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The Brits were out in force earlier this week to support funnyman Stephen Merchant (right inset pic)as he brought his hit comedy show, Hello Ladies to Hollywood.
It was also date night for attendees Kate Beckinsale and Emily Blunt, as the actresses both had their American hubbies Len Wiseman and John Krasinski in tow.
Actor Colin Firth completed the star-studded gathering, playing third wheel as he walked into the Beverly Hills’ Coronet Theatre with Emily and John.
‘Hello Ladies’ is about Merchant’s lack of success with the women, despite his many awards and critical acclaim. His reasons, according to Merchant include his tightfistedness and his pedantry, and because of his gawky and lanky 6ft 7 inch frame, and, as with his BBC2 sitcom Life’s Too Short, he delivers plenty of funny and very physical material from his unusually ginormous stature.
Some of his battle-of-the-sexes gags wear thin at times; as does his routine on the glibness of text message speak. However, a finale in which he re-enacts an old GCSE drama play on issues of prejudice is a show stopper, using his unsubtle teenage self as a license to be gleefully un-PC. It hints that a far more mischievous Merchant lies just around the corner… So Hollywood, watch out!
Merchant, known for his collaborations with funnyman Ricky Gervais, who hosted the Golden Globes last Sunday, spoke about the difference between English and American audiences.
Earlier this week he told the Los Angeles Times, “In England, the audience can be quite surly at times,’
‘You can walk on and you get the feeling that they are sitting with their arms crossed sort of, “Yeah, listen. It was raining, we had to park the car, so this better be funny mate.”
He added, “American audiences just seemed much more enthusiastic. like ‘Yay! It’s great, it’ll be fun! Let’s enjoy.”
I give ‘Hello Ladies’ five stars and a BIG thumbs up, well done to Merchant, for managing to slap us full-force in the mush with this incredibly original piece of comedy… Go see it!
Tickets available at Ticket Master.
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