This one falls into that darker corner of gay cinema. There was real potential buried in here, but the execution feels so flat that at points it plays out more like a filmed stage play than an actual movie. It's a dark psychological drama built around a street hustler confessing to a brutal, confusing murder of his own lover. Black and white flashback sequences do a solid job laying out the details of what happened, but the real focus stays on the dialogue and the writing itself. Right at the start, a young hustler has already killed his male lover Claude. Three days go by before he calls the police to turn himself in for the murder. But instead of just reporting it somewhere ordinary, he actually summons the police and the local press directly into a judge's private chambers. Yves has keys to the place, which tracks given what he does for a living, but having the press waiting right outside makes the whole scene look like some elaborate blackmail scheme against the judge. The ...
The premise is quite simple. Freddie and Stuart are an old gay couple who have been together for nearly 50 years. Their lives now revolve around entertaining their frequent guests and hurling insults at each other at every opportunity. Ash is a young handsome man who is their new neighbor. Their long term single friend Violet who is looking out for a man in her life. And then an old lady, who just keeps forgetting everything every minute and finally another guy who no one just cares about.
I can imagine that not everyone would like the show. You have to have an appetite for dark sometimes even morbid humour and be a fan of sarcasm. The dialogues and the sarcasm that is in Freddie's character is simply outstanding. And every time Stuart's mother calls him, that is superb too. My favorite is every time Stuart introduces Ash to Violet. Thats hilarious. Stereotypical characters in a brand new light. Excellent casting, perfectly matched the roles and the actors. The witty and snappy comments compliment the new character types not too often seen on TV. Original script with lines you can use in an everyday life. Agreed that the show is hammy and over the top but I think that's what I liked about it most. It's ridiculous and I think the ridiculousness is what makes it so brilliant.
I think the job is successfully done when a viewer doesn't mind watching something again and I would definitely not mind watching this show again with friends. It was simply funny. (8/10)
Update Jan'14: Just saw the Christmas special episode. I think my expectations were way too high, so I was a little disappointed but it was still very very good. Violet definitely is my fav character in this show.
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