comedyfan71 Reviews

It's Not the Size That Counts (1974)

They should have made more progress with the script!

[4/10 · 25 April 2024]

The fact that this film is called It's Not the Size That Counts in the US kind of sums it up. It's a pretty standard 70s British sex farce that while not terrible won't be winning any awards it's fair to say. I do hold a certain interest in these types of films and I hadn't seen this one before so thought I'd give it a go. The original was no masterpiece but it was watchable at least. This sequel was a bit better than expected, the lead Leigh Lawson gives a decent performance as the well-endowed Percy, and it's interesting to see some notable names in the cast such as Barry Humphires. It was also nice to see Elke Sommer who was also in Carry on Behind which I watched recently. The plot is very thin and it's pretty much just 90 minutes of double entendres, and single ones. I did enjoy the soundtrack though.

Carry on Cabby (1963)

Taxi!

[6/10 · 25 April 2024]

Sid James's taxi company is threatened when his wife's new all-female firm sets itself up in business and starts to steal his customers. This probably has one of the best stories in the series as the gags actually tie in with the plot unlike many later entries which have very thin plots. I guess you could say there is a small bit of social commentary in here too, in a way.

Sid James and Hattie Jaques are great as the leads while Charles Hawtrey is often very funny in his role. There's not much more to say other than I didn't find it as funny as I was hoping. It was amusing throughout but had very few laugh-out-loud moments for me. Not a bad film though.

Carry on Behind (1975)

Stop messin' about!

[6/10 · 15 April 2024]

Historically this was one of my least favourites of the series, but on rewatch it was better than I remembered it as being. There's a number of regulars here, we also see the debut of Windsor Davies in a Carry on film and he actually does pretty well playing alongside Jack Douglas whose usual persona is seemingly toned down from what it usually is in the other films. Elke Sommer appears in her only Carry on and is quite funny in her role, shame she didn't appear in more films. Elsewhere everyone else is good but I wasn't keen on the Baxter family, they didn't do much for me.

The story is admittedly very weak, it's essentially a remake of camping but with slight changes. Kenneth Williams (or Professor Crumpet as Sommer keeps calling him) and Professor Vooshka go to an archaeological site to study some artifacts. Although, they don't actually end up doing much of that it seems. It's very funny in parts with great lines but sometimes the jokes just don't work. It's not really a sex comedy but it's a lot more explicit than usual, we even see a naked stripper at the beginning (and a clothed one at the end.)

This is pretty much the last decent Carry on film. They only went downhill from here sadly. Prepare your blindfolds for the next edition...

Carry on Loving (1970)

Food fight!

[6/10 · 14 April 2024]

I always thought of this as one of the worst in the series, but on rewatch it was better than I remembered. However, it's quite a change from the innocence of the earlier carry on's, it veers towards open bawdiness a lot more rather than innuendo. It clearly draws a bit of inspiration from Carry on Regardless in terms of plot with the agency theme. Sid James does his usual schtick to good effect. Kenneth Williams is also good here, while Charles Hawtrey is under-used. Richard O'Callaghan plays the type of role that Jim Dale might have done and I thought he was ok, better than some reviews give him credit for. Bernard Bresselaw plays an aggressive wrestler but sadly his character didn't do much for me, luckily Terry Scott is entertaining in his role, especially in his earlier scenes. Elsewhere Hattie Jacques is funny while Joan Sims is also good. The biggest issue is the script. It's very funny in parts but lacks the wit that the best entries had. It appears to be moving into 70s sex comedy territory as the dialogue is more explicit than usual and everything is generally more suggestive. You can't exactly describe the word 'sex' literally being written on a bus at the beginning of the film as subtle, can you? The recurring gag of the young couple snogging wasn't remotely funny to me. The ending is great fun though, admittedly.

The Harry Hill Movie (2013)

'Nan, how many times? No stripper-grams on a week-night!'

