Bra or pond? (Smell Of Reeves And Mortimer, The)

Member Name: Boonoiy

Product:	Smell Of Reeves And Mortimer, The
Date:	06/08/02 (480 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Silly, Silly, Barry White impersonations

Disadvantages: Don't talk silly ;)

Vic and Bob, Reeves and Mortimer - somewhat confusing eh? Naah, everyone knows which is which by now don't they?

Just in case - Vic Reeves is the tall one with the bulbous head and Bob Mortimer is the shorter one with the bendy face.

The Smell Of Reeves And Mortimer grew out of the massive success of Vic Reeves' Big Night Out - a silly little theatre piece that did hugely well all over the UK. Back in these days I wasn't too bothered with these two - overly silly, random comments and really not at all funny. Let's just say they grew on me, the cheeky chappies.

OK then, The Smell (as it will now be called), what's it all about?

Basically, you've got Vic and Bob, a desk and a whole load of tomfoolery with sketches, songs and a cast of a few other loonies running about to add just that little extra colour to the whole thing.

The way a show begins, as a rule, is with a voiceover talking about some fictional subject or taking an excessively sinister tone on something very benign. We are then introduced to the stars of the show - yes, it's Reeves and Mortimer for example:

Voiceover: ...but there's a darker side to cheese, and here's Vic to tell you all about it...

(Close up on Vic)

Vic: VOODOO.

And into a song we'll go.
Following the song there's usually some kind of argument with Uncle Peter, a trip to see Otis Reading and Marvin Gaye, an imaginary star guest and a couple of sketches before we finish on a final song detailing what both Vic and Bob like the smell of - options ranging from The Poor to Paul Gascoyne's Knapsack.

So, onto a quick who's who and we'll be done in time for tea and crumpets.

Uncle Peter:
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You really need to see him to believe him. Another holdover from the Big Night Out shows and one that was rightly kept on. Saying little more than "Donkey", "
;Bow-Wow" and "Don't send me back to t' dark place" but being understood by Vic and Bob in a Lassie/Flipper/Skippy kind of way. The rows usually come up over something and nothing and Vic then proceeds to blast a lot of crockery - gun or sledgehammer.

Otis Reading and Marvin Gaye:
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Well, all I can really say is "Hilarious" - the resident agony uncles of the show, all Marvin wants to do is have a bit of fun and all Otis wants to do is sit on the dock of the bay and "Watch the ships coming in, and going out again" the arguments kick off on a regular basis as all Otis's advice tends to involve watching stuff - we've been advised to watch the sun coming up and going down again - hours of entertainment.

Barry White:
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My all time favourite comedy impersonation. Vic Reeves, hugely inflated false belly and what can only be described as wattles around his neck. His legs dangle off the edge of a chair (clearly not his real legs - all spindly and floppy) and he goes about seducing the camera in his Barry White voice.

The best by far was his attempt to get off with a length of copper piping.

"I'm just and old, out of luck with a sexy lady and an oven glove......Mmmmmmmmm, that's great man!"

and then onto..

"The heat from the fire has made her legs go red, I'm going to have to rub savlon on them before we go to bed"

True classic, in Vic's strong northern accent, made extra deep for the occasion.

Love it.

Slade in residence:
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The boys take off the band Slade - cup-a-soup obsessed in a street of rock and pop stars. Trying to get UB40's cat to stop wee-wee'ing on the marigolds is about all I can do by way of the perfect example.

The farting French blokes:
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All they do is fart a lot - the only bit of the series I have never found funny!

Mulligan and O'Hare:
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My Rose has left me,
I'm in a mood.
She went to Kenya,
With the bloke from Allied Carpets.

She wasn't immunised,
And that's a legal requirement.
She's been increasingly slapdash,
Since we bought our new hearthrug!

Based on a kind of Foster and Allen kind of duo, both with breasts (weird?) and both singing mainly through their noses. A great little section and one that will be a classic forever.

I could go on but the general theme is that they have a load of characters, usually played by Vic and Bob or the odd guest appearance by Martin Clunes or the likes.

Overall:
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You've probably guessed by now that I'm well into Vick and Bob, The Smell is one of those silly little shows that is great because of its ridiculousness, whether it's Vic's bongo playing that continues after he's stopped bongo-ing, Bob's love of "Centre parting monthly" or Uncle Peter's band it is a continuous stream of surreal comedy.

I love the sets, I love the surprise guests (the Natrel woman - you know, the one that blends with trees....quality), the songs and the whole set up. In a nutshell, a great and silly show from two incredibly clever blokes (both are actually trained lawyers.)

Takes all sorts I suppose ;)

Summary: