If you haven’t caught on to the contagiously entertaining comedy programme ‘Angry Boys’ currently showing on BBC Three every Tuesday, there must be a gaping humourless hole in your life that I suggest be filled immediately by tuning into this brilliant show.
Created by Australian comedian Chris Lilley, this half hour show follows the appearance of a documentary switching from various people’s family/social situations not only in Australia but expanding to America and also Japan. One would be convinced that each person’s story is so different from African-American young rapper S. Mouse who gained and then lost popularity after one hit single to 38-year-old former Australian surfing champion Blake Oakfield, and this is true, however these are not people but in fact characters created and portrayed so realistically by Chris Lilley. Chris Lilley certainly has a talent for making ‘mockumentaries’ having already made two hit series previously (‘We Can Be Heroes’ and ‘Summer Heights High’) and ‘Angry Boys’ may possibly be his best work so far.
Chris has been able to create a winning combination of characters that are extremely funny in their mannerisms not just because they are overly-exaggerated personalities, but simultaneously because they reveal realistic qualities in people we’ve met along the way in life. From the unbearably controlling Japanese mother Jen Okazaki to the sibling rivalry of teenage twins Daniel and Nathan and my personal favourite character titled simply as Gran, who provides a maternal hand for youth offenders, these are a collection of characters created by Chris to remind the audience of the way we all can be. As much as this is a hilarious show, credit should also be given to Chris for creating layered backstories to these imagined people causing the audience to become curious as to what will happen next for these characters rather than simply laugh at their situations.
