'Stephen Fry in America' could be regarded as a modern version of Fanny Trollope's 'Domestic Manners of the Americans'. It looks like a pleasant travelogue conducted by a witty and urbane Englishman and superficially it is. However Mr Fry skewers Americans as only a cultured Englishman can. Behind superb photography and a disarming manner we see how ghastly much of middle USA is. It was filmed when the weather was at its worst, doubtless deliberately. Drizzle, driving rain, and muddy roads combined with small-town USA create a dispiriting, even depressing, effect. The evening dance for elderly Jewish retirees in Miami was jaw-dropping. Truly ghastly.
Review of Stephen Fry in America
