Too much of everything

Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A moped and an overweight, bald-headed, thuggish looking man in a cast-off suit which looks as though it has shrunk in the wash. Put those two together and what have you got? 'Alexei Sayle's Stuff'. The outspoken comic from Liverpool would each week kick off a show whilst giving a rant on a varied selection of subjects, whether it be on The Royal Family, politics or religion. We would then move onto surreal sketches penned not only by Sayle himself but also by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, who had earlier written 'End Of Part One' and 'Whoops Apocalypse'.'Stuff' was an entertaining vehicle for Sayle. Though not the world's biggest fan of all of Mr. Sayle's work, I liked the show for its fast moving, zany humour which was brought to life by a talented cast.In the first series, Sayle's regular supporting cast included Mark Williams, Tony Millan ( Tucker from 'Citizen Smith' ), Angus Deayton, sexy Harriet Thorpe, sexier Morwenna Banks and, in my opinion the sexiest of them all, Felicity Montagu. Among the funniest sketches were Alexei as God jumping frantically around the street, leading a female passer-by to remark ''I see God is moving in mysterious ways!'', a group of waitresses being interviewed on a current affairs show and replying to questions about affairs as though they are taking orders, a playwright holding a self-defence class teaching students how to defend themselves against thugs by using witty ripostes, innuendo, waggish comebacks and so on.In the second series, Williams, Banks, Thorpe and Montagu departed and were replaced by Owen Bremnan and the gorgeous Jan Ravens, however it wasn't the same and as a result the last two series lacked the same vulgar verve as the first series.After 'Stuff', Alexei's next comedy show was 'The All New Alexei Sayle Show', which was followed by 'Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round'. No classic, but good fun, at least at first anyway.

If any single individual epitomised the alternative comedy movement of the '80's, it was Alexei Sayle. Looking like a newly released convict whose suit has gotten too small for him, he bludgeoned audiences into submission with a powerful blend of surreal humour and satire. Love him or hate him, you couldn't ignore him. 'Stuff' was a good vehicle for his talents, in which the man himself sped round London on a moped, ranting on topics as diverse as fox hunting, The Royal Family, and Margaret Thatcher, as well as sketches penned by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, some of which wouldn't have looked out of place in their L.W.T. show 'End Of Part One'. I remember one funny ( and politically incorrect! ) item about a Japanese car factory in the Midlands run like a W.W.2 P.O.W. camp! Three different title sequences were used ( the best was the Walt Disney spoof with Alexei as Mickey Mouse! ), all ended with someone asking: "Who's that fat bastard?". Genius more like.

Sure, Alexei isn't always spot on, and sure, he's much easier to follow if the viewer is at least a little drunk (the more the merrier). Nevertheless, the way he opens his shows alone is worth the price of admission, whether it's the small children singing "Who's an ugly bastard and as fat as he can be..." a la The Mickey Mouse Club, or whether a handsome man with a glamorous woman drives up in a Jaguar convertible, walks in, and transforms himself into the familiar Alexei we all know and love only to have the receptionist ask in amazement, "Who's that fat bastard?!" This is the 80s at their best, or perhaps their worst. Unemployment, political turmoil, pointless angst in a world where superpowers are still pointing ICBMs at one another, Thatcherism... it's all enough to drive one insane, and maybe in Mr. Sayle's case it did. Funny and irreverent in its own right, Alexei's "Stuff" is even funnier to me since I had to watch on PBS, the local public TV station in California that at the time prided itself in its "open-minded" attitude and was mostly patronized by affluent, upper-class, left-wing "intellectuals." Picture these people sending in money in the name of art and enlightenment, only to have Alexei come on screen and announce he's fond of writing the numbers from the front of buses on small pieces of paper before crumbling them up and inserting them in his rectum! It still gives me a chuckle. "Stuff" isn't for everyone. Between the gems there are, frankly, some moments where Alexei is off on some tangent or other and despite his best intentions it just doesn't always translate well to today's audience. Kids will love it though, as there's always a funny outfit and a silly song to chant, and Alexei does dance quite well when he initially comes out in a suite 2 sizes too small. If you would like your kids to share the memories with you, and to be able to recite things like "Is it fat, bald, and Jewish in here or is it just me?" and of course "Who *IS* that fat bastard?!" then get the DVD release and indoctrinate them as early as possible. Alexei Sayle gets my vote over The Wiggles any day!

Stuff is the best comedy series, and it is amazing how a comedian can come up with such original stuff for so long. Unlike other comedians he does not constantly recycle jokes through various characters. Very funny stuff.