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House of Fools

TV Review: House Of Fools, Series 2

April 1, 2015 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Reeves and Mortimer mature like a fine wine. They somehow manage to out-do themselves with every programme they create, and building on the foundations of shows like Big Night Out and Shooting Stars, that truly is some feat. Series one of House of Fools was a comical violation of the senses, in the most enjoyable way imaginable. A fool would assume it couldn’t get any better. But it has.

This second series has shown the group really cement themselves as a unit, if a rather dysfunctional one, which gives the comedy so much more meaning and vigour, and the addition of Julie’s Bistro downstairs provides an interesting new dynamic. Rachel, Erik’s straight-talking Norwegian girlfriend, is a new character and is played by Ellie White. She fits into the group effortlessly and the possibility of Rachel just becoming a reflection of Erik’s character is successfully avoided, as she is the centre point of jokes from her very first appearance (such as her fear of non-flat things, which Bob inadvertently brings to the surface).

BBC/Christopher Baines

BBC/Christopher Baines

Dan Skinner continues to bring elements of his hysterically funny stand up character Angelos Epithemiou to his performance as Vic’s younger brother, Bosh, and similarly, Matt Berry approaches the character of Beef in his typical smooth-voiced and flamboyant style. These talented actors have certainly worked out who they are in terms of performance and this is expertly picked up on by Reeves and Mortimer in the character development and sharp script writing. And then we have Julie. Julie is absolutely magnificent. She is bewildering, extravagant and outrageous yet has the depth of a wholly decent character at the same time. Morgana Robinson’s performances truly are a sight to behold, with her enthusiastic slapstick and unpredictable line delivery, particularly regarding her temporarily tiny hands.

From the strange interpretations of celebrities like Bruce Forsyth and Alistair McGowan, to the arrival of The Butcher Boys, a dance trio made up of Tom Davis, Tony Way and Romesh Ranganathan, to the appearances of Sally Phillips, Simon Farnaby and Rufus Jones, amongst others, it can’t be denied that this programme is diverse. As well as the new energy in the cast, the fact House of Fools is recorded in front of a live audience adds something extra special to the performance, especially as they are seen at the beginning and end of episodes when the camera pans out. Fans of Vic and Bob do not sound like your average laughter track; they are boisterous, enthusiastic and clearly having a bloody enjoyable time. This homemade feel is enhanced by the decision not to remove the frequent corpses and mistakes made by the cast, which often highlight how preposterous the plot is and remind us that a great deal of the script is semi-improvised.

BBC/Christopher Baines

BBC/Christopher Baines

House of Fools is a microcosm of insanity and childishness. When Beef announces that his black cape is “made of the nighttime,” nobody bats an eyelid. When Vic proposes to save Bob’s underwear from a giant moth by shooting it dead, Bob dismissively sighs: “Vic, I don’t want my panties covered in shot.” It always has been and always will be an absolute joy watching these two fantastic comedy minds working together, and seeing them have so much fun in the process. Vic and Bob have unlocked a door to a phenomenally wacky and unsettlingly funny parallel universe, and I want to stay there forever.

CATCH UP WITH SERIES TWO OF HOUSE OF FOOLS ON BBC IPLAYER

Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Bob Mortimer, British Comedy, Comedy, Daniel Simonsen, Ellie White, House of Fools, Morgana Robinson, Sitcom, Vic and Bob, Vic Reeves

Christmas Round Up

January 6, 2015 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

The Christmas period presented multiple comedy gems to our television screens last month, and here is a summary of a few of my particular favourites:

Derek

Ricky Gervais’ Derek reached its natural conclusion with a wedding, a fight and a baby. Gervais has shown a great subtlety in his writing that I had not noticed in his other projects that often displayed, in fact, quite the opposite. I found the episode to be dealt with sensitively and with great humour, with the character of Derek remaining endearing yet dignified throughout, as was noticeable from this year’s series two. Available on 4OD.

House of Fools

House of Fools has been one of my favourite sitcoms since it first aired in early 2014, as it is written by, and stars, the incredible Vic and Bob. This Christmas spectacular presented many problems for the duo: Erik has demanded a particular bobble hat for his present but it has been set on fire. The strange gathering must set off to steal a replacement, and meet Father Christmas (Reece Shearsmith) on the way. Available on BBC iPlayer.

Not Going Out

Not Going Out has been consistently and delightfully cringe-worthy with frequent small laughs and a few brilliant lines per episode (and there have been an impressive seven series, so that’s some great feat). This final episode did not disappoint, and audiences were finally given an answer to the age-old question: will Lee and Lucy ever actually become a couple? Available on BBC iPlayer.

Gadget Man

Richard Ayoade returned with a Gadget Man’s Guide to Christmas with special guests Adam Hills, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Merchant, Jonathan Ross, Reece Shearsmith and Robert Webb. With a wonderful array of toys and vehicles and strange household items, Ayoade presented us with an entirely new take on Christmas gifts and dinners. Available on 4OD.

