Reviews

This is simply the best written sitcom of the year so far, certainly for the BBC, it plays like The Royle Family for the middle class each line is perfectly written and timed to perfection. Hugh Dennis is always good when he looks a little flustered and Claire Skinner is great as harassed mother while Samantha Bond proves their is life after well.. Bond as the ditzy aunt. But its the kids who really should be praised for the most realistic portrayals of children on T.V. ever. Mostly improvising their lines to avoid falling into the clichés - the elder boy is the antithesis of the eleven year old in his first weeks at secondary school keeping his head down, monosyllabic and trying to keep the fact he is being bullied under wraps. The younger boy plays for laughs as the constantly lying middle child he is full of energy and manages to be annoying and likable at the same time. While the little girl is really cute and asking any question that pops into her brain stumping the parents every five minutes. The show is also great with dealing with issues such political correctness, bullying, the class system and the elderly in such a breezy and non-preachy manner. After several years in the wilderness following the success of Drop the Dead Donkey, Guy Jenkins and Andy Hamilton have created another great sitcom which has been buried in the schedules by the BBC and therefore probably won't be noticed by most people who turn the TV off after the 10 o'clock news, this may find cult status on repeat viewing and come back for a second series in a new and improved time slot.

I mainly went to see this film because my friend is a massive Steve Carrel fan but by the end I had laughed my ass off and almost come to crying at the same time. The beauty of this film is that you can follow most of the characters on the journey. Many critics have claimed that Steve Carrel's Frank is the protagonist of the film and to an extent that is true as we learn of his plight first he has tried to commit suicide because he has been beaten both academically and personally by Larry Sugarman, through the trip he is taken down a peg or two by having to push the van reminding everyone that he is the number one Proust scholar in the country while doing it. By the end in his conversation with Dwayne he admits that Proust is stupid and realised that the family is more important. Greg Kinnear's character Richard of course is a self-help speaker whose words are discouraging rather than encouraging his children's growth he thinks Dwight's silent protest is a good thing it shows character and he encourages Olive not to eat ice cream. But when his book falls through because of him and he finds the family is virtually bankrupt it would be most characters downfall. But he redeems himself by defending his daughter at the beauty pageant and letting her dance her dance. Following Dwight's silent protest is another way of looking at the film. His journey to become a fighter pilot is thwarted because he finds out he is colour-blind. The touching scene where Olive holds his hand and he carries her back up the hill was one of my favourite in the film. And again he goes from hating everyone as he writes in his pad to joining his family at the end of the film. Of course the central and most obvious journey is the trip to the Little Miss Sunshine contest, Olive's need to win and her total innocence of child beauty pageants is great. Her relationship with Alan Arkin's grandpa is also very sweet, her scene where she asks him if she's pretty was also a great one in my eyes. In my opinion Toni Collete doesn't really have that much to do and her character only reacts to those around her but her role is as vital as any of the other ones. I laughed my ass off in the last scene depicted the joining together of the family as Olive dances her risqué routine to Superfreak the family all joining hands to dance with her. This really was a great ending to a superb film. And all the actors from ten-year old Abigail Breslin to seventy-something Arkin acted their socks off, I was particularly impressed with Paul Dano's performances having only seen him in the Ballard of Jack and Rose before now. All in all I think the best film you'll see this year.

I have been watching this show for about five weeks now since BBC bought it and I have to say it is one of the best comedy shows to come out of the U.S. I could go as far to say that it has the potential to be the new 'Friends'. Like that show it involves a group of characters congregating in both an apartment and a public venue of some kind this time a bar. But in my opinion this show has a lot more heart, less cruel putdowns and not as many ridiculous situations. Another way the show makes itself original is through its backward narrative so each episode is told itself as a separate story the only problem is that eventually we are going to have to find out how Ted 'Met Your Mother' Josh Radnor shines in his first leading role making Ted likable without being a complete sissy who almost reminds me of Jimmy Fallon but slightly better in the roles he plays. Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan do well in their parts, Lily and Marshall are probably the most realistic characters trying to make the final step into adulthood but being pulled back by witnessing the fun that the other members of the group are having. Robin could have easily been a one-sided character but Cobie Smolders makes her seem both exciting and vunreable. But as Barney, Neil Patrick Harris steals the show. After his self-spoofing appearance in Harold and Kumar he showed that he had a niche for comedy and that is evident here. Every put-down, one-liner and sparkling line of dialogue is delivered brillaintly. And even though Barney is shallow, Harris makes him likable showing his need for the company of the others as a sounding board for his schemes to get Ted a woman. Finally the writing is sharp and some of the scenes are so realistic, especially the latest episode I watched in the club, where nobody could here what anyone else was saying. All in all the best American sitcom in a long while.

The characterastion of The Smoking Room is the best I've seen in a sitcom since The Royle Family. For example the character of Robin evolved over the course of the series from a mild-mannered trivia fiend to a man whose afraid of his fellow smokers finding out that he's gay and also afraid that Ben from the Postroom isn't in love with him. The character of Annie is afraid that she's going to end up alone so she'll go to any length to get a man even if that means dressing up like a policeman. Lilian on the other hand is afraid of getting older and being alone

And Janet is afraid that because she's the boss' P.A. and she's a bit more well-bred than the other characters than she'll never be accepted as one of them. On the surface Sally seems like an easily irritated loudmoth but on the inside she is very caring. She is the only person who realises that Robin is gay and doesn't tell any of the other smokers. She comforts Annie at any point when she's about to break down and in her last scene of the series she even cheers Janet up by agreeing to having a girlie chat with her.

And while Sharon likes to stamp her authority on the other smokes she's as insecure as the rest of them. She doesn't know how to communicate with any of the others and in the last episode they rejected her social advances.

There are some stereotypes Barry the guy who can't do the crossword, Heidi the most boring woman you'll ever meet and the foul-mouthed security guard Len. I Hope this comes back for a second series because its enjoyable and a good concept. 9/10

I can't believe there are so many comparisons between this and Spinal Tap they are both comedies about British Rock bands and thats where it ends. While ST is an out an out spoof about music, SC is a Comedy Drama exploring relationships within the band. Billy Connolly is watered down but that is only because if he was his normal abrasive self he would outshadow Spall, Nail et al. The film does have cliches yes, but these cliches work. Timothy Spall as the drummer is a particular favourite, Bill Nighy is v.Ozzy-like as the lead singer who can't remember anything and is best when he is on stage. Jimmy Nail downplays as Les and Connolly is funny when he has to be and serious when he has to be. The tour bus scenes are bloody hillarious, the songs rock and it even has the ability to make me cry. This is one of the best films of all time. This Is Not Spinal Tap