Manchild - The Complete First Season
by Audrey Cooke, David Evans
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Head, Don Warrington, Lindsey Coulson, Nigel Havers, Ray BurdisDirector: Audrey Cooke, David Evans
Cinematographer: Matt Gray
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
Producer: Peter Thornton
Producer: Sophie Clarke-Jervoise
Writer: Nick Fisher
Writer: Richard Stoneman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Enhanced, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 196 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: KOCH VISION
Movie Reviews of Manchild - The Complete First Season
Movie Review: Actually the British male version of "fiftysomething" rather than "Sex in the City"
Summary: 5 Stars
The easiest way to recommend a British television series might be to compare it to a successful American television series, but there is no reason to believe that is the best way. I was told that "Coupling" was the British version of "Friends," which is obvious but not really significant because the romance between Steve and Susan is more central to the story than was ever really true about Ross and Rachel. Similarly, I was told that "Manchild" was the British version of "Sex in the City," although there is an even more obvious difference because we are talking four males into of four females. But, again, there is an even more important distinction in that this particular quartet is about to hit the big five-oh and not the big three-oh. Most of them are not looking forward to marriage, but rather behind. If anything this is a show about four Englishmen who are embracing their mid-life crises (or perhaps post mid-life crises since they are probably not going to live to be 100 or even close to it).
Besides, I watched the show because Anthony (Stewart) Head plays James and this fall catching up on what the old "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" gang are up to on the tube is the thing to do, even if you have to track down an import from across the pond. However, the central character is Terry (Nigel Havers, "Chariots of Fire," "Empire of the Sun"), the narrator of the series, who has divorced his wife and is looking to life the good life now that he has the freedom (and the money) to do so. Patrick (Don Warrington) knows all about living the good life because he wasted all his money on Beatles' memorabilia when he was younger. Then there is Gary (Ray Burdis), who is still married to Cheryl (Lindsey Coulson), who is twice as smart as he is, and who looks at what his friends are up to and wonders why he cannot get a bit of action himself. As for James, well, his seals are leaking.
So much more than "Sex and the City" what "Manchild" strikes me as being is a British version of "fiftysomething," since the topics are clearly two decades beyond that of "thirtysomething." It also helps that "Fiftysomething" is the title of the first episode, but I swear, I really was thinking along those lines." However, as we see from the episodes in the first season (nee series), irony abounds as a series of cosmic jokes await our aging band of brothers:
(1) "Fiftysomething" sets up James and his constant dating of models as the epitome of the good life, only for him to discover that he has performance issues; (2) "Art" specifically means fine art, which is what Patrick is enjoying with his friends over the weekend; (3) "Marriage" is about Gary risking his own marriage when he visits a lap dancing club and becomes enamored by one of the young ladies; (4) "Jealousy" focuses on James, who finds out there are worst things to be green-eyed over than his ex-wife's new boyfriend when he finds out who his son is dating; (5) "Responsibility" is about Patrick disappearing following the death of a loved while James continues to receive a series of psychological blows; (6) "Swingers and Shakers" has Gary trying to be the former, when he asks Cheryl if she wants to try swinging, and Patrick as the latter, when he signs up with a dating agency to try and find a wife; and (7) "Four of a Kind," which ends the first year with the boys out in the country for a little hunting that will help them reconnect.
For the most part "Manchild" is about the slings and arrows that men of this age group are prone to in their attempts to find happiness relieve their childhoods, or however you want to characterize their prime motivations. Certainly watching these shows makes me glad I am not out there the way three of these four blokes are, because it is a lot easier to laugh at the pain of others than it is at your own. "Manchild" also does a nice job of playing out the comedic nightmares of what Terry sees is his review mirror regarding the wife and son he left behind or the continuing travails of James deal with erectile dysfunction, but the part that got me hooked on this show was the end of "Jealousy" when Patrick and his friends raise their champagne glasses in a toast to his mum. Knowing that this show is capable of such emotional depth, to go along with the laughs, is what truly makes it worth checking out.
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