Despite its opulence of legendary comic talent and convenient format for dipping, I've seen surprisingly little of this long-running anthology. Probably because I knew that if I waded too far, I'd have to end up doing this.
Let's get it over with then. Bloody entertainment. Here are my The Top 45 Comic Strip Films.
Unhelpful key:
Series 1 (1982–83)
Series 2 (1983–84)
Series 3 (1988)
Series 4 (1990)
Series 5 (1993)
Specials (1984–2016)
The Comic Strip enjoy a working holiday abroad at the end of the year, in exchange for churning out a miserable excuse for an episode. I think some kind of plot developed eventually, I stopped paying attention. One of the worst things I've ever forced myself to sit through.
I guess the game plan now is to release a satirical special every five years, taking a wry look at a scandal five years out of date. Look forward to Blair's further adventures in 2021.
43. Eat the Rich (1987)
The second Comic Strip film isn't just a step down from the first, it's also one of the worst things they'd ever put out, dashing any hopes they might have had of being the next generation's 'Python. Had it been a random episode, without sidelining the regulars, a tedious Motörhead soundtrack and the pressure to unsuccessfully crowd-please with scenes that are more cringeworthy than those parodied in 'The Strike,' it might merely have been mediocre.
I've not been getting on with Keith Allen generally, so it's a shame he had to come along to ruin what had been a strong run with an inessential pisstake of The Fly. It's no stupider a premise than your average Comic Strip parody, but by mixing up one type of dickhead with a different type of dickhead, the laughs it goes for are all pretty horrible. Hardly any of the gang's even in it, which has been the trend for the bad ones so far.
41. The Crying Game (1992)
Keith Allen + football wasn't a winning recipe for me, but at least this has a worthwhile point by the end. That justifies its existence more than something completely pointless like 'The Yob.'
40. The Bullshitters: Roll Out The Gunbarrel (1984)
I'm glad that Allen & Richardson's A-Team parody or whatever this is didn't end up being a recurring series. Richardson's the only one of the main lot who's even in it, that didn't help.
39. Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (5x01)
We're firmly in the next generation now, save for the intrusion of characters from one of my least favourite early episodes. If you're an aficionado of detective shows across the decades, you might get more out of it than me. Also irrelevantly a musical.
38. The Pope Must Die (a.k.a. The Pope Must Diet!, 1991)
A decent budget and nice locations make this an unusually attractive installment. Shame about the content, especially when it goes all heartwarming Hollywood towards the end.
Mainly notable for hopeless, childish nerds these days for having a youngish Peter Capaldi accidentally stumble through some Doctor Who references and camera angles, I don't imagine anything made it stand out earlier.
Getting the gang back together for a masturbatory tribute to an overrated episode that already had a sequel wasn't really worth the effort, especially when they have to resort to sat-nav jokes. It's mainly notable for featuring Rik's last Comic Strip role, for all of two minutes.
35. Space Virgins from Planet Sex (5x02)
I wasn't expecting a sophisticated parody, but I managed to enjoy the titillation on a non-ironic level at least. Bringing in a Bond parody as well is just excessive. Sara Stockbridge played a not dissimilar role in Roy "Chubby" Brown's UFO movie around this time, presumably the workplace culture and ethos was mildly different.
34. Spaghetti Hoops (4x05)
Nigel Planer's greedy banker takes us on a brief sightseeing tour, chats with various people, then it abuptly ends. Maybe these should have stayed in the '80s, these new-fangled ones aren't doing a lot for me.
33. ...Sex Actually (2005)
I don't know if there's any relation to the similarly named film, but that's the case for most of their parodies. Not much to recommend this forgettable outing where no one brings their A game, unless Sheridan Smith does the trick for you.
I wasn't expecting a sophisticated parody, but I managed to enjoy the titillation on a non-ironic level at least. Bringing in a Bond parody as well is just excessive. Sara Stockbridge played a not dissimilar role in Roy "Chubby" Brown's UFO movie around this time, presumably the workplace culture and ethos was mildly different.
Nigel Planer's greedy banker takes us on a brief sightseeing tour, chats with various people, then it abuptly ends. Maybe these should have stayed in the '80s, these new-fangled ones aren't doing a lot for me.
I don't know if there's any relation to the similarly named film, but that's the case for most of their parodies. Not much to recommend this forgettable outing where no one brings their A game, unless Sheridan Smith does the trick for you.
