lawrence_2004's profile

Classic films - a great dad present!

I bought it for my dad, who was a desert rat himself. He couldnt be more chuffed. The quality is OK, although careful remastering might be a good idea. This is particularly evident in re the sound, which can drop rather low and reach rather high. However, a good purchase overall.

Not as bad as I expected!

This DVD had all the signs of being a bit ridiculous and cringeworthy, but to be fair it isn't actually that bad. The plot is pretty simple - the main character hasn't had sex by the age of 40. He has a house full of kid's toys etc from his own childhood, which he sells on Ebay with the help of his girlfriend who is unaware of his inexperience and amazed at the extent of his restraint. Their romance develops as he is egged on by a trio of decidedly dodgy friends who act as tempters to get him to sleep with anyone...but who eventually see the error of their ways (to an extent), hence the slightly saccharine moralistic overtone (it is American, after all). A good laugh with some funny moments, but I don't think that many Oscars will be forthcoming...!

Good stuff...almost British Humour!

Frasier is superb because it really breaks the idea that American humour is inevitably clummsy, obvious and unsubtle. It mnanages to be sardonic, dry, sarcastic and witty, and paints such a sympathetic picture of the characters that yo can't help but like them even when they're being hysterically obnoxious. For me, the star of the show is David Hyde Pierce (who plays Niles) as he has deadpan understatement and pithy witicisms down pat. Maybe this is why he came out higher than Frasier himself (Kelsey Grammer) in a poll of the UKs favourite comedy stars? Ex Benny Hill girl Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) is a slightly irritating misrepresentation of the average Brit, but I suppose its better than the usual Hugh Grant image. She works very well with Niles, who is smitten with her from the minute they meet. Her role is to be Martin Crane's therapist; this blue-collar curmudgeon is played by John Mahoney, as a perfect down-to-earth counterweight to Niles and Frasier's OTT effeminacies. And he was even born in Lancashire. How perfect is that?? The show is rounded off with the never-seen Maris, Niles' wife, and Frasier's ex, Lilith (BebeNeuwirth), whose high maintenance shenanigans make the brothers perfect patients for each others' psychiatric analyses. The tart with a heart Roz (played by Peri Gilpin) keeps Frasier's feet (more or less) on the ground at the radio station where he works, sometimes aided by Bulldog Briscoe (Dan Butler), a lecherous sports presenter with whom Frasier is philosophically at odds. The characters work perfectly together; Ros and Niles are always at loggerheads, for instance, giving us some absolutely fabulous one-liners that I am always at pains to use. Oh, and I mustn't forget Moose, the dog who plays Eddie - Martin's best friend and Frasier's bete noir. This is a great show. You really ought to get the DVDs and watch tem now, and if yo think you know it already, you don't! It gains soemthing new from every viewing. Recommended.