Film review: Beyond The Pole

written for the British Comedy Guide

Climate change isn't just all over the news, it's also all over the cinema. There are the worthy documentaries and docu-dramas of course, such as The Age of Stupid and An Inconvenient Truth but Hollywood has certainly got in on the act too, giving its big-budget disaster movies the moral warning edge that WE WILL BRING THIS ON OURSELVES. I think it is fair to say, however, that Beyond The Pole is the first British, climate change, buddy comedy movie.

This new indie from Shooting Pictures sees Stephen Mangan and Rhys Thomas play a couple of rather endearing idiots, Mark and Brian, who have seen The Day After Tomorrow and a few terrifying stats on the news and decided that something simply must be done to save the planet. They could settle for refusing the offer of a plastic bag or leaving the car at home, but thanks to a rather incendiary mix of frustrated home lives, a thrill-seeking streak and a complete lack of understanding of the dangers involved, they instead decide to walk to the North Pole completely unaided. Oh, and the trip will be carbon neutral, organic and vegetarian too. Naturally.

They've never done anything like this before - although Mark feels qualified thanks to his adventurer great-grandfather, and Brian does love a bit of extreme sports on the X-Box and that's kinda similar, right? Plus, they have arctic cameraman Steve at their side, but when he's attacked by a polar bear (earlier described by Brian as 'cuddly-looking') they put him out of action somewhat by firing a warning shot straight into his leg. Unbowed, the boys continue, but news from home for both of them takes their eyes off the prize, and with a couple of rather more professional Norwegians on their tail, it looks like they won't even make the Guinness Book of Records, let alone save the world.

Beyond The Pole may not have the backing of a big studio - it was built on private funding and a hell of a lot of persistence - but it does have three important assets on its side: Stephen Mangan, Rhys Thomas and one stunning landscape. Working backwards then: for this film to work you genuinely have to believe that the guys are living and struggling in this harsh environment, and what better way to achieve that than to actually shoot it there?

The apparently never-ending Greenlandic ice floes that provide the back-drop for Beyond The Pole give this film an impressive scale and provide a real sense of threat that you simply can't recreate in the studio.

And then there's the film's leads, Mangan and Thomas. Stephen Mangan has made this particular brand of well-intentioned fool his stock in trade (never better than in, well Never Better, the sadly un-recommissioned BBC Two sitcom from a couple of years back) but here there is the great addition of a slightly dangerous side fostered by disappointment with how his life has worked out so far, and the frustration that no-one seems to see the urgency of the world's dire situation. Thomas - currently excelling in Bellamy's People which gets better and better every week - shows Brian to be the rather more stable of the pair, but still utterly deluded as to the enormity of the task in front of him, which he greets with a cheeky smile for the camera.

There are some great lines along the way - I particularly enjoyed the exchange "When Bono and Geldof saw those starving kids, they couldn't just keep making hit records, could they?" "Geldof certainly couldn't...", although it has to be said that the belly-laugh count could be higher. Another quibble - certainly not one that modern films often fall foul of - is that the film could simply be longer; Mark's decent into insanity happens a bit too quickly and, quite frankly, I could watch Brian flailing about in knee-deep snow for hours (Thomas shows a real capacity for physical comedy).

With Mangan and Thomas at the helm, though, a trip to the North Pole is one you're more than happy to take - their rapport is great, especially when bickering like an old, admittedly potty-mouthed married couple, and for all their characters' idiocy you're always behind them because their dedication to the cause is genuine and therefore infectious. And in the end, I know that a nicely-made Britcom with great lead performances and its heart firmly in the right place is going to do a better job than an Al Gore doc at getting me to turn the thermostat down...

Feature Spot brilliance, Gloomy comedy and the magnificent Pajama Men

Well well well, here we are in February and I officially suck at blogging. In my defence, January was probably my busiest month so far work-wise, and was topped off by a rather lovely virus last week that had me laid up in bed in a way I haven't experienced for years and years... Still, I continued to make the most of what London has to offer, of course, and I saw some real stunners.

