Al Murray’s ‘Happy Hour’ DVD
February 2, 2009 – 9:43 pm | by Simon Glanville
What can I say about Al Murray’s ‘Happy Hour’? Well first of all, it’s not for everyone. Murray relinquishes his role as The Pub Landlord for this chat show, and he certainly isn’t afraid to offend his audience.
If you’re not British and are easily offended, it’s probably best to stay away. The Pub Landlord is a stereotypical working class British nationalist, with a strong dislike for anything “un-British”. The award winning show can be hilarious, but also borders on the extremes of taste.
At the beginning of each show, Murray interacts with the large studio audience, especially those sitting in the front row. He usually remarks about their “beautiful British names”, even if the name is clearly not British, such as “Ming Ming” and “Dominique”.
During the opening part of the show Murray also has a bit of fun with the audience, saying something along the lines of “You see, Britain is all about rules. If we had no rules where would we be?” the audience then shouts out ‘France!’ “If we had too many rules where would we be?” ‘Germany!’
After his outrageous stand-up and fun with the crowd, Murray gets down to business with his guests. In Episode One he kicks off with Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan, and I can safely say it’s one of the most awkward interviews I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Murray grills poor Donovan and makes constant jibes about his Aussie roots, leaving the former Neighbours actor literally squirming in his chair.
Olympic gold medalists Ben Fogel and James Cracknell also stand-out as an enjoyable watch, as they face a more friendly inquisition, where Murray literally treats Fogel as a dog, bowl in toe, and the rower plays along amicably.
Other guest throughout the series include cricket legend Shane Warne, Martin Kemp, Jerry Springer, Abi Titmuss and Louis Walsh, all who get vigorously quizzed by The Pub Landlord. It’s fair to say that the British guests get less of a grilling, while some of the ‘foreign’ stars get ripped to shreds.
Murray’s banter with ‘Big Bob’, a regular audience member, is also a good laugh. He points him out at some point in every show, and the audience joins in with the song: “Big Bob, Big Bob, Big Bob Big Bob Big Bob”, to which Big Bob dances around in his element. Al also makes a passing joke about Big Bob’s weight, usually suggesting excuses other overweight people use. Examples include “It’s a slow metabolism, isn’t it, Bob?” and “It’s big bones, isn’t it, Bob? Yeah – big bones covered in fat”.
Overall Al Murray’s ‘Happy Hour’ is worth a watch, and it will have you squealing in your seat, although maybe for different reasons. If you’re easily offended, just don’t watch it, if you’re not, this could be the chat show of all chat shows for you.