French and Saunders are determined to study Byron at Oxford at any cost. I didn't get the point of any of this until a late turnaround that's just silly. Still, always fun to see the real-life couple swapping in a series where half the cast are married to each other. Does Ade ever get off with anyone?
The first one I found boring, this love quadrangle gets commendably dark towards the end, but for the most part it plays its parody of the nyphomaniac romance novel so straight, it's barely distinguishable as a pisstake. It doesn't help that the whole thing's saturated in that cloying muzak score either.
A prelude to French & Saunders' film parodies, this throws a bunch of timely tropes into a blender, complimented by a perfect 80s soundtrack and low-budget imagery. Plot and characterisation are pish though, with the worst fight choreography ever committed to 16mm.
29. The Hunt for Tony Blair (2011)
This tribute to noir crime thrillers looks very nice, but despite the body count it's mainly dull. A bit of an odd topic for 2011 and it doesn't touch their John Majors special.
A throwaway gag at the end of 'The Strike' is made a reality as British politics and royalty once again get the cynical Hollywood treatment. Any new jokes are just variations on old ones, but if you were watching in real time and hadn't seen 'The Strike' in a couple of years, you'd probably enjoy it.
Knowingly the oddest one yet, I quite enjoyed the hazy surreality of it all and the cheek of actually putting it on television for people to watch. But I'd rather have watched a behind-the-scenes documentary where Richardson & Richens explain what the fuck they was thinking.
Alexei had his own show now, but took the opportunity to get some more things off his chest by contributing this confusing sociological satire featuring occasional monologues, songs and lots of bicycles. I'd probably appreciate it more if I cared more about society and wasn't just getting on with things.
Mainly a rote Silence of the Lambs parody (what's next? Jurassic Park?), Ade's would-be killer's video diary makes a more captivating B-story. If that had been the full episode it might have been considered revolutionary, but it also would've made a lot of people sick.
Notably the only outing written by Dawn French, this Iron Age roleplay retreat plods along until it picks up for the inevitable Wicker Man denouement. The characters aren't as well-defined or inherently funny as usual, and the visual knob gags offset the rape somewhat awkwardly, but it's all quite nice to look at.
Alternative comedy takes on the military industrial complex in a stream-of-consciousness mash-up of war film parodies and dodgy ethnic stereotypes that goes on for a bit and then just ends. The blood and violence must have been a hoot for '80s kids, but this isn't an especially worthy contribution to the anti-war canon, which is presumably why the Cold War carried on for the best part of a decade.
A bit of a weird, sombre, dreamy one. I don't really know what was going on or why it was happening, but found it more interesting than most of the current series. The old faces are slowly getting replaced by new ones, but those are still comfortingly familiar.
Guest writers tell a Twilight Zone story that provides another excuse to put Jennifer Saunders in a corset. They put in slightly more effort than was required to depict Hell and its damned denizens, it was appreciated.
Allen & Saunders go on an accidental criminal road trip across the south of England in what reminded me of the fairly similar Murder Most Horrid, but is probably more similar to whatever the more famous thing they're both based on is. They run into most of the regulars along the way and there's a rubbish ending.
'The Strike' is wheeled out again, but the jokes are still funny. With authentic mainstream leads and hitting all the beats, you could enjoy this well-made bad film at face value if you're simple.
This early Rik & Ade collaboration has the idiosyncratic flavour of a Reeves & Mortimer film about it, causing infectious giggles at how much fun they must have had writing and making it, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the largely crap end product. Young people today with their ubiquitous porn wouldn't believe the ludicrously elaborate schemes their ancestors had to contrive just to get to wank over a video of a dancing scuba diver.
17. Queen of the Wild Frontier (5x03)
A nice and atypically straight character drama between the daft parodies, enhanced by outdoors scenery and a pleasant folk instrumental soundtrack. If you caught this on TV in isolation, you might be surprised by the sort of company it keeps.
An epic romantic action thriller against the backdrop of the Falklands conflict, with digressions for bungled burglaries and prison rape gags. To their credit, the alternative comedians do propose a resolution to the crisis, albeit a few series late.
Richardson & Richens are writing a lot of one-off stories, so I don't begrudge them the occasional unambitious sequel, even if it is exactly the same thing again, only less funny. Maybe that's a comment on Enid Blyton's formulaic books, in which case, well done, I suppose. It's jolly scenic.
