You'll
never guess, but Paul continues to be cowed by everything in his life. Granted, Hugh Laurie can make anything funny,
and he has some great moments, but Paul's constant need for reassurance is more
than a little pathetic. I especially
don't like the way he's intimidated by Estelle's career and feels threatened by
every interaction she has with another man.
Case in
point: Pilfrey. The “little rat,” as Estelle calls him,
attempts to ramp up his seduction efforts here, and Paul is just utterly blind
to Estelle's horror at it all. That he
thinks she would go for a man like Pilfrey is definitely an insult to Estelle's
mental stability.
This is
particularly true in this episode, where a number of comedic misunderstandings
lead Pilfrey to act full-on ridiculously insane. It's mostly funny early in the episode, and
there are good bits here and there in the second half, but seriously – PC
must've had to floss after each take, to get rid of all the scenery stuck
between his teeth.
It's a
shame, because he's so good.
Over-the-top isn't always a negative; Malcolm Tucker is comic gold, and
he's played incredibly big. But this...
It was like watching John Simm in “The End of Time.” (I'm thinking especially of the scene where
the Master is ripping chunks off of a turkey carcass with his bare hands and
shoving them in his mouth.) In both cases,
I'm left feeling sorry for the actors and wondering what went through their
heads when they read the script and realized what they were going to have to
do.
On a
positive note, though, there's a good deal of singing, and that's fun. PC has a pretty decent voice. (He used to be in a band with Craig
Ferguson! I mention that whenever I have
the opportunity, because the world needs to know.)
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