly, as it could be seen as immature, etc. But I'm not going to, for the moment. I will just remind you of a certain show called the Ronnie Johns Half Hour, which featured a recurring sketch of two people kicking each other in the balls. And that was a heavily criticised show, for those who bothered to watch it at least.
SMouse is under house-arrest, and so we get a mini-tour of his mansion. He shows us his plasma, etc. We also get to meet his girlfriend, so of course, we get to hear a different range of vocab: yup, there are some "sluts" some "bitches" and some "suck a dicks" in there.
She tells us: "After a fight, we get it on". And that's all we hear from her, because she apparently dumps him.
So there we go, that's the plot. And overall it was OK; but not at all funny, I'm sorry. If I'm missing something, let me know. But if I keep being expected to laugh at "balls balls BALLS bitch bitch f*ck!!!"... well, I can't really be expected to watch anymore. Can you?
2 comments:
I agree that it wasn't funny, but just thought I'd clear up it was a gunshot, not a shark accident that took his balls
Thanks mate, my bad. Now fixed!
Post a Comment