Coming after the grim chaos of 'War,' this mellow seaside retreat is so ambient that it would barely exist if not for the Comic Strip really bringing their various clichés to life, especially Dawn's screaming groupie who's only casually attached to her limbs. Ade's oddly cast against type as the meek drip, until he blacks up and goes crazy ape bonkers at the end and it makes more sense.
More interesting for its in-depth fictional biography than for being shocking these days, this Edmondson pet project might be the definitive Eddie incarnation, but with only 30 minutes of intermittent appearances to work with, it's hard to tell. It would've been better served by a feature and even better coming off some 'real' Eddie Monsoon shows, though Channel 4 already made that call when they banned that filth.
12. Consuela, or The New Mrs Saunders (1986)
Their last contribution to Comic Strip before they got their own spin-off, French and Saunders' pretty gothic tragedy is primarily concerned with being just as good as the various sources it's parodying, then they add in all the gags and references.
11. Red Nose of Courage (1992)
It's good to see all the gang back together, and this wilfully stupid "satire" about John Majors' secret double life was a lot of fun, even if it's twice as long as it needs to be. After being cucked by Lenny Henry in 'Oxford,' Ade returns the insult by messily getting off with Dawn French.
10. Four Men in a Plane (2000)
They weren't going to recapture the magic of the previous one, but they wisely go for a different type of episode by heading abroad and raising the stakes. Most of the gags are stock, but watching Rik be Rik is just ace.
13. Eddie Monsoon – A Life? (2x06)
Their last contribution to Comic Strip before they got their own spin-off, French and Saunders' pretty gothic tragedy is primarily concerned with being just as good as the various sources it's parodying, then they add in all the gags and references.
It's good to see all the gang back together, and this wilfully stupid "satire" about John Majors' secret double life was a lot of fun, even if it's twice as long as it needs to be. After being cucked by Lenny Henry in 'Oxford,' Ade returns the insult by messily getting off with Dawn French.
They weren't going to recapture the magic of the previous one, but they wisely go for a different type of episode by heading abroad and raising the stakes. Most of the gags are stock, but watching Rik be Rik is just ace.
I never read any Famous Five books, but don't have any trouble believing that the racism, sexism and snobbery are all on point, at least contextually. It's a piss-easy target for a cynical pisstake, especially coming after Ripping Yarns, but the relentless enthusiasm and ravenous appetite of these over-developed ten-year-olds sees it through.
Their first proper feature, this tale of deceit, jealousy and elaborate drug deals in the scenic West Country isn't the story I would have chosen to get that treatment, but it impressively holds together for the duration without feeling padded. A regular episode might not have time for distractions like Alexei's peeved traffic cop.
The Bad News reunion is longer, louder and involves even more behind-the-scenes effort, this time crashing the Monsters of Rock festival between proper bands. Still filled with funny scenes, but like many sequels, raising the stakes from struggling pub band to failed sensation bursts the fragile bubble of reality that made the debut a low-key classic.
The Comic Strip made the most of their working holiday with this delightfully messy ensemble effort, setting Rik's giddy cowboy roleplay against Richardson & Richens' downbeat realism before it all comes together in a cafe brawl. Shame they didn't save it up for a longer film really, but it probably would've worn thin.
Edmondson wrote and directed this escalating crime caper, riffing on record company bullshit again with another fictional band that's even fictional within the narrative. Richardson and Saunders are great and everyone's in it, along with some 'splosions.
Rik & Ade scream and squelch their way through this essential interlude between Catflap and Bottom that outgrosses anything else they've done, enhanced by grimy film stock. Every time I've watched it, it's made me more unsettled than amused, but comedy doesn't always have to pleasurable.
It was well worth getting the gang back together for this reunion of the alternate universe Young Ones plus French and Saunders. Its near-real-time plot steadily escalates in tension and slapstick violence and goes down some unpredictable routes.
A rock mockumentary isn't a stretch for a series already dominated by parody, so whether Edmondson was influenced by Spın̈al Tap (who'd been around for a while) or it's just synchronicity, the Rutles were there first anyway. It's all down to the execution, and from the naturalistic performances bringing these loveable twats to life to the extracurricular effort of recording a relevant soundtrack, this stands up next to its more famous transatlantic counterpart.
It might just be Python's Scott of the Sahara sketch stretched out to an hour, but this Hollywood bastardization of British current affairs is perfectly observed. Alexei's screenwriting sellout and Peter Richardson as Al Pacino as Arthur "Scarface" Scargill carry most of the story, but Rik's minor roles get the biggest laughs.
