With no other characters (where are you Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog when you're most needed?) and a barely existent story involving a device that inserts a sofa in a part of Richie where no sofa should fit, and a time machine that takes our heroes on a quest to reach the bar before the audience, the material is thinly stretched. Nevertheless, the theatre audience at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea seem to have had a fantastic time being roundly abused by the stars. Probably, you just had to be there. On the DVD: Bottom Live 2003 is presented with, for a live theatre show, a strong, anamorphically enhanced 16:9 image and perfectly serviceable, clear stereo sound. It's far from special, but notably better than the technical quality of previous Bottom live videos. The only extra is a slideshow of backstage images, which runs for a minute-and-a-half. --Gary S Dalkin
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £1.68 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour is reputedly the swan song for Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall's Eddie Hitler and Richie Richard. If so, it's a mixed blessing, for while much of it is funny, it's also a long way from the original BBC Bottom series. The TV incarnation was always crude, but worked hilariously because it balanced real characterisation and comically absurd ingenuity with the vulgarity. Here Edmundson and Mayall spend 90 minutes swearing as loudly and repulsively as possible and indulging in cartoon violence, which can never--for reasons of self-preservation and the legal ramifications of killing people on stage--be as insanely inventive as on television.
Dissapointing!
Review date: 2010-03-17 Rating: 6 out of 10
I am a huge fan of the Bottom series and really looked forward to watching the live shows. I loved the TV series. I have enjoyed all of their live shows so far...until I watched this one.
Out of all their live shows, this is certainly their worst. Although they work soo well together as a duo, I felt this live show just didnt flow. There was no decent plot, unlike the other shows and the acting was nowhere near as good.
One of the main reasons I didnt like this show particularly, was because of the amount of swearing it has in it. I dont mind it now and again, such as during mistakes, but this had too much of the F word in it. I felt as though a lot of it was used to waste time, such as the song at the end of the show.
The show overall is very confusing and doesnt flow as well as any other show they've done.
Overall an average buy, but if you love Bottom, I recommend any of the other shows except this one.
It's a bit like listening to them on radio - the visuals are not spectacular - in fact in Act 2 they are rather minimalist - but that's no bad thing. To be able to relax in front of a computer with this on in the background is a great relief, and not having to worry about missing visual gags. For those who enjoy a bit of slapstick though - and slap-and-tickle - the Act 1 set at least is really quite spectacular, a Heath-Robinson set up by Eddie to specifications found in Richie's late uncle's will. And I'll leave it to the DVD to find out what WMD really means for the two Hammersmith harlequins.
Rik and Ade are definitely showing that age has not withered them (nor have the years condemned) - still cracking the knob-gags and reaching the parts which other Noughties comedies no longer dare to go - in this age of extreme prudishness, I wish there was more of this kind of comedy rather than the clever-clever stuff that seems to be more performed for the performers than for their audience. Only Little Britain dares to come anywhere near this with its audacity, and even then it relies too heavily on social commentary and not enough on the simply puerile laughs which we enjoyed ten years ago from Bottom and Men Behaving Badly. No-one could force Richie or Eddie into the politically-correct straitjacket of modern times - and you get the feeling that anyone who tried to would feel themselves on the sharp end of Eddie's "tattoo-remover" - the best gag in the show by a long chalk ;-).
While there is still Bottom, there is still comedy. Long live Rik and Ade!
PS Girls...Rik drops his pants (and undies) in one scene ^_~
1.Bottom live (1) Tour
2.Bottom live The Big Number 2 Tour
3.Bottom live 5 Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour
4.Bottom live 3 Hooligans Island Tour
5.Bottom live 4 An Arse oddity Tour
But there all still funny!
Basically I really enjoyed this live show,its just the same old thing realy but funny, shame about lack of plot in the 2nd half but was Really funny until the last 5 minutes which was a rubbish bit with the guys singing just like in bottom live 4 :|.
well worth getting!!!!!!!!!!