TV review

Published Friday 22 August 2008 at 13:05 by Harry Venning

Apparently the great American actor John Barrymore was asked on his deathbed if dying was hard. “Dying is easy,” Barrymore replied, “comedy is hard.”

The number of new television comedies that misfire or bomb completely would appear to support Barrymore’s assertion, so I am delighted to report that I have watched no less than three shows this week that made me laugh. A lot.

With the glut of sketch shows currently clogging up the schedules, it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. School of Comedy achieves this triumphantly by handing over adult material to adolescent performers.

Yes, I know, it sounds an appalling idea. But the confidence, talent and professionalism of the cast quickly dispels all suspicions of gimmickry or fears of on-screen stage school precocity run rampant. Instead, the use of young actors brings a genuine freshness to a tired old format and introduces several new faces to watch out for. It is, of course, totally unfair on an ensemble cast to single out personal favourites, so I shall resist. Suffice to say, Will Poulter and Lily Ainsworth, you know who you are.

Pity poor Sinead Moynihan. Okay, don’t pity her too much, because she’s drop dead gorgeous and clearly in demand as an actor. But it must have been galling to get the second lead in sitcom How Not to Live Your Life, only to discover that the full extent of your contribution would be to look pretty and provide a sensible foil to the show’s writer/star Dan Clark. Would it have killed Clark to throw the show’s only female character the occasional funny line to deliver?

This grump notwithstanding, I rather like How Not to Live Your Life. Clark stars as the self-centred, cheerfully odious Don, who inherits his grandmother’s house, the debts that come with it and her live-in carer. By a twist of sitcom fate, his advert for a lodger is answered by his childhood sweetheart Abby (Moynihan), who unfortunately comes with boyfriend in tow.

Episode one was something of a slow starter, but the show hit its stride by episode two which saw child-hating Dan try and impress schoolteacher Abby by accompanying her and her class on a camping trip. After initial revulsion, Dan bonds with his young charges and teaches them such essential life skills as swearing, drinking spirits and improvising with a sock when there’s no toilet paper.

Clark’s unorthodox delivery, combined with Dan’s almost wilful unloveability, takes some getting used to, but this is consistently amusing, frequently hilarious and totally addictive.

The Cup borrows the fly on the wall documentary format that served The Office so well and inevitably suffers by comparison. The Cup totally lacks the necessary subtlety or deft comic touch.

What it does have, however, is invention, great characters and an uninterrupted procession of really funny jokes. Written by Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty, The Cup follows the fortunes of an under-11 football team, its joint top scorer Macky McConnell and Macky’s dementedly pushy dad Terry (Sean Edge), whose own football career with Bolton Wanderers was cut short by injury.

DETAILS

Comedy Lab - School of Comedy - Channel 4, Thursday, August 21, 10.45pm

How Not to Live Your Life - BBC3, Tuesday, August 19, 10.30pm

The Cup - BBC2, Thursday, August 21, 9.30pm