Early on, as well as seeing James Sherwood, I returned to the legendary 100 Club; this time not for one of those Karaoke Circuses, but for a relatively new club night from Feature Spot which is quickly and rightly getting a reputation for putting together some of the best bills in the capital. This night had Perrier-winning Phil Nichol on MC duties (yes, he did 'Only Gay Eskimo', something I will NEVER complain about, no matter how many times I see it), along with the fabulous character comic Colin Hoult, Rufus Hound trying out some new material and a couple of Penny Dreadfuls being utterly charming as ever. We Are Klang's Greg Davies headlined, and absolutely slayed the room with his sprawling, bizarre and utterly hilarious stories. Brilliant.

The following Monday was apparently the year's gloomiest, and so to raise a bit of cash for Depression Alliance, 'Gloom Aid' was held at the Islington Academy, with Mark Watson at the helm. Now, if I had my way, Watson would MC every single gig ever - quick, clever, self-aware and with the ability to make everyone feel involved and at ease, he's the reason a 24 Hour show is at all possible. It was also great to see Alex Horne (Wordwatcher and We Need Answers host) do stand up for the first time, and it was my first experience of the much-loved musical comedy duo Frisky and Mannish. They are clearly brilliant musically, and Wuthering Heights as sung by Lily Allen is particularly inspired - but I think I need to see a fill show to really fall for them.

Later that week I had booked a single ticket for the Pajama Men at the Soho Theatre on a bit of whim, and I am so glad I did: their show 'Last Stand To Reason' is quite simply one of the best - comedy or theatre - that I have ever seen. It isn't often that a show lives up to such huge hype (it has had almost universal critical adoration) but sometimes things are just as good as everyone says it is. The two men in flannel pyjamas - or pAjamas, they are Yanks after all - act out lots of characters on a train, and they inhabit them all so brilliantly, and so funnily; combining the script and vague storyline with left-field, improvised flights of fancy. Part theatre, part comedy and, with no props other than two chairs, part mime, it's all performed with consumate professionalism without ever feeling forced, and I felt genuinely involved with many of the characters. I'm going again, and I can't wait.

The Little Dog Laughed, Garrick Theatre

Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog Laughed was a smash on Broadway – it received a couple of Tony Award nominations and a win for Julie White in the Leading Actress category – and, for a couple of reasons, it is easy to see why.

On one hand, it boasts a bright, sparky script that gives some great material to White’s (and here in the West End, Tamsin Greig’s) character especially; and on the other, rather importantly you suspect, it is all about ambitious actors, cut-throat agents and the skin-deep world of Hollywood buying up successful plays like this one.

The play follows up-and-coming Tinsletown actor Mitch (Rupert Friend), a handsome guy-next-door type whom you’d like your daughter to bring home – at least, that’s the high-gloss image his long term agent and best friend Diane would like to portray.

In fact, he has what she flippantly refers to as ‘a slight recurring case of homosexuality’, something which Diane is desperate to keep a secret, lest his ever-growing female fanbase should desert him before he even makes it to the top. In this buisness, only older English actors with a knighthood are allowed to be openly gay, she says.

So when Mitch falls for hustler Alex (Harry Lloyd), and seems to be getting tired of pretending that Diane herself is the love of his life, Diane goes into hyperdrive (not that she’s a laid-back character ordinarily), snapping up the rights to a hot Broadway play with the intention of cutting out its gay love story – naturally – and flying Mitch back to Hollywood, away from any ‘distractions’, to star in a big screen adaptation.

Diane, with her acid tongue, keen eye for the ridiculousness of the Hollywood game and yet overwhelming desire to win it, is without doubt the play’s richest and most enjoyable character, and Greig is brilliant in the role. She opens the production with a long monologue, setting the scene and speaking straight out to the audience, and she delivers it with the ad-libbing ease of a stand-up, making reference to the fact that we were a pretty good crowd for a Thursday, and reacting to particularly loud individual laughs.

Not all of the actors on stage are treated to such great material however – a couple of the early scenes between Mitch and Alex in particular feel overlong, rather leaving the audience actively awaiting Diane’s return to the stage. The pace picks up in the second half, though, as Mitch starts to reassess what he really wants - and not in the ‘love-conquers-all’ way one might expect - and Alex’s on-off girlfriend Ellen (Gemma Arteton shining in something of a slight role) becomes more involved in the action.

