Worth watching if you are an admirer of any of the individual cast members, a fan of Python, an elderly Brit who used to listen to the Goon Show on the wireless, or a well-read, intelligent, open-minded person who isn't offended by a deliberate lack of political correctness.
It's fun - and gets more so as it progresses. It's NOT high art.
The comedy, as written, is infantile, crass and rather obvious. However, it is in the performance and delivery that it actually becomes funny. And here it is performed by a formidable group of extremely talented and versatile comedians, plus Russell Brand.
The musical numbers are average Eric Idle fare; nothing particularly remarkable, but they seem to hit the spot with the live audience in LA.
The real genius of the piece is the subtle, more cerebral humour that lurks just beneath the surface of Idle's script, with well-aimed socio-political barbs that hit their marks perfectly while masquerading as raspberry-blowing schoolboy humour. There's more to this than what's on the surface, so if at first it seems a little blah stick with it. I did, and it turned out I liked it after all.
And it's a rare treat to see several of the cast members sharing the same stage. Particular credit must go to the delectable Eddie Izzard, and the exquisitely uber-talented Tracey Ullman; two performers who I disliked in the early days of their careers, but have in recent years won me over big-time. Both give standout performances in this show, and it's probably worth watching just for them.
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