Mad Dogs: Review
How do you get Philip Glenister, John Simm, Marc Warren, Max Beesley and Ben Chaplin to sign up for the same TV series?
Easy. You tell them it’s being shot on location at a luxury Spanish villa. You then add that many scenes will entail larking about in and around a beautiful swimming pool, before going for a jaunt around Majorca on a massive super yacht. For any of you TV scriptwriters out there labouring away on worthy dramas set in Glasgow in the rain circa 1953, there is a valuable lesson in here for you.
The four headline stars are in Majorca at the personal invitation of their old friend Alvo (Chaplin) who has become fabulously wealthy since they were all at college together. As this first hour goes on it also transpires that Alvo has become a massive prat who now takes a perverted pleasure in winding up his friends about the failings in their own lives.
Exactly how did Alvo get so rich? Nobody’s sure, but there are hints of dodgy goings on and Chaplin has exactly the right kind of movie star good looks to make Alvo’s sour arrogance absolutely believable.
The setting and the gangsterish plot are both reminiscent of that great British movie Sexy Beast, and this first instalment of the four part series presses all the right buttons. It has naturalistic performances, an effortless blend of comedy and sinister undertones plus rather more shots of Marc Warren’s bum cheeks than might be considered absolutely necessary.
All good, in other words.
Easy. You tell them it’s being shot on location at a luxury Spanish villa. You then add that many scenes will entail larking about in and around a beautiful swimming pool, before going for a jaunt around Majorca on a massive super yacht. For any of you TV scriptwriters out there labouring away on worthy dramas set in Glasgow in the rain circa 1953, there is a valuable lesson in here for you.
The four headline stars are in Majorca at the personal invitation of their old friend Alvo (Chaplin) who has become fabulously wealthy since they were all at college together. As this first hour goes on it also transpires that Alvo has become a massive prat who now takes a perverted pleasure in winding up his friends about the failings in their own lives.
Exactly how did Alvo get so rich? Nobody’s sure, but there are hints of dodgy goings on and Chaplin has exactly the right kind of movie star good looks to make Alvo’s sour arrogance absolutely believable.
The setting and the gangsterish plot are both reminiscent of that great British movie Sexy Beast, and this first instalment of the four part series presses all the right buttons. It has naturalistic performances, an effortless blend of comedy and sinister undertones plus rather more shots of Marc Warren’s bum cheeks than might be considered absolutely necessary.
All good, in other words.
Original article can be found here.
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