The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting (2013) User Reviews

Outrageous, insane fun

[tenlegdragon · 8/10 · 18 April 2013]

You know how some comedies like to slowly descend into the insanity of the show? Eg, the way Sunny in Philly goes from bar life to terrorism in around 20 mins? Well, this show is made up of bits, each one about 2 to 5 minutes long, and they start at insane and move up from there. You don't have to wait for the talking dog, the dog is talking from the beginning and he might actually be the straight man for the skit, because that's the level of outrageous, audacious mind-boggling nonsense this is. That's how insane this is.

Think about the glory days of snl. And multiply that by about 15.

This is perfect. Utterly perfect for anybody who liked Frisky Dingo, Sealab, Wilfred, Sunny, League... that kind of stuff. It's awesome.

PLUS - Australian accents. Everybody loves Aussies. What more can you want? This is a guaranteed laugh. You have to check it out. The 3.9 rating is profane. This is 10 star gold. Watch and see. I dare you not to laugh. This was engineered for laughter. If you don't like this, your sense of comedy is broken beyond any hope of redemption or salvage.

Give it a chance

[c-bissett · 8/10 · 9 April 2013]

I think this has promise - as with all sketch shows some things worked better than others, but on the whole there were some strong ideas and it was better acted than most sketch shows. I'm giving them credit for trying out some different styles and longer formats, especially seeing as they have a strong cast. I actually liked the tense awfulness of some of the longer set-ups. It also has some nice short links to break things up, and overall could be a really solid show given the people involved. There has only been one episode after all! I guess if you think all sketch shows should stick to some pre-ordained snappy time formula this may not be for you, but I think it is worth sticking with as it's trying to do something a bit different and has an interesting, talented and unorthodox cast/directors for a comedy show. If anything, I hope people watch it so that things that are a little off-centre but generally nicely made actually keep getting a chance!Otherwise we might just be left with a string of pale full frontal imitations and attempts to create catch-cry characters for merchandising rewards...

Very funny sketch show

[arunkumaraqm · 8/10 · 4 March 2021]

I've only been able to watch the individual sketches on YouTube. They're quite funny and dark. Trent o'Donnell and Phil Lloyd make great shows.

It's a Prius.

[rob-1476 · 9/10 · 23 April 2013]

Stupid to look at, not very practical, but in the end very very funny. Well done Jungleboys. If you don't think it is funny try Friends Monday to Friday on Go.

This is the real deal, genuine sketch comedy, which has been missing on Australian TV since Rod Quantrock didn't care who he made fun of. It isn't rocket science, it is comedy and not for everyone which is what makes this so good.

There is edge, satire and a reinforcement that Australians are not English or American, they don't care that most of the ABC audience won't either like it or get it and they don't care if they don't get another season. Five stars.

Grower, not a shower

[danbrophy · 9/10 · 11 April 2013]

Television needs a chance to find it's rhythm and creating a sketch comedy show in Australia - especially on a network like ABC where the average viewing age is 40+, creating something that is daring is going to be met with even more criticism. I feel that EGGKF gets better with each episode. By episode two, there was the introduction of darker, more subversive characters - like the children's TV clown with the squeaky voice - that were indicative of where this show could go if given time to grow. In a country that is 1/20 the size of the US, if a large part of the population doesn't tune into something, it's considered a failure and thus, so few television shows have the chance to respond to their audience and mature. The expectation that season 1 episode 1 will be a masterwork is ridiculous.

Funny as hell

[alexpham · 10/10 · 15 January 2019]

Honestly this is very awkwardly funny. It's not for everyone but ignore you like dumb comedy with a twist then this is for you. Enjoy!

Comedy on the Edge

[totink · 10/10 · 7 April 2024]

Finally, edgy comedy that goes beyond what's safe and expected. I haven't seen anything this brilliantly funny since Python or 70's SNL. I found myself say, 'oh no they didn't' or 'oh no they aren't', only to respond 'oh yes they did'. The Prius skit, the terrorists in first class, yes those were unforgettable, but the British naming of the islands had me gasping for air and wiping tears from my eyes. So simple, yet so beautifully composed and performed. I purchased the series so I can watch it whenever I want or need to. So many shows labeled 'comedy' are just not funny at all. Treat yourself tonight to your next guilty pleasure.

How not to make comedy sketches

[Scottles · 3/10 · 3 April 2013]

New sketch comedy shows aren't that common in Australia so it was with great interest that I watched this show, but sadly found it a huge disappointment.

The best thing about the show was that the premise behind a lot of the sketches were funny - but then that was completely smothered and killed in the way they were then played out and made.

