Success Of British Comedy - A Myth?
Let me first qualify what I'm about to say before anyone stamps on my head.
I am British, and all of my favourite comedy series are British - I love 'Alan Partridge', 'Only Fools and Horses', 'The Office', 'Extras', and the immaculate 'Fawlty Towers' to mention just a few. In television terms, British comedy is by far my favourite.
However, I don't think British comedy has had nearly as much success when it comes to film. Certainly not in comparison to the heights it's reached on TV.
I'm posting this on the 'Holy Grail' board as it's an obvious example of a genuinely funny British film, but frankly, I didn't have a lot of others to choose from.
How many genuinely funny British films are there?
I can only name a few - 'Holy Grail' was brilliant, as was 'Life of Brian'. I laughed at 'Lock Stock...', and 'Snatch' so I'd include those. And of course 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz'.
After that, I'm struggling.
Although it's very popular, I didn't find 'Withnail and I' in the least bit funny really. Films like 'Johnny English' don't do much for me at all, and I'm not even sure if that qualifies as British anyway.
I suppose some of the early Ealing Comedies are quite good. And films like 'Two Way Stretch' with Peter Sellers are worth noting. But I'm having to go back to the 50s and 60s there.
So am I wrong? Are there any genuinely funny British films that I'm over looking?
Hopefully I am wrong and people will suggest a few gems that I've missed out on.