Peter Kay: Live at the Bolton Albert Halls (2003) (V)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Peter Kay

Writer:

Peter Kay (writer)

Release Date:

10 November 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Stand Up | Character Name In Title

Cast

Peter Kay	...	Himself
Sally Lindsay	...	Herself
Amer Nazir	...	Mr. B
Jennifer James	...	Herself

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bolton Town Hall, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company:

Goodnight Vienna Productions

Quotes:

Peter Kay: Garlic Bread? Garlic... bread? Garlic? And bread? Am I hearing you right? Garlic bread?

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Greatest Funny Moments (2006) (TV)

It's OK for working men's club and 'have you noticed' style humour but Kay has been better elsewhere

Peter Kay appears in front of a large audience of his Northern brethren and goes through a routine that runs just under an hour. Kay runs through a range of observations made against his own life growing up in the North (where it, as I understand it, is grim). From drunken dancing at weddings, watching Bullseye or taping the top 40 charts off the radio, he covers a range of subjects – but this is also a weakness.

Outside of the group that will be familiar with what he is talking about (not many outside the UK I'd reckon) he isn't going to get many laughs, but I suppose I'm in the UK so it shouldn't matter – but it does. The problem I had with the show was that it never gets close to the inventiveness and wit of Kay's TV shows (specifically Phoenix Nights), instead it more or less just picks easy targets – dancing at weddings, drunken relatives, rubbish television shows and so on. It is amusing in a 'oh yeah' type of way but I must admit that I wasn't roaring with laughter as much as the (badly timed) cuts to audience were. I say badly timed because the odd time it is apparent that the individuals are not actually laughing at that specific joke but I suppose the important thing is that they were laughing at that moment.

The material won't travel well but it is worth seeing if you are in a relaxed mood. Ironically Kay seems happy to be just a notch above the working men's clubs that he lampoons so wonderfully in Phoenix Nights but the crowd (a rough looking lot) seem to enjoy it a great deal and I suppose that if you're a fan of his type of humour then you'll enjoy this too. I did identify with the people and situations he joked about and I did laugh a handful of times but basically I didn't think he stood out from many other stand ups who also do the 'have you ever noticed…' stuff but do it better. Kay is better than this.