In the end, this play does not say a whole lot beyond the obvious: that Hollywood is a shallow place - and mindset - that ranks appearance high above reality and is full of people who air-kiss their way to the top, treading on whoever necessary. It is still rather charming and a lot of fun, however, and this production in particular benefits from an impressive and utterly assured performance from Greig.

written for MusicOMH.com

James Sherwood at the Piano, Etcetera Theatre - 12th January 2010

Written for the British Comedy Guide

Musical comedy has always been something of a maligned sub-genre, and it is fair to say that while there are few things in the world of entertainment worse than bad comedy, bad musical comedy is one of them. But there have always been masters of the genre, from Flanders and Swann through Tom Lehrer and The Ruttles to Tim Minchin and Bill Bailey, and when it is done as brilliantly as that, it is, for me, one of the greatest joys to be found on this here planet.

So where does James Sherwood sit in this wide-ranging musical comedy league? Well, much higher than his appearance in a small room above a pub (however well respected, as Etcetera undoubtedly is) would suggest, for a start. And - as is so important these days - he does have a little something that makes his particular strain of comedy song unique: while his peers use music to discuss God, life, and the universe, Sherwood turns the magnifying glass inwards, and instead dissects, examines and generally mocks the absurdities of music itself.

No cow is too sacred here - the 'inconsistencies' in Blake's lyrics to Jerusalem get a particular kicking - and all types of music from Lionel Ritchie to Guns N' Roses and U2 are stripped down and shown to be grammatically or mathematically lacking. You might imagine that Sherwood would be a little more forgiving when it comes to something as trifling as a glorified nursery rhyme like A Windmill In Old Amsterdam, but you'd be wrong. It just isn't realistic - who wouldn't be freaked out by a little mouse with clogs on?

These analyses are such fun for a couple of reasons: firstly, Sherwood is necessarily a brilliant musician who casually turns his hand to everything from The Beatles to Beethoven without hesitation, and secondly he has an obvious love of language that means that he is a just a joy to listen to. When discussing the big band classic The Way You Wear Your Hat, for example, he dismisses the central question with the line: 'Isn't there just one way to wear a hat? Atop the head... as the milliner intended'. Perhaps that won't delight everyone, but it certainly appealed to my particular brand of linguistic geekery.

James Sherwood.The examination of other people's songs is accompanied by original Sherwood compositions, many of which turn musical conventions on their head - a discussion on the lover as fool, for example, gives rise to a great track sung from the point of view of a man who has won 'hardly any Nobel prizes'. Of course, Sherwood does rather leave himself open to having his own songs carefully picked over, but you suspect he's way ahead of us...

Sherwood displays a typically English love of 'properness' on stage; he likes everything to be in its right place, and you suspect he's only half-joking when he sighs at yet another pop star's inability to work out when it's 'whom' and not 'who'. But that's not to say he's not a hell of a lot of fun - this material may have a Divine Comedy-esque archness, but it's equally warm and just a little silly. And Sherwood does wear his influences on his sleeve - his love of language and ear for conversation means that it is Victoria Wood who is evoked most strongly - but he sits happily and deservedly alongside them at the top of the musical comedy league.

Party by Tom Basden, at the Arts Theatre, London

Yay! Londoners (and those willing to travel I guess!) now have the chance to see the wonderful play Party which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe, written by Tom Basden and starring himself, Tim Key, Anna Crilly, Katy Wix and Nick Mohammed. It's rather brilliant, so get there if you can.

The Lowman and Love Podcast

Yes, it's back! And a mere 18 months since the last one... If you'd like to listen to me and Dean chatting about our favourite comedy, telly, music and theatre from 2009, you'd better head over to his blog. He's also included all the topics we cover in order, so you can always skip through to bits you might be especially interested in if you're a busy bee. As you might imagine, the likes of Doctor Who, Mark Watson, Psychoville, Jerusalem and (from Dean's end) Californication, Dexter and Stewart Lee all get a look in.

Bye Bye Ten! AKA A love letter to David Tennant's Doctor...

(written for Dork Adore)

So that’s it. No more Tennant.