Charlie Brooker’s 2014 Wipe

Charlie Brooker brought his infamous positive little rays of sunshine to Christmas by overviewing a seemingly awful year for everyone in the entire universe. From Farage to Ebola, Charlie’s typically sarcastic and cutting commentary overed it all, with help from Barry Shitpeas and Philomena Cunk. I should probably warn off people who are prone to depression from watching this programme but Brooker’s wit really takes the edge off, as does the wonderful song at the end. Available on BBC iPlayer.

Man Down

Man Down has to be one of my favourite new sitcoms from the past couple of years because it stars a couple of my most loved comedians: Greg Davies and Roisin Conaty. The Christmas episode was a beautiful tribute to the late Rik Mayall, who played Dan’s father in the show, and sent both Mayall himself, and the character he played, off in a hilarious but touching fashion. Available on 4OD.

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Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Bob Mortimer, Charlie Brooker, Derek, Gadget Man, Greg Davies, House of Fools, Lee Mack, Man Down, Not Going Out, Reece Shearsmith, Richard Ayoade, Ricky Gervais, Rik Mayall, Roisin Conaty, Vic Reeves

February: Comedian Of The Month #1, Daniel Simonsen

March 17, 2014 by Becca Moody 1 Comment
Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

This is a brand new feature on MoodyComedy and I am creating it with the intention of passing on new names to as many people as possible. Each month I will choose my favourite comic discovery of the past four weeks and write a short piece on why I liked them, where they can be found and why you might be interested in their work. So here it goes…

daniel simonsenI first became aware of the Norwegian comic, Daniel Simonsen in the middle of January when the first episode of Vic & Bob’s new show: House of Fools but the series ran throughout February and this is where I feel Simonsen really came into his own. I said in a post a couple of weeks back that House of Fools is an absolutely incredible programme and though I may be biased because I have adored everything Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer have produced in the past, I still stand by my judgement.

Daniel is an absolute gem here because he brings a youth-like feel to a show otherwise dominated with more ‘mature’ actors and comedians. I think Bob Mortimer has a very good eye when it comes to finding new comic talents (such as Angelos Epithemiou, or Dan Skinner, who featured on Shooting Stars and as Bosh in House of Fools) and though I can’t be certain if he is also the one who spotted Simonsen, it was definitely a wise decision. He plays Bob’s son, Erik, who is witty, hateful and possibly very evil. He provides many of the biggest laugh throughout the series, especially in my house.

After watching and loving the whole series of House of Fools multiple times, I looked up Daniel Simonsen as I just knew that if he did stand up, I would find it brilliant. He does and I do. I watched this clip from Russell Howard’s Good News Extra in 2012 and fell in love with Daniel a little bit more. He is interesting; foreign: an outsider. I find that so refreshing as I always feel that an accent that isn’t typically British adds something special to a performance and I like the idea of people from other countries looking in on our comedy scene and joining it, yet also passing comment that wouldn’t usually be made (such as Henning Wehn’s material).

Simonsen’s style is brilliant as he seems so young yet has such in-depth and critical opinions on things like your basic observational comedians. One of my favourite lines from him is his thoughts on when a person asks him why he isn’t talking at a social event and he replies with: ‘oh, I forgot’ and his simple statement of ‘it’s really difficult to be a human being’.

For more information, follow Daniel Simonsen on Twitter.

Posted in: Comedian Of The Month, Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Comedian Of The Month, Comedy, Daniel Simonsen, House of Fools

House of Fools

February 19, 2014 by Becca Moody 2 Comments

January marked a much awaited time for Vic and Bob fans: the arrival of the brand new surreal sitcom, House Of Fools. The programme follows the troubles faced by Bob [Mortimer] and his group of unreliable and slightly insane ‘friends’ (plus his Norwegian son, Erik) who all insist on lodging in his house whilst continually mocking poor Bob as he manages to fail in all aspects of his life.

The casting of the programme is near on perfection, featuring Matt Berry as Beef, Dan Skinner as Bosh, Morgana Robinson as Julie and of course Vic and Bob themselves. I was pleased to see a new face on the programme: stand up comedian Daniel Simonsen as Erik, whose role in the show is refreshing, maybe because the exaggerated Norwegian accent is hilarious in itself.

Reeves and Mortimer have said in interviews that the aim of the show was to take the conventional idea of what should be in a sitcom and completely turn it on its head by recreating typical situations but in a new way. For example, when a neighbour tells the protagonist that they need them to look after something very important, the audience are immediately aware of the inevitability that something will soon go drastically wrong. The double act recognised this and made it the plot line of episode two, The Pork Pie Affair, in which Julie asks the group to look after an oversized pork pie that is to be given to Bruce Willis that evening.

The programme is broken up with songs of nonsense, that Bob describes as a “shortcut to telling a plot, so we set everything up via the gift of song.” The words are constantly going round my head on a daily basis and I can’t seem to get them out so beware!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-V7479MQC4]

Posted in: Comedians, Television Shows Tagged: Bob Mortimer, British Comedy, Comedy, House of Fools, Reeves and Mortimer, Sitcom, Vic and Bob, Vic Reeves
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