Britcom Goes To The Movies

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 1 https://youtu.be/79TddcShAJ4?si=PKcXYQBMetPOFpYl Comic Strip Presents... - The Yob https://youtu.be/2-o9TV1AGdk?si=ZNMmCJ-WWq8zklU5 John Simm in Spaced https://youtu.be/QBiXW-W_V1Y?si=8Ahp_ewQaSgG2gOM Daniel Peacock’s Cavegirl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1HL4cgoAcA Bill Hicks on Waco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2EqZ4-enx8 Human Traffic trailer https://youtu.be/PqY6eAro1QY?si=yZDfSzuHD-lTPf3u Human Traffic - Nice one Bruva https://youtu.be/qksndNDMDOw?si=rQ4vtWGi1GM0wVre Human Traffic - Got any Jungle? https://youtu.be/h5hnbUcJKP4?si=CnZpeisCYZgSzj3l Part 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-dyson Anna Faris in Just Friends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOV48dDK0aw Drop It Like Its Close to Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsIVMAsQPL4 Dame 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_I Bjork - Bachelerotte https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJv-Ebi67I Allstars - Land of Make Believe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2rtK8gyhrs The Smoking Room - SE1 Ep1 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0F8A0065462CF0DB The Smoking Room - Barry’s Crossword https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF4k72uUf2k Johnny Briggs Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq212jZi1yk Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBV340x3GcA Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Morrissey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOr28eNTw_Q Part 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 Rooney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDH8RKhwCkc Life’s Too Short - Bookcase slapstick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OJiB2BGaoc Jack Lowden Irn Bru ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5ocaypgRHM Dame Edna Cilla Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmLaIrjjS_I The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family - Full Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2dlO_e_HhU&t=20s Fighting With My Family Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqF3VTv0cqU Fighting With My Family - My Dream Too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_PPRNXd5yk Part 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.

Finding funny stuff on ITV since the turn of the century has been an arduous task. So it was quite the surprise to the 19-year-old Rob and Guy that late night on a Wednesday, one of the new darlings of British comedy, Rob Brydon, could be found as alter ego Peter De Lane performing fake director’s commentary on such classic Granada TV shows as Flambards, Only When I Laugh, and Mr and Mrs! As well as, for some reason, the classic US western TV show Bonanza, for which Brydon’s production company owned the rights to 32 episodes. This is a forgotten Brydon Classic. Shortly after the success of Marion and Geoff and Human Remains, the BBC turned down the opportunity for Brydon’s latest venture with collaborator Paul Duddridge, so their loss was Granada’s gain, and it would serve the dual purpose of giving ITV a comedy vehicle with the man everyone wanted a piece of as well as reminding audiences of some of their back catalogue. So for our second Rob Brydon-related round table episode, we’ve enlisted the help of two of our favourite former guests to make up a classic De Lane Four. Alison Dennison and Nina Buckley returned to discuss their love (in one case) and disdain (in the other) for a show that neither had previously remembered. Join the four of us for a deep dive into the world of Peter De Lane, Denny Hall and Lord Cheggers of Oddbins, and we’ll also discuss our favourite real-life director's commentaries and lots more to boot. Thanks as always to our payingest Patreon, Andrew Greenwood! Eurovision 1977 - Stewart Morris Talkback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTgCLfYdRo4 Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Quentin Tarantino director’s commentary on Spaced https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWOQH76BZbQ Mike Scully calls John Schwartzwelder on the Simpsons commentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAWE0Kjn8ac&t=1s Director’s Commentary - The Duchess of Duke Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVB_tW_KXQ Director’s Commentary - Flambards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Df03uATMM Grace Jones at the Golden Jubilee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIicwZrkEhY&list=RDkIicwZrkEhY&start_radio=1 The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand De Burgos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v37TG6uG3c Part 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.

Episode two of BritPOP Goes to the Movies sees Guy and Rob joined by Catrin Lowe to discuss Spice World: The Movie. Kim Fuller, brother of the mogul behind the Spice Girls, Simon Fuller, wanted to make a genuine homage to our previous film A Hard Day's Night, and to do that he wanted to make this just as cynical and rich with meta-textual, self-referential craziness. Cramming in celebrity cameos (too many for his script editor) and musical set-pieces. Spice World certainly had that and a whole lot more. The film was put in motion before the five-piece had properly blown up worldwide, but by the time shooting had wrapped, they were truly a worldwide sensation. This movie broke all kinds of box-office records; despite being critically panned, it now sits as the most financially successful film about a real pop group ever. To believe the critics' initial reaction would do this subversive, bonkers and surprisingly well-acted film a disservice. Yes, there's the odd "what the hell were you thinking?!" moment, but for every Michael Barrymore and Gary Glitter (yes, Gary Glitter!) there's an Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins. Sit back and listen to the gang wax lyrical and get all nostalgic about the era of Spice. With clear dividing lines about what the Spice Girls meant to their teenage girl and teenage boy fan clubs! There's even a little inside scoop from a familiar voice who appeared in the movie. So Stop! Say you’ll be there with us for a cracking episode that hopefully you won’t find Too Much… …..Goodbye! Spice Girls - Wannabe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ro0FW9Qt-4 Spice Girls - Too Much on Top of the Pops https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iyQBxSbvqg Spice World - Teaser Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Ne8oBpQQY Spice World - American Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmSBtOHzGPM Spice World Aliens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzxxc5KnBOE Spice World - Boy in coma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_8fYanJk88 Peter Sissons on Ann Robinson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7PuKPiTT_4 Geri - A Film By Molly Dineen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bnx0YcFBo Spice World - Gary Glitter deleted scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYRHoQP75-g Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbAWc_pQDjk All Spice Girls Adverts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw54uEniaZg Waynes World - Sponsor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjB6r-HDDI0 Part 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.