Mrs Brown’s Boys
The thing about Mrs Brown is that every family has a character like her. Whether she’s your mammy, your aunty or your ma.
We put forward the case to defend some of our favourite works of art. This week, Dani McDonald sticks up for television’s Mrs Brown’s Boys.
When I told my respected colleagues that I was indeed a fan of the renowned Mrs Brown’s Boys, they suggested I book myself into a retirement village.
But to be honest, I’m surprised at their lack of enthusiasm.
Mrs Brown’s Boys is a charming show jam-packed with heartwarming Irish jokes that have a touch, OK maybe a large dose, of Irish sass.
It is underestimated and underappreciated and here’s more: My love of Mrs Brown and her family sits firmly with New Zealand’s majority.
Mrs Brown’s Boys was the fourthmost-watched series on TVNZ in 2017. That trailed behind only 1 News, Country Calendar and Fair Go.
Mrs Brown, played by the show’s creator Brendan O’Carroll, is the family matriarch who walks around in dowdy cardigans, her hips swaying, with a slight limp.
Every family has a character like Mrs Brown. Whether she’s your mammy or your aunty, there’s always one with a quick wit that defies age and strikes when you least expect it.
Oh Mrs Brown, you and your loose language. That’s right, while the show might seem suitable for audiences over the age of 60 – because of a mature cast – in reality, they’ll whip you right on your backside with their feisty speech and colourful phrases.
And how can we not appreciate a show that is performed by an entire family in front of a live studio audience. Sometimes, and quite exhilaratingly, the cast (let’s be honest, mostly Mrs Brown) go off script.
You can read it on the faces of the other actors. The laughter becomes so muffled that tears start rolling down everyone’s faces – both on the set and the sofa. Entertainment like that just doesn’t happen any more.
But most importantly, what I love most about Mrs Brown’s Boys is Brendan O’Carroll. I love him for the time he told a Russian TV company to stick it when they said they wanted to erase the known gay character of the TV show, or when he donated 2800 Christmas dinners to a Dublin charity, or when he put aside more than $53,000 to help the baby of a woman who died in a car crash.
It’s naughty, it’s loveable and the man behind it is admirable – that’s why I love Mrs Brown’s Boys.