Since I’m only on episode 1, we’ll see where it goes, but this is my least favorite that I’ve seen so far. My first impression is that it’s a middling sitcom, and while Joel Fry’s performance is definitely entertaining, I wouldn’t rate it with the other stuff I’ve seen from him. Let’s get into it!
Ollie has just taken over his dad’s handyman van. He’s got his own aspirations of being a restauranteur, but while he gets on his feet, Ollie’s eager to prove that he can step into his dad’s shoes. …Things don’t go great. We follow him through a series of mishaps on his first day with the van.
Like I said, it feels kind of middling to me, but I also know that it can be hard to judge a sitcom by its pilot. We get some broad jokes and comedy violence, some crude references, and some recurring gags that get repeated a few too many times for a single episode. We meet the main cast, along with a number of colorful characters from the neighborhood—Ollie’s clients, yes, but also a self-important parking enforcement officer, a local thief, and more.
Ollie completes a few jobs and gets thrown out of others, and one turns out to be a ruse to drag him into some personal drama. He comes across like a generally well-meaning guy with terrible luck and a tendency to make a fool out of himself when he’s trying to cover his insecurities.
Will Mellor leads the cast as Ollie. I couldn’t figure out where I knew him from. Turns out I actually saw him during my rewatch of Broadchurch—he played the guy who claimed to be psychic in series 1. Clive Mantle plays Ollie’s dad Tony, who handed the van over to Ollie due to an early retirement but still tries to micromanage his son from the sidelines. I wasn’t expecting to see Georgia Tennant (nee Moffett) pop up! She plays Emma, an old crush of Ollie’s. Some of Ollie’s ill-advised moves this episode are in service of trying to impress her, even as he’s upset about what he views as a betrayal from her. The main cast is rounded out by Naomi Bentley as Liz, who works at the hardware store and is crushing on Ollie.
Joel Fry plays Darren, Ollie’s slacker assistant. While I’m not sold on the show yet, Darren is my favorite character in the pilot. He regularly avoids being helpful, such as calmly chilling in the van while it’s getting a parking ticket—when Ollie takes him to task for it, I love the dirty look Darren gives him as he mouths, I’m on the phone! He’s sometimes actively detrimental, like when he ruins a job by making a mess in a customer’s bathroom. And yet, he also has moments of surprising competence. There’s a scene where Ollie is getting supplies at the hardware store, arguing back and forth with the owner (Darren’s uncle) about whether he needs a certain kind of paint for a particular job. Liz (Darren’s sister) finally just sells it to him, and when Darren emerges from the back room—because of course he wasn’t about to help Ollie gather their supplies—he takes one glance at the paint and says, “We don’t need that.” I like that, that Darren isn’t a complete waste as an assistant. As the show goes on, I hope we get to see more of that juxtaposition.
I’m learning that “physicality” is something that’s just going to come up a lot on Joel Fry-days. I always appreciate it when non-verbal acting is such a major part of someone's performance, but while I've more commonly associated that with great facial acting (like Tony Leung Chiu-wai or Diego Luna,) Fry is a really terrific whole-body actor. Watching how he inhabits a character is always interesting! In this episode, I especially love a delightful sequence of Darren struggling to put his feet on the dashboard while Ollie’s driving. There’s also a fun bit where Ollie heads off to fix something Darren has screwed up—Darren follows him offscreen, then is pushed back into the frame by Ollie, who basically plants him on the sidewalk and tells him to stay put.
And that’s the pilot of White Van Man. First thoughts:
Accent Watch
London.
Recommend?
In General – Not yet. I wouldn’t call it bad or anything, but I haven’t seen enough in its favor at this point. We’ll see how things go.
Joel Fry – Maybe. This is certainly a less demanding role than Frenchie, Hal, etc., but Darren’s funny and Fry is fun to watch here.
Warnings
Language, sexual references (including sexual harassment,) gross-out humor, comedic violence, and drinking.
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