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plucky_brit
Reviews
The Rear Guard (1976)
No no no!
There's only one thing to be said.
This should've never ever been made! Apparently you're not meant to 'shout' in these comments. Why? I want to make a valid point and the opinion I wish to articulate needs to be heard over the rooftops. What better way to achieve this than shouting?What is the fascination of the American TV companies with seeing a fabulous UK programme saying Hmmm this looks good, let's take it to the States. But instead of showing the original show, they decide to remake the programme! It has happened with Are You Being Served?, Coupling, The Office, I'm not going to go on because I'll be here all day.
NO NO NO! We here in the UK don't remake American classics such as Friends, Frasier, Sex and The City, Cheers, M*A*S*H, The Phil Silvers Show. Need I go on? I think my point is made.
If there was a rating of 0 I'd give it to this pile of fermented carrion, but seeing as the lowest rating I can give is 1 that will have to suffice.
The Plank (1967)
One of the funniest British films of the last 50 years, no ever.
A film such as this shows that something can be funny without resorting to swearing to get a laugh. Also showing in the process that you don't even need to speak to have a giggle. Question: What is the most basic joke on the planet? Answer: Someone slips on a banana skin. For if you have no language, then the joke is funny the world over. This is the reason why characters such as Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean and Charlie Chaplin's tramp are universally popular and why performers like Jerry Lewis and Norman Wisdom are so adored in the countries of France and Albania respectively, when they can't speak a word of Albanian or French.
The Plank is a master class in comedy from Messrs Sykes and Cooper. The timing is impeccable throughout and their constant fight not only with the legendary plank but also with their car and all manner of obstacles is hilarious.
The cameos are never-ending: Jimmy Edwards, Roy Castle, Jimmy Tarbuck, Hattie Jacques, Bill Oddie! The list goes on and on! One major thing to remember is that there was no script. Let me just repeat that. There was no script! Everything you see was translated straight from Eric Sykes's brain onto film. Here is his explanation in an interview on the South Bank Show, talking to Melvyn Bragg: "How can you write a visual gag? You just can't."
(Please feel free to correct me as I'm writing the quote from memory and as such I may have paraphrased.)
A comedic film is supposed to make you laugh, does The Plank achieve this? Like heck it does! Hilarious! Riotous! Side splitting!