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Reviews (1)
04 Oct, 2009
The 'other' gay drama series.
After the TV phenomenon that was Queer As Folk, Russell T Davies's 2001 ITV comedy drama, Bob & Rose, seems to have been more-than-a-little overshadowed by its groundbreaking older brother. However, in terms of its humour, pathos, characterisation and humanity it easily outshines its more famous predecessor.
Bob & Rose tells the story of Bob, a fairly conventional and openly gay man who meets and, to his own surprise, falls in love with Rose, a funny and warm-hearted Manchester girl. Rose is similarly smitten and the pair charter an unknown course through their own emotions, much to the bewilderment of their friends and families. They face many obstacles, both internal and external, and the sub-plots involving their loved ones provide a rich tapestry of interconnected characters that are at once laughable, infuriating and sympathetic.
Russell T Davies's writing is as sharp and as witty as ever but compared to Queer As Folk, the characters in Bob & Rose have an added accessibilty and warmth to them, the humour is gentler, the dialogue less oblique and the storyline more plausible and skilfully plotted.
The delightful script is wonderfully served by the actors who take obvious pleasure in their roles. Alan Davies and Lesley Sharp are so deliciously charming in their roles (although the undeniably-cute Davies looks like the world's worst kisser - of both men and women) that even gay men will be cheering on this unlikely heterosexual couple.
The star turns, however, come in the form of Penelope Wilton as Bob's loving, hilarious but highly politicised middle-class mother and especially Jessica Stevenson as his 'best (i.e. fag-hag) friend' who is secretly in love with Bob and who does all she can to scupper his new-found romance. Stevenson's technique is truly astonishing and to watch the range of subtle facial expressions of this obsessive-compulsive character as she struggles to hide her paranoia and present a veneer of functionality to the world is both hysterical and mesmerising.
Bob assures everyone that he's still gay ("there's just something about her"). There are never any claims of him being 'cured' - in fact the possibility of him still sleeping with men is ever present - and the peripheral gay characters are portrayed as being at least as equally dysfnctional as their straight counterparts. Some of the sex scenes are rather tame compared to Queer As Folk and in fact, gay sex scenes are non-existent (some ITV prurience, perhaps?) but in truth, they're hardly missed in the context of the story.
On the minus side, Alan Davies doesn't always look that comfortable with male intimacy and both Bob and Rose seem to lead remarkably shallow existences before they meet each other. The sixth and last episode is also rather weak in comparison to the other five. Disappointingly, there are no extra features on this two-disc set.
These are, however, minor misgivings and do not detract from the strength of the script and performances. Although it was critically acclaimed at the time and received three British Comedy Awards that year it seems to have disappeared into the ether of TV history and is rarely referred to nowadays in terms of significant gay drama.
Fortunately, it's available in this neat DVD set. A delight from start to finish and extremely moving.