MovieChat Forums > Twenty Twelve (2011) Discussion > I Wanted to Like This, But...

I Wanted to Like This, But...

posted 12 years ago by holly-4ever
13 replies | jump to latest

...I find it quite boring.

Firstly, there's barely anything comedic about it. Satire, maybe. Laugh outloud comedy, no.

There is plenty of fantastic talent here, but whether it's the writing (partly), subject matter (yes), or the one-dimensional characters (definitely), I can barely get through it, though I've been forcing myself to do just that over the past 5 episodes.

The best subplot is the relationship between Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) and his doting secretary, Sally (Olivia Colman). Still on series 1 but am hoping this is going somewhere disasterous and funny. So far, it's barely skimming the surface.

I read a review by another viewer (http://notreallyworking.co.uk/2012/04/22/twenty-twelve-comedy-without-the-laughs/), which pretty much echoes my sentiments, minus the 1970s show references (wasn't born yet).

Comedy Awards or not, this show doesn't make me (or anyone I know) laugh.

[–] Hotbreaks 12 years ago

Same here.

Cliché, dull and not actually that funny. Just an example of BBC reactionary bandwagon-jumping.

Watch The Thick of It. In fact, anything by Iannucci. You can tell that's where they wanted to go with it, but prime-time. Was never going to work.

[–] gb901 12 years ago

The general incompetence of the management buzz word spouting, back stabbing, oneuppmanship obsessed idiots is quite amusing, however, the annoyingly ott gay pa is grating!

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] whynot2 12 years ago

I've watched the first two episodes and did, in fact, laugh out loud, several times. And then I started to cry, then laugh, alternating from one to the other...

Because it very majorly triggered, big-time my "PcTSD" . (Post-corporate Stress Disorder). I swear that I've worked with those people -- all of them. A continent away, a generation removed, but I swear, it was them.

Apparently, dogs are wolves with Williams-Beuren Syndrome.

[–] carver76 12 years ago

It's like the old saying: With some people, if they don't know, you can't tell them.

This series is hysterical. Love it...

[–] bellapeligrosa 12 years ago

I think they have moved onto my project...

It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!

[–] seekermatt 12 years ago

i loved it.
and i did laugh out loud.
wish there was more.

[–] bellapeligrosa 12 years ago

Anyone who has been living in London the past two years will appreciate this. The disruptions to travel, infrastructure and buildings popping up everywhere, rumours, red herrings, anticipation, fear of terrorist attacks and extreme disaster recovery moves (several of the banks in London moved their data centres out of the capital), handouts about three hour waits anticipated at London Bridge station and Boris asking us all to stay at home and not commute in unless we can help it, London 2012's ballsup about hotel rooms and overpriced tickets, contingency plans, contingency plans if the first contingency plans failed, Games travel lane being confusing to cars and taxis getting fines if they drive in it even when the signs say 'use Games lane'... This satire is not only about the Olympics but also about what it's like to have lived in London over this period of time. None of us knew what it was going to be like. Many of us were absolutely dreading it. And after all the worrying about weather, crowds, delays to travel and the *beep* we all expected it to be, it was absolutely fantabulously amazingly supercagifragilistiexpealidociously bloody brilliant. I am so grateful I got to be part of it. And this show summed it all up beautifully, and proves, that not only are us Brits able to laugh at our own anticipated incompetence, at the end of the day we managed to pull something out of the bag that will influence generations of people in this country for a long time to come, and has given us back a sense of national pride.

It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!

[–] Dark_Knight_of_CT 12 years ago

I too wanted to like this show but never really did. I understand its a satire and its actually quite good at that, but all the characters are so one dimensional and incompetent it really becomes gratting getting through the whole thing, personally.

The Kay character in particular, was about one of the dumbest characters I've ever seen and I was just waiting for her to change. Hell, she even had a catch phrase, which perfectly describes my sentiments. I thought during Season 2 when they brought the Legacy woman in we'd get her put in her place but no, just another incompetent moron. Somebody had to have a brain to do all the work.

[–] sarganvmore7 12 years ago

Besides it's funny, the show is absolutely spot on in regard to the Olympic preparations not only in London but in other cities waiting to launch the Games. It's like, "Oh, they have these glithes too!

[–] hugh1971 11 years ago

It's also totally accurate about the public sector/NGOs in Britain today. The episode with 'Fidel Wilson' made the tears of laughter roll down my cheeks. I have worked with HIM and ALL OF THEM!!!

[–] Prismark10 11 years ago

It was not laugh out loud funny but wryly amusing and very much on target when it comes to taking the rip out of quasi government organisations.

Its that man again!!

[–] felixmaybe 10 years ago

I wanted to like this, but...

It's actually pretty bad. I completely agree that if you vaguely enjoyed this, you should dive into The Thick Of It. It's masterful satire from the genius of Iannucci, and if it scores 10/10, it leaves this attempt at 4 or 5/10.

Yes it does well to satirize some of the problems that we were a very aware of as Londoners (I've lived here from 2007 until present), but it's a fairly awful, dull attempt at comedy.

I agree that the characters are a terribly one-dimensional, and I also agree that the relationship between Ian and Sally to be one of the only truly interesting sub-plots. Everything else is incredibly dull and falls very flat.

Almost every character has a catchphrase. Siobhan's repetitive speech is believable as her character is in fact a vacuous broken record, but the other characters (Graham: "yeah, fine... what, this Friday? Yeah fine." Kay: "I really think that" Nick: "I don't care who y'are.") just sound completely underdeveloped from one episode to the next.

Really disappointing.