Sadly Over-hyped

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It's not an original observation that 'People Just Do Nothing' is like 'Only Fools and Horses' for a new generation, a loser comedy set in unremarkable London. The latter program became comfortable as it became huge, this one still has an edge; but don't let that edge blind you to what is basically classic sitcom territory of incompetenance, misfortune, and lack-of-self-awareneess. There are some brilliant lines here, and a cast of characters whose monstrousness is somehow not sufficient to make you dislike them. The ending (to the fourth series) is surprisiningly downbeat; but there's a lot to like (and laugh at) along the way.

If your a fan of the Office or any mockumentry comedy then People just do nothing will be for you. The premise of the show is simple a bunch of no hoppers from Brentford trying to run an illegal urban grind radio station. They are of course completely useless with only themselves and those close to them thinking they are any good. There are obvious comparisons to the Office the playing up to the cameras, the odd embarrassed glance when they realise there being filmed. But like the Office at some point in our life we have meet people like these characters, and as hopeless as they are you can't help but care about them. 8/10

Firmly in the tradition of the Office and Phoenix Nights comes this gem following the day to day ups and downs of a group of friends running a pirate radio station in a bedraggled West London neighborhood. We meet best pals, the wonderfully delusional MC Grindah and the loyal, clearly talented but dim DJ Kevin "Beats" Bates who run Brentford's top Garage/DnB,Grime Pirate radio station Kurupt FM. Not very ably assisted by child-like stoner Steves and modest & quiet DJ Decoy; the lads face the day to day struggles of keeping their station going and managing their complicated private lives. The ambitious but severely deluded local 'entrepreneur' Chabuddy G provides the station with much needed help & advice that usually brings chaos to the group, while Grindah's housewife/hair dresser girlfriend provides the vital ego massaging that a 'genius' like Grindah needs. Much of the comedy comes from Grindah's frustration at not being a mega star and with his loyal but dimwitted crew who seemingly frustrate his every move as well as the buffoon- ish but well intentioned Chabuddy's attempts to help his friends. This sort of thing has been done before and a lot of Grindah's mugging to camera is straight from the Ricky Gervais school of comedy but this is clearly a labour of love for the cast, about music they clearly have a passion and talent for. Truly a joy to watch the writing and acting (much of which is ab- libbed) are fantastic. A Spinal Tap for modern British urban music.

At first glance this is another British mockumentary in the same vein as The Office. Pathetic characters in normal situations that are familiar yet far-fetched. We laugh at these people with a 'there but for the grace of god' sigh of relief. And yet there's something very real about the characters we meet in this comedy. Even if you don't live in a council tower block you either know people like this or know that people like this exist. The ambitions and eventual failure in achieving them by these sorry losers is very real. They're decent, (fairly) honest people caught in a trap and you're really cheering for them, but if they came up trumps it wouldn't be funny. The comedy is in their failure. Like many people of my generation who were aspiring DJs, spending countless nights on the decks with their mates getting stoned, there's so much in this that rings true, and these relatively unknown actors do a superb job in making it all feel so real. We laugh with them, we laugh at them, then we come away feeling really bad for them, and it's this subtle fine-line that makes this new comedy really stand out.