Reviewed by Robert Hull
Stars Ardal O'Hanlon, naturally
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 68 minutes
Punter 1: ‘Should I buy this new Ardal O’Hanlon live comedy DVD? Should I? I mean I just don’t know. I went to the gig and enjoyed it. I laughed a lot, not real tummy-hurting laughs, just pleasant giggles for the nice man. But do I want to watch it again and again, so I can learn the routines and entertain (bore) my friends with them? Ooh, I’m not sure.’
Punter 2: ‘I like comedy. I have lots of favourite comedians. I go to see some and some I miss (not in a loving way you understand). I couldn’t see Ardal O’Hanlon – he was in Dublin, of course, and I live in Stoke Poges. Should I buy this wryly humorous man’s DVD with its observations on life, marriage, book clubs, immigrants and fishing? What if it makes me glad I couldn’t go and see him?’
Welcome to the conundrum of the live comedy DVD.
To Punter 1, I say this… Hello. Maybe you will want to buy this DVD recorded in front of you at Dublin’s Olympia theatre. But don’t expect to see yourself chuckling away. Shots of chortling audience members are non-existent. The setting and camerawork are simple and straightforward. There’s yer man on stage in a shiny suit, with just a table and a glass of water for company. The camera follows him. There are some close-ups. You can hear the gentle chuckles, but they’re not intrusive.
To Punter 2, I say this… Hello. If you enjoy the sight of an experienced comedian running through his act with ease, and like your comedy to reside in observational town with the odd flight of semi-surrealist whimsy, then the former Father Ted man is, well, yer man.
For me, two jokes stand out. ‘My wife and I went out to a restaurant recently. (comedic pause) We went out for an argument.’ And, ‘The best thing about Polish immigration is that I’ve finally managed to fill up the X, Y, Z section of my address book. Now I don’t have to pretend I have friends called Doctor Zorro or Madame X anymore.’
They wouldn’t make me spend £17.99 though.
EXTRAS None