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Monkey Dust - Series 1 [2003]
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RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £10.50 (subject to change)
Dark, grim very funny in parts
Review date: 2007-12-10 Rating: 8 out of 10
Very dark nasty sharp clever accurate humour.
Have to be in right mind to watch it else depression could set in.
I guess it has become a cult status series now....wonder if they will ever make another?
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Reviews
I can only agree.
Review date: 2007-09-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
Just wanted to add my 5 star vote to this exceedingly black but excellent comedy series. Give it a go but prepare to be shocked, mainly at yourself for laughing at such dark subject matter ;)
BBC: Give us seasons 2 & 3 please!
Hi, I'm Kelly...I'm on work experience...
Review date: 2007-03-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
Very few films or television programmes capture the essence of their content in their opening titles - "Monkey Dust" is one of the exceptions. Juxtaposing daytime with night - the first note of the opening theme-tune has us witnessing children eating ice-cream in the park, surrounded by butterflies, with a rainbow colouring the backdrop. Day soon turns to night, however, and with the sun going down (and the street-lights coming on) we truly see the vision of Urban Britain as it is today (and is captured so brilliantly in this sketch-show): vandalism, CCTV surveillance, constant sirens outside our windows, hooded children carrying knives, sex shops, rats, drug-taking, urination and fly-tipping. Holiday anyone?
Briefly, "Welcome to your very own urban nightmare where the sad, lonely and the emotionally crippled populate the streets of a world on the wrong side of sunlight. In this 'Cruel Britannia' the haggard, wheezing chatroom pervert, desperately tries to be cool; the shy but lustful first-time cottager rehearses his chat-up lines; weekends with Divorced Dad always seem to go disasterously wrong; Ivan, who, after all, is not the Meat Safe Murderer; is released from prison after 27 years - on his spacehopper; and DJ 'Doctor' Fox finally gets what's coming to him".
What makes "Monkey Dust" so brilliant in it's dark satire is it's willingness to tackle modern issues head-on. The themes that the programme addresses are both tragic AND comic in their infiltration of Twenty-First Century Britain. It raises the issue of shameless marketing, for example, by presenting us with a sketch in which a PR guru is trying to encourage the fire-brigade to shift it's focus from being "reactive" to being "pro-active" by changing it's image to appeal to people whose house's aren't on fire. As we are constantly being told that one in three marriages end in divorce, the relationship between Timmy and his father is particularly relevant now more than ever. On watching their relationship, you can't help but empathise with the father who, literally living for his son (and subsequently dying as a result of his apparent rejection), waits at the window all week for him to arrive, only to find out that he can barely relate to him. Your heart goes out to Ivan Dobsky ("The Meat Safe Murderer"), institutionalised for twenty seven years for a crime he didn't commit - made only worse by the fact that, in another incident, the real killer of Daisy Harris gets away with it (there is even a sketch in which a policeman DELIBERATELY lets the "Element Killer" go - much to his detriment). In the end, Ivan cannot cope with living in such a cruel society, so is ironically forced into the very crime that he was previously accused of: murder. "Monkey Dust" even finds time to take a subtle swipe at our current obesession with "celebrity culture" - look out for the blatant attack in the recurring sketches about David Baddiel (just because he is an actor, people think he is capable of any given task), and the more subtle naming of baby Othello (a criticism of the need for celebrities to give their children audacious names?).
"Monkey Dust" isn't just outstanding because of the way in which the sketches work in their own right - it works because there is an element of self-referencing which allows a thread to develop throughout each episode (how often do we see Clive walking in the background of another sketch?). The boys don't miss an opportunity to make their point, however, even the linking pieces have their relevance: look out for the criticism of the transport network in this country, and the frustration often generated when speaking to automated systems. Overall, a masterstroke in comedy - but where, oh where, is series two?
Open your eyes...and the dark humour inside
Review date: 2007-01-26 Rating: 10 out of 10
Despair, agony, torment, desolation, misery.....FANTASTIC!!! The humour is dark and dirty, you feel naughty cracking a wry smile at the most depraved moments.....but you just can't help yourself, the laughter will burst out at the most inopportune moments.....the dark humour inside will out itself!!!
Monkey Magic!
Review date: 2006-12-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
I first caught this on the box and thought it was absolutely amazing!
This is so sinister and dark - you laugh and wonder if you should really be laughing at such abjectly sad situations. Take the divorcees for example; a dad so much in love with his son, that his apparent rejection causes him to commit suicide - only for the son to then explain that he loves his dad and wants to stay with him (not knowing his dads brains are decorating the room next door!).
It is this twisted look at real life using animation that makes this one of those things that needs to be seen to appreciated.
The 'Meat Safe Murderer' and the 'Classically Trainee Actor' are my favourite sketches alongside the son and his dad.
Some people say this is sick and unfunny - those people just don't get it.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Morwenna Banks
Frances Barber
Kate Robbins
Sharon Horgan
Rebecca Front
Director(s):
Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503150624
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Animated, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2004-11-08
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 170 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-07-24
Language: English (Original Language)