[4/10 · 12 April 2024]

Harry Hill has always been a fairly divisive comedian, his unique absurdist style has usually worked pretty well on me, especially on TV burp and his old channel 4 show. Although he's funny in half-hour slots, he doesn't seem to be capable of sustaining a feature-length film. The storyline is rather weak, involving Abu the hamster being taken on holiday to Blackpool (although they ended up in Blackpole at first) for his supposedly final week alive, but Harry's brother sends his henchmen to capture him. The acting is okay but not particularly good. The songs are fine too though not particularly funny. Harry often breaks the fourth wall to let the audience know about safety regulations etc, this was funny the first time but got irritating as he did it every 5 minutes seemingly.

It's certainly unique and while not horrible it wasn't really a bundle of fun either.

Carry on at Your Convenience (1971)

Bit big in the bowl, ain't it?

[6/10 · 11 April 2024]

Carry on at Your Convenience (or round the bend as it's called outside the UK) was a failure at the box office, this has been attributed to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists as idle, pedantic buffoons which, apparently, alienated the traditional working-class audience of the series. I feel that this was an overreaction from them. Either way, this is a decent Carry on film. The plot is pretty good and the scene where Sid James interacts with his budgie is gold. The acting is fair too. Some of the gags are a little too obvious though, and as such it can be hit and miss at times. Mostly though, it's amusing.

Carry on Doctor (1967)

What a lovely looking pear!

[7/10 · 11 April 2024]

Though it's rather thin when it comes to a story, this has got to be one of the best in the franchise humour-wise. It's often very funny indeed and is my personal favourite of all the hospital based Carry on films. Apparently Frankie Howerd was unsure whether to accept the role of Francis Bigger. It's a good thing he did as he gives a great performance. Elsewhere Kenneth Williams is good as usual, Sid James is fine but spends pretty much all his screen time in bed. Barbara Windsor is fine too although she serves no real purpose other than to take her uniform off constantly, though her pear gag never ceases to be funny. Anita Harris who was also in Follow that Camel is good fun and Hattie Jacques is good too. Charles Hawtrey is hilarious in his role and the character names are amusing.

One of the funniest entries of the series overall.

Carry on Columbus (1992)

'Good' is not a word you could use to describe this...

[3/10 · 8 April 2024]

This was an attempt to revive the Carry On series, but it failed miserably. It's better than 1978's Emmannuelle, maybe because it's not as crude and is less tacky, but it's still a very bad film. The original cast members are almost all gone now, some of them had died by this point. Jim Dale features in his first Carry On since 1969 and is seemingly the only cast member who appears to want to be there. Rik Mayall is surprisingly awful in his role, and the others aren't much better. The script can't have helped. It's heavily derivative of the much better Carry on Jack, if only it had gags on a similar level. I did chuckle a couple of times which is more than what I could say for Emmannuelle, but it's really quite bad overall.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Here we go again...

[6/10 · 8 April 2024]

I actually saw this in the cinema when it was released (as I also did with the original) but was unimpressed and then didn't watch it for about 20 years. This is my third viewing and it seems a bit better now than it did when I saw it previously. The cast are all good enough with Rick Moranis featuring more than he did in the first film. He's usually quite entertaining here. Bill Murray returns but isn't given lines as good as those he got in the first. It's relatively unoriginal and has something of a thin and contrived plot. There's still some very good scenes though but it's nowhere near as consistent as the original Ghostbusters. The theme songs are probably the worst part about this, they're crap!

6/10.

Rising Damp (1974–1978)

Oh Mr Rigsby!

[10/10 · 7 April 2024]

Some people deem this show to be racist today, when in reality it's quite the opposite. Rigsby was a genius comedy creation; a vain, nasty, bigoted landlord who at the same time was there to poke fun at the real life people who acted like him. Philip was charming and smart, which Rigsby could only dream of being. Despite Rigsby seemingly having unlikeable traits and on paper being quite a vile individual, amazingly Leonard Rossiter was able to pull him off as eventually endearing and likeable. The acting is genuinely amongst the best I've ever seen for a sitcom, everyone is perfect in their roles and the cast have such great chemistry. The writing is also top notch, with every episode being excellent in its own right. The storylines in themselves are hysterical. Season 4 is a tad weaker than the rest, maybe because Alan had left, but it's still exceptional.

