The play on Frankie Howard was brilliant. I never knew how unhappy he was or that he was homosexual yet I felt very sorry for him. There was sad moment where he tried to change himself because he never accepted what he was. I was left wondering if he was ever happy even when he was in the company of people like himself.
Any view or comments please
The best films are made in an intelligent format.
I thought the Curse of Steptoe (with Jason Isaac outstanding) and the drama about Tony Hancock were far superior to this, as was Fantabulosa about Kenneth Williams with the brilliant Michael Sheen. Anyone who knows anything about Frankie Howerd knew he was gay. I just didn't know he was bald.
I thought David Walliams was very average as Frankie Howerd. When is he going to come out of the closet.
All the BBC4 dramas I've seen have been on the depressing side, with the exception of the wonderful "Secret Life of Mrs Beeton". [Scandalous that it's never had a repeat, while that dreary Fanny Cradock thing's been wheeled out again and again...] Of the ones about comedians, "Fantabulosa" was definitely the most interesting... The Steptoe one was unrelentingly depressing, but just about saved by the always excellent Jason Isaacs... As for this one... I think "Little Britain" is repetitive and formulaic rubbish and I probably bring that prejudice to anything else David Walliams and Matt Lucas do... I think Mr Walliams had a decent go at the part. But, it was probably a bit beyond him... Rafe Spall was much more interesting to watch and I'd like to see him in a rôle he could really get his teeth into... This was watchable - if not unmissable - and benefitted from suggesting that Howerd was about as content as he was ever going to be towards the end of his life.
I just got done taming a wild honeymoon stallion for you guys.
I thought it was a watchable hour, though Walliams played him a little too "nice". Howerd struck me as a rather sour and nasty individual, any vulnerability springing from self-pity, whereas this character was sympathetic.
Watching this also made me wonder anew what exactly it was about him? His routine was repetitive and not especially funny, with every "ooh", "aah" and "missus" scripted.
The play used the Oxford Union appearance as some kind of great valedictory career-resurrection, but really it was students being "ironic" in that wanky way of theirs, like having Rolf Harris on at Glastonbury.
My body makes no moan
But sings on:
All things remain in God.
I don't think it's fair to say the Oxford Union appearance was treated as a career resurrection. Maybe it came across that way because of the vagueness about chronology. The main story traced Frankie's journey from being seen as a has-been in the mid 60s to his comeback in the late 60s, while the Union appearance was in 1990. Now, if you look at Frankie Howerd's later career, it wasn't all glory and trumpets from 1969 onwards: the actual work did dry up again: but he's a cult figure because of what he did in that period, the late 60s and early 70s. Most of those students would have been babies at the time and wouldn't remember his comeback first hand: but it was because of that part of his career that they were fans. So there is a line to be traced from the comeback in 1969 to the cult status Howerd enjoyed in 1990 and indeed today. He was very big in the 50s, but if he hadn't come back in 1969 nobody would remember him now: so the Oxford Union appearance represents not the comeback itself, but the iconic status it gave to Howerd.
Another good thing about those scenes was that Sheridan Westlake was accurately portrayed as a total prat.
This wasn't as compelling as Fantabulosa or The Curse of Steptoe, but it was good that at least one of the Curse of Comedy programmes ended more-or-less happily. (It was also nice of the BBC to choose the middle of the Curse of Comedy season to broadcast a retrospective on The Frost Report, reminding us that at least one bunch of 60s laughter-makers WERE having a good time offscreen as well!)
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"An inglorious peace is better than a dishonourable war" ~ John Adams