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Room Service (1979)
Doom Service
After achieving success with co-writer David Croft on the classic BBC comedies Dad's Army & It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Jimmy Perry decided to go solo with a new sitcom. Considering his writing pedigree, how could he fail?
With David Croft also collaborating with Jeremy Lloyd on Are You Being Served, Perry took a leaf out of their book by using a modern setting, & inspired by the success of Faulty Towers & Mind Your Language, he turned the staff of Grace Brothers into funny foreigners & transferred them to the kitchen of a 5 star hotel.
With everything set up for a comedy classic, how could he fail?
Sadly he does - miserably!
Its fair to say the show runs at a rapid pace, & the cast, lead by the always reliable Bryan Pringle & a pre-stardom Matthew Kelly are certainly game, with Freddie Earlle especially going into full throttle as the bombastic head waiter who thinks he's a hit with the ladies.
Unfortunately the zany style & over enthusiastic performers goes against a script that tries hard to be funny, but in the end fails. Not only is Room Service unfunny, its embarrassing for everyone concerned. Too many characters, not enough jokes, with the few that come on screen misfiring. No wonder critics dismissed it as one of the worst TV sitcoms ever made.
The show lasted 7 episodes & promptly disappeared from the small screen. It is now available on DVD & a couple of episodes are on YouTube so perhaps Room Service deserves to be re-evaluated. Chances are its probably better than most modern day sitcoms!!!!!!!!
The show lasted 7 episodes
The Deep (1977)
In at the deep end
Jacqueline Bissett looks stunning underwater - that's why I'm giving it two stars. The rest isn't up to much!
Humbug (2016)
I Am Gonna Coat Your Throat with Christmas Cheer!
Humbug is the product of SiniSisters AKA Jesse Foudray & Milly Sanders (who wrote the script), & as a ghoulish reworking of A Christmas Carol, it certainly hits home with tremendous aplomb.
Things kick off with Christmas hating Goth Scarlet (Foudray) stomping over to her neighbour's house to complain about the loud festive music.
However, the jolly but unbalanced Betty (Sanders) tasers Scarlet, ties her up, & in Betty's words, will 'coat your throat with Christmas cheer!'
Its disturbing stuff, but highly enjoyable . Great atmosphere & performances to match - Milly Sanders has an incredibly sexy voice.
My only complaint was the mistletoe scene - it should have been a tad longer, by at least two hours!!!!!!
Mersey Boys: A Letter from Al Moran (2019)
So Much Drama in Such Short Time
I feel quite honoured to write my first IMDB review for this compelling piece of work - a short film that tells so much.
We open in Chicago where a father & daughter arriving home from their Uncle Al's funeral. While going through his letters, we flashback to Liverpool in the early sixties where Al began a job as a professor at Liverpool Art College. During a spell in a pub (the Cavern Club) he is taken by a lovely barmaid named Ginny & meets three young men who happen to be John, Paul and George.
I don't want to give too much away. It may be a short story, but its littered with so much of interest. It was the verge of the Beatles and through Ginny, Professor Al sees how women will be going through the cultural changes that depicted the 60s. Revolution is in the air.
One reviewer states this short is a teaser, & I can agree with that. The film itself captures the mood of the time, reflected in Paddy Murphy's tight script & economic direction.
Performances also capture the resonance of the era. Everyone is in good form, but will single out Fiach Kunz as Al, a slightly out of his depth American lecturer beginning to find his feet in a new country, intimidated, but attracted to this new way of life represented by Ginny & John. Jessica Messenger is equally brilliant as Ginny, an ordinary working girl with visions of future. One can event a predict a relationship going between them.
All in all a lovely provocative film with so much to offer