Without a doubt the greatest comedy to ever air on ITV, and surely one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time.

The Pentaverate (2022)

Dumb and Smart

[6/10 · 7 April 2024]

It's worth noting that quite a number of the reviewers that have left negative reviews for this show mentioned that they have never liked Myers/never found him funny. Frankly, I'm not sure why they watched this show. If you didn't like his previous work there's little here that'll convince you otherwise. Being very much a fan of the bulk of his work, I liked some of this. If you enjoyed Austin Powers and other silly farces in a similar vein to them then don't be put off.

Myers is very clearly all in here and he certainly hasn't lost his mojo, well not completely. He remains a visibly talented performer, proven by his ability to play so many roles here convincingly. The make-up looks great and Myers does a superb job at creating so many personalities. Ken Scarborough, the main character, comes across as very likeable. The rest of the cast are good too, though maybe could have been utilised a bit more.

I believe the biggest issue with the show is that Myers occasionally lets himself down with his own writing. Some of it is sharp - some of it is, well, lowbrow to say the least. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but some of the jokes are just weird, and not the good kind. Most often when Myers tries to make some kind of serious point, he kind of ruins it by turning it into some form of joke. I appreciate it's a comedy and Myers himself is a comedian, but if you're going to try and make a serious statement then at least be a bit more mature about it.

Considering that Mr Myers hasn't made a project in so long, this is a pretty solid return to form for him. It's a very uneven show but it is often enjoyable and at its worst is still perfectly watchable. Decent job from all involved.

The Keith and Paddy Picture Show (2017–2018)

Amusing

[6/10 · 7 April 2024]

This is a bit hit and miss depending on the episodes and the films that are spoofed in them, but generally this is amusing if not always laugh-out-loud funny. The spoof of Dirty Dancing was very good, and the spoofing of Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 were often funny as well. I wasn't terribly taken with the Pretty Woman episode or the Gremlins one. Leigh Francis (as Keith Lemon obviously) and Paddy McGuinness appeared to be having great fun doing this. It was billed as a "comedic tribute" to some of Francis and McGuinness' favourite films.

Interesting premise overall for this show and it's not a bad execution.

Celebrity Juice (2008–2022)

Good initially

[7 April 2024]

For the first few series this was arguably one of the funniest shows on television. The original premise of the show was to see which team knows most about the week's tabloid news stories, but the later series focus more on the comedy factor of the participating celebrity guests and various games involving them rather than discussing the week's news. This doesn't make the show any funnier, many of these games are just puerile instead of remotely entertaining. The quality of the guests also got worse and this led to the show being much less funny. Leigh Francis is good as the fictional ladies man Keith Lemon but he can, especially in the later series, become very repetitive and annoying. Though it was poor by the end, I do miss it a bit now it's gone.

Are You Being Served? Again!: The Darts Match (1993) Season 2, Episode 5

'They called you the Tiverton bicycle!'

[8/10 · 7 April 2024]

This is one of my personal favourite episodes of Grace and Favour (or Are You Being Served Again as it seems to be being called on the TV guide.)

Lots of good jokes here, some of which continue to stick in my head. The cast all have good chemistry together here as usual. It's fair to say that the darts match doesn't exactly go how everyone was hoping it would. It's an interesting and relatively original setting for a comedy. It's funny that Wendy Richard's dog features in this episode as she is named after her character in the show of course.

Not sure what else to put. 23 characters to go. And we're there.

Carry on Dick (1974)

Aggressively average edition to the franchise

[5/10 · 7 April 2024]

This film appears to be heavily influenced by Carry on Don't Lose Your Head, as it is similar in a number of aspects but with slight tweaks. To me, at least, it appears that Sid James was beginning to lose his touch here. He died two years later, this was his final role in the Carry Ons and he isn't as convincing here as he usually was in previous instalments. Kenneth Williams is fine but is given barely anything to do. Joan Sims is good in her role though. Bernard Bresslaw also gives a solid performance though he's underused. The script is pretty weak and there's a surprisingly high amount of jokes about, well, the title gives you a clue. There's some good individual gags here and there but it's mostly rather unfunny with weak dialogue. I think it could have been better than what it was but it's watchable at least.

