Lift your spirits
BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR
15 ★★★★★
Cert
IT’S freezing cold, “going out” means a whizz around Morrisons, and no one has the foggiest when this new lockdown is going to end. Thankfully, two middle-aged Midwesterners are coming to the rescue. Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) have given up waiting for cinemas to reopen and are delivering a helping of sun-dappled silliness to our living rooms.
Since co-writing and co-starring in 2011’s Bridesmaids, Mumolo and Wiig’s comedy seems to have taken a surreal turn. There’s a touch of the Marx Brothers and a hint of Vic and Bob to the daft diversions in this madcap film about two pals who get caught in a crazy crime plot while holidaying in Florida.
This one had me laughing from its opening scene. I’m not entirely sure why watching a chubby paperboy in headphones lip-synching to Barbra Streisand left me so helpless but hats off to whoever discovered Hawaiian child actor Reyn Doi.
Jamie Dornan is surprisingly funny as a reluctant terrorist who falls for both Wiig’s master criminal Sharon and her excitable tourist Star. His inner conflict is expressed in one of the film’s best sequences, an auto-tuned power ballad that boasts some of the most literal lyrics in musical history.
And, after seeing this film, you won’t ever be able to look at Morgan Freeman without thinking of a mournful crab or hear a lounge pianist without thinking of Mark Jonathan Davis’s wildly inappropriate Richard Cheese.
His “I Love Boobies” song has been submitted for an Oscar but I’m still humming the jaunty melody of “Several Of My Friends From High School Have Recently Passed”.
These are hard times but sometimes you just have to laugh.
There’s a touch of the Marx Brothers and Vic and Bob in this madcap film
WELCOME to the definition of lockdown television. Two, very socially distanced, middle-aged celebrities trudging through a deserted field in Suffolk shouting about clouds and mushrooms before sitting around a logfire doin’ some whittlin’.
Comedian and ex-bake Off presenter Sandi Toksvig was considerably raising the bar in the celebrity travelogue stakes, with an almost scholarly Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig (C4, Wednesday).you see, Toksvig has one of those brains from which “interesting” morsels just happen to spill out. In fact quite often.almost too often.
“Did I tell you my story about Napoleon and his penis?” No thanks. How Channel 4. Thankfully, fellow escapee Alison Steadman – Pam-el-ah from Gavin And Stacey – appeared quite keen to learn, though actually knew a little bit about history herself.
As they marched towards a priory, the third ever-so-posh Airbnb of the trip, Toksvig, in full head-girl tones, wondered: “Can you tell me a date in English history that everyone knows about…?” No pressure. It was like QI without gags. But acting royalty Alison was right back to her: “1066!” Take that! Pamela’s revenge.
Steadman had her own top story, too. She was once invited to a Royal drinks party, with a rock band, where the Queen attended. “She came up to me and said, ‘Aren’t the microphones loud nowadays…” The Queen, a great leveller.
Doctors (BBC One, Monday & Tuesday) brought me back to earth with a thud.at least you can’t criticise it for a lack of longevity. Last week I caught episodes 172 and 173/176 which means we’re nearing the end of something.and I’m willing to forgive any production for getting a show together under Covid but if you can’t make a decent one, stick to old films.what about Spartacus again?we all know the catchphrase.
The irony of filming under Covid was that while there were signs for social distancing on the walls of the Mill Hill Health Centre, characters were just as barmy as ever and without a mask to be seen. They should have attended the “Corona Public Forum” advertised in reception.
For most of the half-hour it was more like The Green Wing. You couldn’t hold back the laughs. My favourite story was the “engagement” of Doctor Ant and Lily. In a heart-to-heart with his medic pal, lugubrious Ant confessed: “I got engaged by accident.” I’m told that’s the first case of its kind, and officials are hastily looking for a vaccine, before it mutates into an “accidental marriage”.
Just how did Ant get through medical school? Within minutes, he was having an accidental picnic with his poor fiancée –
and two others – in the surgery waiting room (otherwise known as a Covid party).
Elsewhere a rather batty Maria had arrived back from abroad – ooh er – but didn’t want to have her baby. It had other ideas and duly arrived. But Maria was a dancer which meant she was exotic in the parallel world of Letherbridge. Neither her sister, nor her mother cared much for the infant either. After a quick fag, Maria had a change of heart. Phew. What tension.
Seeking simplicity, the world of sports beckoned. It had been a big weekend, with millions tuning in for England v Scotland in the Six Nations. I should have stopped there – but headed to the Superbowl (BBC One, Sunday). It’s the only football match where you need to keep open a Wikipedia page on the rules. Eventually, I almost understood what “1st And Down” might mean and so then marched off to bed with a great sense of achievement.
Rob & Romesh vs… Golf (Sky One, Thursday) was sports meets silly stuff.we do need some.asked why he liked golf – this week’s challenge – Rob Beckett had a sensible explanation: “It lasts four hours, minimum.” Romesh: “So does chess!” And so it went, a double act which is growing into one of the best on TV.
The funniest scene was miles from an actual golf course. They were in the home of what Alan Partridge would call the Pringle sweater, and “sports casual”, trying on outfits that surely no one actually wears unless for a joke.
Rob emerged from behind the curtain wearing a yellow cap, blue T-shirt, and white trousers dotted with fetching diamonds. “You’re dressed in what immigrants think all racists wear,” said Romesh.
The theme had also cropped up in the car earlier in a discussion about doing national impressions. Beckett: “Can you do Scottish?” Romesh: “Not as racist as you do!”
To prove their worth, they had to tee off at rarefied Wentworth Golf Course to see who could drive the furthest. I won’t spoil the ending, but someone found themselves in the car park – and he wasn’t looking for his driver. You could sense the spirit of Happy Gilmore as they repaired to the Wentworth clubhouse.