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Produced
and set up to appear exactly like any other innocuous lifestyle show,
such as Better Homes
and Gardens and Backyard
Blitz, Life
Support's
four presenters often begin their segments in an relaxed and friendly
fashion, but
it soon becomes clear where they're headed. No one is spared
in
this wildly funny series either. Almost every minority and majority
group you can think of gets a guernsey in this series, and it's a
brave move by the series' creators (who were also the brains behind The Norman Gunston Show).
The
disabled, indeginous Australians, middle class parents,
sports celebrities and even heroin users cop the rough end of
the
stick in this show. There are numerous skits in this twin DVD set that
are often
confronting, such as the labia minora cosmetic surgery piece,
and
the advice for men who have erectial dysfunction... Yet none of the
advice is
incorrect per se, which makes the show even more witty and impressive,
and the patronising performances that the four presenters abide by is
mimicry at its best, appearing and sounding just like a 'real'
lifestyle show presenters.
In fact, the presenters do a splendid job of
getting their messages across too, each with their own idiosyncrasies
that just get better (and sometimes weirder) as the series progresses.
There's Todd the handyman (Brendan Cowell, who has since gone onto his
critically acclaimed performance in
Love My Way). Take a tip from Todd! - who shows us what to
do if we sever a finger
on a circular saw, and then there's Sigourney (Rachael Coopes) the
modern woman, who
believes a lady's opinions are best kept to oneself and that "men
don't make passes at girls who wear glasses". Ahem.
There's also Penne (Abbie Cornish, Somersault),
the
disillusioned 'youth' presenter, with a penchant for armed robbery and
scamming the man. Credit card fraud is one of the many 'tips' she
offers her audience, and she's remarkably close to the mark in her
methods. Such attention to detail is astonishing. And then
there's Dr. Rudi (Simon van der Stap), the freakiest
South African doctor you've ever met. He's the kind of trained
medical practitioner who advises against date rape drugs
because
"...They're hard to get and traceable - when a couple of Long Island
Iced Teas will do the same thing...".
Among some of the better skits, a range of
topics are tackled including:
-
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Dr Rudi)
-
Cooking for Your Woman (Todd)
-
Obesity (Dr Rudi)
-
Covering Up Ugly Things (Sigourney)
-
Getting Your Parents Arrested (Penne)
-
The Intelligent Veneer (Todd)
Though it's incredibly offensive on the
surface -
Dr Rudi tells us to rub chilli sauce into the babies bed, so that when
he turns over his eyes start to sting and he screams wildly, alerting
you to the fact he's attempting to sleep on his
stomach - it's a very clever and well presented
series, so
much so that more trusting viewers who believe that endearing people on
TV wouldn't tell a lie may even take it as gospel. The show is
poking fun at these gullable types of people, who will believe whatever
the powers-that-be tell them. There's a poignant moment when
Todd
says "Don't believe everything you see on the TV" after he
inadvertently slices off his thumb and takes it to his head, so the
paramedics know where it is.
There's also some very amusing 'street talk'
sections where the Life Support crew head out to the streets and ask
the public what they think of various issues, such as using human body
parts in blood and bone fertilizer and other ludicrous topics, and
you'll be surprised at some of the answers.
EXTRAS
A clever little extra allows you to watch
all the
segments from your favourite presenter back to back - which is perfect
for Dr Rudi fans. If only we had that option on Dancing With The Stars
and we might all be able to get rid of Daryl Somers. Hmm...
Conclusion:
Movie 85% Extras: 10%
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