Carry on Up the Jungle (1970)

Amusing enough

[6/10 · 27 March 2024]

I'd say this ranks right in the middle of all of the Carry On films quality wise, it's quite amusing but has several flaws.

It's a send-up of Tarzan with Terry Scott playing the man himself. Scott's performance as Ug is possibly the most dividing performance in the film, you will either enjoy his playing dumb nature or detest it. Sid James. Charles Hawtrey is good when on screen although he is given barely anything to do. The rest of the cast are decent enough. Kenneth Williams is missing from this entry.

The jokes in this one are, well, broad for sure. Some are genuinely very funny whereas some are telegraphed from miles away. Overall a slightly above average affair that remains entertaining enough throughout without ever challenging for any awards.

Carry on Abroad (1972)

Innuendo Heaven

[7/10 · 27 March 2024]

Going off of the rating on IMDB and the user score on Rotten Tomatoes, this is one of the best Carry On films. I wouldn't put it in the upper echelon of the series, but it's one of the better entries and maybe the best out of all of the post 1960s films.

Most of the usuals are here, with Charles Hawtrey starring in his final Carry On. It's a lot more smutty than earlier entries in the series, though compared to England and Emmanuelle it's like a kids film. Peter Butterworth is very entertaining in his role. I wasn't a fan of the last 20 or so minutes, the whole ending with the elixir felt pretty weak, rushed and mostly wasn't very funny.

Pretty amusing overall with a charm that isn't present in later entries.

Blackadder (1982–1983)

Good Start

[8/10 · 27 March 2024]

I've never understood why so many people treat the first series of Blackadder as something that is unwatchable and terrible, it may not be the best series but it's better than most sitcoms. That said, it's a fair bit different to the others. Here Rowan Atkinson has a hand in writing the script and he almost plays a Mr Bean prototype as he is portrayed as a naive and somewhat clumsy fool rather than the cunning character that Blackadder would later become. However in the last episode we do see a glimpse of what is to come as he is portrayed more like his later self than in earlier episodes. Brian Blessed revels in his only Blackadder role as King Richard IV. The rest of the cast are all good and the writing for the series is mostly very good too. The third episode is probably the best in my opinion.

If you plan on watching Blackadder for the first time, then I think this is a fine place to start. I actually prefer this to the second series.

That's My Boy (2012)

A new task for Sandler

[5/10 · 21 March 2024]

It's interesting to see Sandler delve into R-rated territory with this comedy which flopped at the box office as he usually does PG-13 rated films. The subject matter here isn't the type of subject matter that you'd typically associate with an Adam Sandler comedy. I've avoided this for years since it was unsuccessful critically and commercially but having now seen this it's clear to me that this is far from the worst movie Adam has made.

Sandler has toned down his usual schtick here a bit, with him not acting as goody as he usually does and he's more likeable potentially as a result of this. His character is seemingly permanently clutching a can of Budweiser though, it's fair to say that the product placement present here isn't exactly subtle. Sandler has decent chemistry with his 'son' Andy Samberg. The humour is mostly a mixture of gross-out gags, innuendo, and an abundance of swearing which isn't really a characteristic of many of Adam Sandler goofy comedies.

It's not a bad film, and though far from good it's not as bad as some would have you believe and may be worth checking out if you're fascinated by the storyline or like Sandler's other films.

Carry on Don't Lose Your Head (1967)

Pretty good!

