Will Yapp grew up watching Bruce Forsyth on television and jumps at the chance to spend some time with him reminiscing about his career. To help the two of them hit it off and get chatting, the BBC pays for Bruce, his wife and the film crew to go on holiday to an island off the coast of Hong Kong, where his wife is designing the costumes for the swimwear section of the Miss World contest.
This is very much a Louis Theroux film but without Louis himself - or the edge he brings to his films. Yapp goes on holiday with Bruce but the only real topic of conversation is his work and memories of working with various people. The film does get quite informal with Bruce in between the sit-down interviews but it doesn't dig - it just accepts that Bruce is Bruce and lets him be as personal or defensive as he wants to be. While this means we don't get to see what might be the `man behind the mirth' what we do get is interesting enough in an affable sort of way.
Bruce plays to the camera really well and is amusing when he is toying with Yapp or smiling as he recalls his career (in general statements and the odd specific recollection). The material is gentle in the extreme but is no less enjoyable for it. Theroux would have done a more interesting show with less staged chats, less archive footage and more Bruce, but it would have been a little bit more probing; and that's not necessarily what was required here. Forsyth is a very witty character and it is maybe for the best that this film didn't try to dig for anything behind that surface.
Overall this was a very brief film that didn't have a great deal to it. It works best as an informal chat with Forsyth - who comes across as a funny, disarming man who is very pleasant to spend 30 minutes with.
This is very much a Louis Theroux film but without Louis himself - or the edge he brings to his films. Yapp goes on holiday with Bruce but the only real topic of conversation is his work and memories of working with various people. The film does get quite informal with Bruce in between the sit-down interviews but it doesn't dig - it just accepts that Bruce is Bruce and lets him be as personal or defensive as he wants to be. While this means we don't get to see what might be the `man behind the mirth' what we do get is interesting enough in an affable sort of way.
Bruce plays to the camera really well and is amusing when he is toying with Yapp or smiling as he recalls his career (in general statements and the odd specific recollection). The material is gentle in the extreme but is no less enjoyable for it. Theroux would have done a more interesting show with less staged chats, less archive footage and more Bruce, but it would have been a little bit more probing; and that's not necessarily what was required here. Forsyth is a very witty character and it is maybe for the best that this film didn't try to dig for anything behind that surface.
Overall this was a very brief film that didn't have a great deal to it. It works best as an informal chat with Forsyth - who comes across as a funny, disarming man who is very pleasant to spend 30 minutes with.
