Review of Ricky Tomlinson Live: Laughter My Arse!

Introduction

Ricky Tomlinson has been appearing on UK TV screens for over 20 years, in programmes such as Brookside and Cracker. He is now most famous for his portrayal of Jim Royle in Caroline Aherne`s The Royle Family. This rise in popularity has seen him hit the big screen once more in 2001`s Mike Bassett: England Manager and 51st State.

He has always been a performer, and was playing the banjo in Liverpool pubs and clubs during the 1950s - some of the stories recounted on this DVD refer back to those days. He has also been a stand up comedian, and that`s what this DVD revolves around - a recent performance in Liverpool featuring guest performances from several local comics.

Video

A standard full frame (4:3) picture here, as you might expect for something filmed for the home video market. Whilst it might have been nice to see a widescreen picture given that we are nearly into 2002, it`s not really required for a stand up comedy routine. Everything looks fine and there are no complaints from a technical point of view.

Audio

A standard DD2.0 stereo track, much as you would expect. Anything more would really be a waste of time, as this is just a recording of some comedy in a club. Everything is clear and audible, and that`s all there is to say about it.

Features

The only extra feature is some extra footage that could have easily been put back into the main show. There are also a few out-takes.

Conclusion

This is very much a Christmas release. Now is the time of year when you see a glut of "stand up" titles being released. This one is really directed at the older viewer, as most of the acts featured have routines very firmly rooted in a 1970s Jimmy Tarbuck/Jim Bowen style of humour. One of them even does an old Jasper Carrott joke from about 1979 (I know because I have a vinyl copy of the album it appeared on!)

If your comedy tastes are a bit more up to date, you`ll still find that a few of the jokes are funny, but you probably won`t bother watching the whole DVD. It`s really only for those who still find 1970s stand up comedy funny.

Technically the DVD is fine, but the RRP is a bit high considering what you get - if you want to buy this for a 1970s comedy fan, you might consider the VHS - sorry for swearing, but this DVD doesn`t really offer very much for £19.99.