[7/10 · 21 March 2024]

Although it doesn't feature 'Carry On' in its title, this is definitely one of the better entries in the series. It's a spoof of The Scarlet Pimpernel and as such is set during the French Revolution. Many of the regulars are here and do a good job with the writing, which is rather good as far as Carry On films go. The late frenchwoman Dany Robin makes her only appearance in the series and appears to be a bit lost, though this doesn't detract from the experience of the film. Kenneth Williams also isn't as convincing as he was in the adjacent films to this. There's some inventive character names here and no shortage of funny jokes. The plotline is surprisingly well done too.

The Inbetweeners (2011)

Good follow-up to the TV series

[7/10 · 19 March 2024]

This is a good follow-up to the hilarious TV series. Many on here seem to be comparing it to American Pie or The Hangover, and I can see where the comparisons come from. The plot is basic and the ending anticlimactic (though not as much as it is in the sequel.)

If you're unfamiliar with the series then I doubt it will matter too much as the film does a decent job at being it's own thing without relying on constant callbacks to the show like some TV-to-film spin-offs do. The Inbetweeners Movie is certainly lowbrow, but many of the gags land though it has more chuckle-worthy moments than truly laugh-out-loud moments. I felt that a couple of scenes weren't particularly well written or edited, and that sometimes the scenes dragged on a tad too long. No major criticisms though, and this is a perfectly serviceable comedy.

Carry on England (1976)

Not the worst Carry On, but it's down there

[4/10 · 19 March 2024]

Most, though not all, of the original cast have left the series by this point. The cast (other than Kenneth Connor and Windsor Davies who do a decent job) all seem to struggle, though I wonder how much of this is because of the lacking material they were given to work with. That's the first problem with Carry on England. The second problem is the writing. All subtlety has gone by this point and almost all the gags are just vulgar and/or you can see them coming from miles off. There is the odd funny joke here and there, but these occur so rarely it's not worth the effort going to watch this. Like Emmannuelle many of the things in the film don't even resemble jokes, it just assumes that the situation of having soldiers being obsessed with the opposite sex is hilarious in itself. The cinematography is passable but not much more. There is pretty much no plot and it is remarkably boring. It's not really terrible but it is very poor indeed.

Sadly though it's not the worst of the series, Emmanuelle and Columbus were to follow this one and were even worse.

Carry on Camping (1969)

'You told me this film was all about camping!'

[8/10 · 19 March 2024]

This is one of the best Carry On films and for good reason, it's also been voted the nation's favourite of the lot. While it's not quite my favourite overall, it's up there and it's an entertaining watch. I grew up watching this and I hadn't seen it in a few years, but on rewatch I found it just as funny as I always have done.

Sid James and Bernard Bresslaw attempt to take their girlfriends on a trip to a nudist camp, but by accident they end up at an ordinary one instead, much to Sid's dismay. The plot isn't overly thick but it didn't really need to be and, besides, it's funny and as such you care less for the film's other aspects.

The cast all put in a solid performance and the writing is pretty good for a Carry On film.

Carry on Up the Khyber (1968)

I'll never think of tiffin the same way again...

[8/10 · 16 March 2024]

This is probably in the top 3 carry on films, for me at least, with Cleo and Screaming being the other two. This is tons of fun. The dinner party scene is unforgettable and has me in tears every single time I see it. The joke per minute ratio is ridiculous, you'll always find something new to laugh at. The cast are all really good here and deliver their lines with impressive timing and in terms of sheer number of double entendre character names this is probably the best film of the series. It has really nice costumes as well, not unlike Cleo which came out the year before this one. The plot is also very good for a carry on film.

Really funny stuff overall.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

One of the great 80s comedies

[8/10 · 16 March 2024]

This is Steve Martin and John Candy's favourite film that they've been in, and I can see why. I think it's the best film that either of them have been in as well. They have superb chemistry here. It's very well directed by John Hughes and the comedy never gets in the way of the more serious moments. The film mostly focuses on Candy and Martin of course, but the other actors in the film also do a solid job. It's consistently funny thanks to the great writing, Steve Martin's rant towards the car rental woman has me in stitches every time.

I've always liked the soundtrack as well, it's amazing how something small like this can improve a film. It remains relatable and heartwarming all these years later, which is something you can't say for many comedy films.