Britcom Goes To The Movies

The Wedding Video became part of what seemed like an endless parade of BritComs from the late 2000s and early 2010s, all with the same identikit poster and only the actors swapped out. But was this film as derivative and ten a penny as it seemed? Casting Rufus Hound as the leading man was perhaps not a good omen. By 2012, the omnipresent presenter and comedian wouldn’t have been an obvious choice as a top-billed Rom-Comsman, but we take a look back at his comedy credentials with the 2010 CBBC show Hounded, which was written by, among others, the Gibbonses of Alan Partridge fame.The supporting cast includes comedy stalwarts Lucy Punch, Robert Webb, Matt Berry, Miriam Margolyes and Harriet Walter, and the script comes from returning favourite Tim Firth. We’ve profiled him before in our Blackball and Cruise of the Gods episodes, so will this be another enjoyable Firth-ride or a drop in form?Join Rob and Guy, on their lonesome and thousands of miles apart, for series seven, episode five: The Wedding Video.Shaft plays snookerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9KS2TgyLbkRufus Hound - Being Rude Stand Uphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vu3SX2-IUk Rufus Hound on Let’s Dance For Sport Reliefhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvodRB4cLsc Colin McFarlane as Jackson Jeffrey Jackson on Jazz Clubhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwbJ-N8rrekFast Show - Posh Cockneyshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4oaGQ2POC8Jarred Christmas Pot Noodle Advertshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3cWc4O02cIHounded - Episode 10https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A11efoDk7QThe Wedding Video - Trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfgofRLbZ64The Wedding Video - Wine Tastinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un-y54TjCj0Part of the Film Stories Podcast Network: https://filmstories.co.uk/film-stories-podcast-network-shows/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s time for the second instalment of our Morecambe and Wise trilogy. Don’t get too excited! You may remember from a couple of series ago how much we disliked The Intelligence Men, a real challenger for the bottom spot in our league table.However, returning guest and M&W movie apologist A.J. Black, of the Film Stories church, has a lot of affection for Eric and Ernie’s second outing, That Riviera Touch (1966). So much so that he assured us last time out that we’d enjoy it, or at the very least, enjoy it more than The Intelligence Men, which, let’s face it, should be like shooting fish in a barrel.We also wrap up our viewing of Morecambe and Wise’s ITV years in this episode. Two of a Kind became The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1966, and we begin to see a glimmer of what everyone regards as their superior BBC work, though not without some lazy, dated set pieces and borderline scandalous off-colour jokes. None of which is to say we didn’t have a ruddy good time recording this episode. It’s just a shame we couldn’t go to the south of France to do it like Eric and Ernie.Morecambe and Wise - Two of a Kind series 5https://youtu.be/PnoFNrveJMo?is=-gTgTn5h0CCQPQTWThat Riviera Touch - Trailerhttps://youtu.be/6sdB_I6ZtzI?si=K1WcOz6xXl6hYxyRThat Riviera Touch - Now That You're Herehttps://youtu.be/l_-6cFYI-7A?si=e5BQXOMJcfXPvGBrThat Riviera Touch - Full Filmhttps://youtu.be/Tg-5BcVXLU8?si=wVadrloD2BWbO8mzPart of the Film Stories Podcast Network: https://filmstories.co.uk/film-stories-podcast-network-shows/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1999, writer-director Justin Kerrigan took a meagre budget and a cast of relative unknowns and made a cult film for the turn of the millennium. Sure, slice-of-life comedies were nothing new, even ones with the kind of absurd flights of fancy Kerrigan employed, but very little on the big screen this side of the Atlantic had shone a light on late-’90s club culture the way this did.Still endlessly memed today, Human Traffic gave big boosts to the careers of both John Simm and Danny Dyer, and as we’ll be looking at the latter in more depth later in the series (watch this space), we’ve made this episode all about Simm. His TV career had been steadily building, and he’d made his breakthrough in the BBC sitcom Men of the World, starring opposite David Threlfall, which is the paired TV show for this episode.Joining Guy and Rob to discuss Human Traffic is writer, producer, podcaster and the man with the best Christopher Walken impression in the business, Dan Thomas. Will Dan’s memories of an enjoyable romp hold up, or has it aged like one of Moff’s dodgy disco biscuits?Men of the World - series 1 episode 1https://youtu.be/79TddcShAJ4?si=PKcXYQBMetPOFpYlComic Strip Presents... - The Yobhttps://youtu.be/2-o9TV1AGdk?si=ZNMmCJ-WWq8zklU5John Simm in Spacedhttps://youtu.be/QBiXW-W_V1Y?si=8Ahp_ewQaSgG2gOMDaniel Peacock’s Cavegirlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1HL4cgoAcABill Hicks on Wacohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EqZ4-enx8Human Traffic trailerhttps://youtu.be/PqY6eAro1QY?si=yZDfSzuHD-lTPf3uHuman Traffic - Nice one Bruvahttps://youtu.be/qksndNDMDOw?si=rQ4vtWGi1GM0wVreHuman Traffic - Got any Jungle?https://youtu.be/h5hnbUcJKP4?si=CnZpeisCYZgSzj3lPart of the Film Stories Podcast Network: https://filmstories.co.uk/film-stories-podcast-network-shows/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now, we’ve dealt with small budgets in our time, but our film for episode two would give Powder Room a run for its money. In 2006, former stand-up comic Jamie Mathieson put pen to paper on his first film: a time-travel rom-com with nods to Alan Moore, Terry Pratchett and Back to the Future. But it took another three years for Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel to make it to the big screen, and you can find out all about that journey in this episode.Going it alone this time, Rob and Guy link FAQ About Time Travel to mid-noughties cult sitcom The Smoking Room, as both share a director, Gareth Carrivick. The two are stylistically similar, with a bottle-episode feel. The Smoking Room ran for two series on BBC Three and featured some of the most lauded comic actors around, including Robert Webb and Jeremy Swift, as well as giving a fresh showcase to classic sitcom stars like Paula Wilcox.So join us as we jump back a decade from Fighting with My Family and do a conga in the toilet to “Total Eclipse of the Heart”!The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse with Jeremy Dyson tickets https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema/league-gentlemens-apocalypse-15-jeremy-dysonAnna Faris in Just Friendshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOV48dDK0awDrop It Like Its Close to Mehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsIVMAsQPL4Dame Edna on Cilla Black (This was meant for this ep, but I put it on the last one!)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmLaIrjjS_IBjork - Bachelerottehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJv-Ebi67IAllstars - Land of Make Believehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2rtK8gyhrsThe Smoking Room - SE1 Ep1https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0F8A0065462CF0DBThe Smoking Room - Barry’s Crosswordhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF4k72uUf2kJohnny Briggs Themehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq212jZi1ykFrequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBV340x3GcAFrequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Morrisseyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOr28eNTw_QPart of the Film Stories Podcast Network: https://filmstories.co.uk/film-stories-podcast-network-shows/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re into our SEVENTH SERIES! It is hard to believe we’ve made it this far, but just as well, really, given the number of films we're still yet to cover. We begin this series with the heartwarming tale of a family, some with dodgy pasts, but all with a lovable lust for life.The fighting Knights from Norfolk were the subject of a 2011 Channel 4 documentary when son Zak and daughter Saraya were on the cusp of hitting the big time as wrestlers, hoping to join the promised land of WWE. One made it; the other did not.This documentary inspired arguably the most famous wrestler of all time, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, to retell the tale. Armed with the clout of WWE backing, a cast of BritCom stars, up-and-coming acting starlets, and already-legendary TV comedy writer/director Stephen Merchant, he hoped to transfer this real-life story to the big screen.The last time we heard from Merchant on this podcast, things were beginning to become considerably less rosy with longtime collaborator Ricky Gervais, after their venture into the coming-of-age com Cemetery Junction was met with the lukest of lukewarm receptions in 2010. We pick up their tale again with their last TV stand as a partnership: the Warwick Davis vehicle Life’s Too Short, also from 2011.Joining Rob and Guy for this one, all the way from The House of Splain, is confessed wrestling fan and Gervais... anti-fan Ben Baker. He helps our hosts make a bit more sense of the wrestling aspect of Fighting with My Family, which is the first film ever to be covered on BritCom Goes to the Movies that was adapted from a documentary.We’ve had plenty of fun dissecting Mindhorn and Smashie and Nicey with fellow ’Splainer Ricardo Autobahn, so it seemed only fair to give his podcasting other half a crack at the whip!Gervais, Merchant and Davis as Gervais, Crouch and Rooneyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDH8RKhwCkcLife’s Too Short - Bookcase slapstickhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OJiB2BGaocJack Lowden Irn Bru adhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5ocaypgRHM Dame Edna Cilla Blackhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmLaIrjjS_IThe Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family - Full Documentaryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2dlO_e_HhU&t=20sFighting With My Family Trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqF3VTv0cqU Fighting With My Family - My Dream Toohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_PPRNXd5ykPart of the Film Stories Podcast Network: https://filmstories.co.uk/film-stories-podcast-network-shows/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.