Each sketch for the most part was acted, directed and filmed in the style of a drama. This changed their meaning and feeling completely and made what should have been quick and funny (even absurd) scenes slow, torturous and uncomfortable - for example the Prius driving dinner guest. Most of the sketches looked and felt like they were excerpts out of a drama film - and not comedy sketches at all.

There's so much good sketch comedy around from the last 50 or so years - it's not actually rocket science - you think the makers of this show would have done a bit of research. If they were trying to be different just for the sake of it - it's created a flawed product - if they were trying to be different to be funnier - it again hasn't worked. You just have to look at Micallef's Mad As Hell to see there's still a lot of new laughs to be got with in established styles and formats. Reinventing the wheel here has only given us a worse wheel.

It was hard to watch all the way thru

[e1097281 · 1/10 · 9 April 2013]

I looked forward to this - "a random and ridiculous ride into weirdness" and recommended by brother-in-law.

Sorry guys, it was not that funny. I got each 'joke' in the first 10 seconds but after that each sketch just dragged on and felt contrived. The endings were just left hanging - no punchline, just sudden endings. The "weirdness" was not there either. Each sketch starts off normal then veers into off-centredness but definitely not weird or unexpected. The acting was good as was the staging.

There are Gilliam-type Monty-Python cartoons - short and a bit funny. Also not suitable for kids.

Seriously, the writers should do a total rethink. Try to do better dialogue, nuances of language, whatever.

Its just not funny

[gjmooresam · 3/10 · 3 April 2013]

I don't want to be a jerk, but this show is just not funny and its not cause Im some old man, i'm only twenty years old. But the thing is I can appreciate good humor, which this isn't. The creators and ABC have told us that this is a darker, surreal comedy. Unfortunately the creators have mixed up 'dark' with vulgar. The show tries to shock the laughs out of us with no success, like with a OH and S safety inspector at a porn shoot. Its not funny its just vulgar and stupid. Sketch comedy should come out of no where and make you laugh, with this sketch i knew what was gonna happen the moment that guy came on screen (and yes i can see how that links with the porn scenario <-- thats actually funny). Again the creators have told us that they wish to create longer length sketches. The whole idea of sketches are they are meant to be short and quick and funny. Packed full of laughs within a short time span. These sketches go for too long and the jokes don't keep up. Many of the sketches you can guess the punchline before it occurs, like when the wife tells her husband (who always wears hats) that she thinks he is bald and when he takes off his hat, oh would you look at that she wants a divorce. That isn't dark humor, its silly and contrived and easily guessable. Overall unless your a 15 year old boy whose watching TV by himself, this show will just annoy you. There has to be better shows out there for ABC, if there's not there is little hope for Australian television. 3/10

No.

[paston · 2/10 · 10 April 2013]

Really just not good enough. Certainly not good enough for prime time on ABC1. It would barely pass muster tucked away late at night on ABC2.

The fundamental problem here is that almost every sketch is based on a "Wouldn't be funny if..." premise, and then goes on to illustrate that premise in a deadly unfunny manner with as few jokes as possible in order to beat any possible humour out of the concept. The gag twists are always painfully obvious and can be seen coming a mile off. It's acted and directed like a series of faux-dramatic vignettes, allowing for little comedy to arise from the presentation of the material.

This series been promoted as containing dark, edgy humour. The writers seem to think that shoehorning the occasional reference to AIDS or cancer makes it so, but there's precious little genuinely dark comedy on display. One promising sketch in episode two, set on an aircraft with two annoying kids, had the potential to go much further and much darker, which would have given the punchline more power, but the creative team pulled their punches instead.

Ultimately this is a joyless, jokeless wasteland. I thought the ABC had reached the nadir of sketch comedy with the ill-fated Flipside, but The Elegant Gentleman's etc has plumbed a new low.

Next time, ABC, before you commission a sketch comedy show, get the writers to sit down and watch some of the successful comedies of the last 50 years to see how it should be done.

a boring shocker

[steve_roper135 · 1/10 · 28 April 2013]

I admit that I only lasted 1/2 the way through first episode, but it was so bad that I couldn't watch any more episodes. I am big comedy fan and I thought this would be pretty cool. The promo clips are very good. Unfortunately there is nothing much funny between them in the actual show. I still think the adds they are running look great- but they are not going to convince me to watch the show The jokes are incredibly drawn out, and the drawn-out parts of full of violent and aggressive interactions and language and gratuitous sex. The bulk of the content seems to be sensationalistic rather than comic. In some ways it is like a retelling of the same joke over and over, where the real joke is how long they can spin out what is supposed to be a joke.