I get the impression I've been enjoying this sitcom more than most, but even I had a tough time appreciating this third episode. Sometimes the middle episodes of comedies are the weakest, as people will forgive and forget a halfway slump if there's a strong beginning and end. I hope that's true here, but there's also a worry that Him & Her's intentionally limited situation (two lazy lovers, one bedsit) is already beginning to exhaust itself. Are Steve (Russell Tovey) and Becky (Sarah Solemani) interesting enough to keep you engaged with their lives, considering their lives are so acutely dull?This week, Steve and Becky were preparing to go out for a "P"-themed fancy dress party, to celebrate Paul's (Ricky Champ) son Luke beating leukemia. Unfortunately, Steve had rung HSBC and was stuck on hold, while Becky fretted over the appearance of a spot on her chin, meaning both risked being extremely late by the time Becky's sister Laura (Kerry Howard) came around to ensure Steve had bought the sausage rolls he'd promised to.
As usual, there were a sprinkling of amusing and disgusting moments to make you grin and grimace in equal measure: Becky not remembering the song "Candle In The Wind", the contents of her messy handbag (hairbrush embedded with crisps, etc), a gnawed toothbrush, Becky's "fringe wash" to save time doing her hair, and the late arrival of an angry Paul dressed as Postman Pat with "a Jess" in his satchel. Lonely neighbour Dan (Joe Wilkinson) also continues to become an even more tragic figure; ignored and left alone in Steve and Becky's hallway, resorting to doing an admittedly impressive card trick (that had taken him a week of intense memorization) to make himself appear interesting.
Overall, the problem with this episode was very simple: after a mere two episodes, I'm unconvinced Him & Her has anything left to give us. The basic situation and its grungy tone is well established, we understand the characters, and now it's just rinse and repeat. Becky and Steve are designed to be creatures of habit with zero aspirations in life, and that unfortunately means they're rather one-dimensional personalities. All the great sitcoms with limited scope had very multi-faceted characters (Porridge, The Royle Family), and considering Him & Her is arguably the most limited sitcom ever (effectively three rooms) the characters need to show a depth we're not getting.
Asides
- My schedule is going to be absolutely crazy now the new TV season's begun, particularly on Mondays, so this may be the last regular review of Him & Her from me until the finale in three weeks.
- Becky said she was 11 when Elton John's 1997 version of "Candle In The Wind" came out, meaning she was born in 1986. I feel old again.
WRITER: Stefan Golaszewski
DIRECTOR: Richard Laxton
CAST: Russell Tovey, Sarah Solemani, Ricky Champ, Kerry Howard & Joe Wilkinson
TRANSMISSION: 20 September 2010 - BBC3, 10.30PM
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