MovieChat Forums > We Can Be Heroes (2005) Discussion > Pat's cancer - appropriate?

Pat's cancer - appropriate?

posted 16 years ago by aldudturn
10 replies | jump to latest

I understand that this programme is supposed to be a 'mockumentary' and as such meant to be realistic, but it's still a comedy at the end of the day. When Pat got the news about the cancer, it made me feel very uncomfortable watching her husband cry and just generally the whole scene, I'm sure for some it was maybe a little bit too close to home too. I think a scene like this could work as you feel empathy towards the characters, yet I couldn't get the nagging thought out of my mind of whether this was supposed to be funny as Pat's a man dressed up as a woman.

Did anyone else feel like this?

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jakedog-1 16 years ago

Yer i wasn't so sure about the idea either. I think Lilley pulled the rug out from under our feet a bit when he went from all out comedy and decided he needed a tear-jerk moment. I agree that it definitley worked, but as cancer is a very real disease i'm not so sure about him exploiting it in that way. Perhaps if he could have had more of a message at the centre of pats ending it would have been more appropriate. However i can see he was in no way poking fun at it or parodying it in anyway.

[–] guy123-1 16 years ago

It's supposed to be a sad scene. Chris Lilley plays with our emotions and how we can feel about the characters. Before we can cry for someone we have to laugh at them.

[–] Xerces88 15 years ago

It's all part of this type of show. Uncomfortable feelings are supposed to felt, as it is a lot of what cringe-comedy is about. The characters are supposed to be as realistic as possible - as well as their interaction with other characters. Real life is very cringe-inducing and awkward, these type of comedies aim to present this.

[–] darcy4555 15 years ago

i don't think the cancer story line is supposed to be funny at all... lilley clearly cares about his characters and wants to present absurd people that are nonetheless grounded in reality... i think the cancer story line was dealt with beautifully... most of the best comedy's have huge dramatic moments, think of the end of blackadder, the office, or even lilley's sumer heights high... i think lille handled it fantastically

[–] emersonharpending 15 years ago

It's the same as Jonah in Summer Heights High, albeit not as heavy. Eastbound and Down is a bit like that too. Nothing wrong with having a little heartfelt drama attached to your comedy.

[–] roliexpolie 14 years ago

The cancer is not supposed to be funny, its supposed to be reality. Cancer is never appropriate, and yes this is meant to be a comedy but Lilley used the cancer storyline brilliantly. Another poster mentioned that he exploited the cancer. How did he? Pat's story was beautiful, hilarious and sad at the same time. This is what Lilley does, he takes outrageous characters but injects some realism into them. I loved Pat, and it was very sad at the end...but I thought it was very well done.

Sadness and laughter dont always have to be completely seperate.

[–] Phil_N_Stine 14 years ago

I don't think it was played for laughs at all. Most of the character's endings weren't particuarly funny, but instead dramatic in some way or another. And I don't mean dramatic as in depressing, some of them were really uplifting (Daniel and Nathan).

Are you a Grand bowler?

[–] rgv61 14 years ago

Hell yeah! Pat used to 'roll' everywhere and subsequently died of cancer. My mother did a 'Knitwit' sewing course in the '70s and made the family really bad matching tracksuits and then subsequently died of cancer in 1999.

To this day, we still laugh about the former and regret the latter and that is exactly what Chris Lilley captured.

Nothing inappropriate here!

[–] flatulatte 14 years ago

I agree as well, this show handled cancer a lot better than those soap operas that do it just to exploit teen angst, I feel that cheapens the disease whereas this show doesn't and before anyone accuses me of not seeing the first hand effects of cancer my dad passed away from it 12 years ago and we are now awaiting for a biopsy on a lump in my mums lung. But I still feel the need to not let it dominate my life
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