Off he goes to America, burning up the TARDIS as he goes and leaving us Nu-Whovians with nothing more than the box-sets to keep us company. Perhaps we will warm to Eleven, the young Matt Smith, but for now, let us mourn the passing of Ten in sombre silence. Or a few-hundred-word blog post since silence doesn’t come across all that well on the internet.

When Russell T Davies gave Doctor Who an unexpected breath of life a few years back, Christopher Eccleston was an undeniably brilliant, grumpy, Doctor, and he deserves praise and kudos for making sure the show didn’t disappear as quickly as it had regenerated. But the fact is, old Chris never really bought into the whole Doctor Who ‘phenomenon’; clearly anxious to avoid stereotyping, he was always going to leave after one series.

David Tennant, on the other hand – importantly a fully paid-up Whovian himself since the age of five – took on the role completely willing to be the Doctor as much off-set as in front of the camera. He has been an ambassador for the show, its greatest defender and, above all, has remained a fan throughout. Despite leaving the programme in dramatic and heartbreaking style, David Tennant is still the Doctor, always will be, and seems rather happy about it.

And what a Doctor. After just one series he was voted the best Doctor of all time, and while that might be attributed to short memories, I have little doubt that he will remain a real favourite because he appeals to so many people for so many different reasons. Kids love Tennant’s Doctor because he is one of them; he’s a big, OTT, bundle of energy who is attracted to danger and has a real love of life. Adults love Tennant’s Doctor because, despite all of that, he is also very much a ‘lonely angel’ who is deeply sad and on the edge of being something rather hideous (of which we saw glimpses in The Runaway Bride and The Waters Of Mars). And, of course, there is the fact that this particular Doctor is rather attractive…

What about Ten’s greatest moments, then? Well, he got off to a bombastic start in The Christmas Invasion (his introductory speech in which he starts quoting The Lion King is just brilliant), he displayed his softer, more sincere side in The Girl In The Fireplace and his unique chemistry with Donna was never better than in the wonderful Fires Of Pompeii. But the moment that will define DT’s tenure for me, will be that look of utter desolation when the Doctor realises he has lost his beloved Rose in Doomsday…

As for the final two-parter, he certainly got quite a send-off. One hour of gun-toting battles with the Master(s) and the corrupted Time Lords, and fifteen minutes of quiet, heart-breaking goodbyes. Sure it was over the top, but seriously, did we seriously expect the greatest Doctor to go quietly? He’s the most ‘human’ Doctor there has ever been – touched by real love and constant loss – and he faced death in a very human way: ‘I don’t want to go’.

Just like the the Noble Wilf, David Tennant, Tenth Doctor, we salute you. Allons-y!

Some underwhelming Christmas comedy... and a little gem

(written for The British Comedy Guide)

If you're anything like me, Christmas isn't just food, drink and family - it's also poring over the Radio Times double issue, geekily circling all the comedy specials and getting your hopes dangerously high. And with Victoria Wood, The Royle Family, Catherine Tate and Outnumbered all getting a festive outings this year, the red pen certainly got a good workout.

Victoria Wood's first new sketch show for nine years led the way on Christmas Eve - not the big day, allegedly much to Wood's chagrin - and, if anything, it was the programme I had been most looking forward to. I'd laughed my way through the 90 minute documentary which rightly celebrated her the week before, and the repeat of the 2000 special had reminded me just how brilliant and uniquely gifted she is. How disappointing then, to find myself struggling to raise a smile during her 'Mid-Life Christmas'...

There's no doubting that Wood can concoct the most sublimely ridiculous turn of phrase for her characters, and that was still in evidence here, but several of the sketches misfired completely. The 'have you been injured in an accident?' parody was a good few years out of date, there was too much of Bo Beaumont and I still can't quite make up my mind about the updated 'Let's Do It' - I adore the original, of course, but did its inclusion suggest a lack of new ideas...?

The Royle Family.Perhaps another wonderful female, northern comedy writer would live up to expectations. Caroline Aherne's The Royle Family got the prime Christmas Day slot, and for the first half hour that was completely warranted. Reclining contentedly in their usual positions on the sofa, Jim, Barbara et al provided us with the sort of warm, naturalistic humour that has rightly brought the programme 'classic' status. But when the action moved to a rainy caravan park in Prestatyn, these usually endearing characters began to grate, and I eventually found myself more interested in tea and Twitter than their incessant squabbling. So far, so so-so then.

Catherine Tate's Christmas Carol parody wasn't all that bad, I suppose - there were a couple of nice cameos from Ben Miller and the ubiquitous (not that I'm complaining) David Tennant - but it was essentially panto. Plus, I suspect I viewed it less harshly than Wood and Aherne's offerings because I came to it with rather less reverence for her previous comedy work...

Outnumbered. Image shows from L to R: Ben (Daniel Roche), Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), Sue (Claire Skinner), Karen (Ramona Marquez), Pete (Hugh Dennis). Image credit: Hat Trick Productions.Thank goodness, then, for the chaotic charm of the Brockman household; thanks to some predictably brilliant performances from adults and kids alike, Outnumbered was Christmas 09's comedy highlight. You could take your pick of favourite moments: Ben's announcement that Osama Bin Laden is 'cool', perhaps, or Karen's questioning of Grandad's very Scottish friend Mac ("it's not that I want you to talk like me... just why don't you?"). It's warm, it's truthful, it's intelligent and it's unique - all of those British Comedy Awards were utterly deserved.

Luckily, away from the new programming there were a couple of other gems made for comedy anoraks just like us. The Story of Slapstick did more than it said on the tin and charted the history of physical humour as a whole, thus providing a magnificent hour's worth of people getting hit over the head with a frying pan, from Buster Keaton to Vic and Bob. And meanwhile, the raucous, satirical sketch show Not The Nine O'Clock News got the documentary treatment, reminding viewers just how outrageously brilliant Rowan Atkinson is, if nothing else.

Not a classic comedy Christmas then, but then I'm too busy checking out Chaplin and Not The Nine O'Clock News DVDs on Amazon to care...

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One comedy that I didn't mention - simply because it didn't quite 'fit' - but which provided me and all the Lowmans with rather more laughs than Ms Wood and all the Royles combined, was A Child's Christmases In Wales. Hidden away on BBC Four (until a repeat on BBC Two being aired as I speak), the hour long family comedy is based on a Dylan Thomas short story and written by none other than Mr Mark Watson. That all bode pretty well of course, but this time expectations were met - completely charming and stuffed full of great lines and performances. Snuggle up with a cuppa, and have a watch.

Doctor Who - The End Of Time Part I

Merry Christmas all you lovely people! Telly-wise it's all gone a bit sketch show (hit and miss) but I'll be good and save the round-up for a British Comedy Guide blog (I'll cross-post here, though anyone following me on Twitter will have got the general gist of my opinions on Ms Wood and the like, I think...!)

A very quick note on Doctor Who is required of course, though - the jewel in the Beeb's Christmas crown which has been complemented by appearences from DT on every show he can be shoe-horned into. Not that I'm complaining... The End Of Time Part I appeared to split Twitter down the middle - the initial reaction being of a 'well that was predictably disappointing, bah humbug' nature, while the supporters took a little more time to be brave and whisper 'yeah... but... that scene in the cafe!'

And here lies the dividing line, of course. What do you care about more; plot and sci-fi or character and performance? RTD pretends to care about the former but when it comes down to it, he couldn't give a monkeys and some viewers, understandably, have been consistently frustrated about those priorities. They don't want to see the Doctor crying about the fact that he's going to die soon and even if it was one of the most heartbreaking scenes nu-Who has produced, that doesn't mean they have to like it.

Lucky for me then, that my priorities happen to tally with RTD's. I share his love of putting emotions and relationships at the core of everything. I also share his love of the ridiculous - my knee-jerk reaction to seeing a million John Simms in dressing gowns, pencil skirts and the White House is to squeal with delight at the audacity of the whole thing, not to say 'here we go, now he's ripping off the Matrix, how LAME.' And so RTD dupes me everytime; tricks me into raving about something that is flawed because the elements that are flawed just don't matter to me as much as those which I think most people would agree RTD does very well.

As for this final DT story, you do have to wonder how all the guest stars are going to be crammed into the second part. And isn't there the whole first proper meeting between this Doctor and River Song to come? And the return of the Time Lords, DoctorDonna, and y'know, a regeneration? There's a lot to get through... and I can't wait.