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'Beautiful People' In The Press...Based on a memoir by Simon Doonan, the creative director of Barneys department store, the second series of this camp and sweary sitcom comes to an end next week. Tonight Simon (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) recounts the story behind how he won the Turner Prize. The X Factor's Dannii Minogue turns up in a sprightly comic turn and there are some lovely jokes throughout, some of which err on the far side of strict decency. Olivia Colman and Aidan McArdle play Simon's parents. I fear that the second series of this charming comedy has been overlooked somewhat, which is a shame as it's so good. This week there's a holiday in the offing for Simon's family, but as always, it never quite seems to work out. When guff like Big Top gets commissioned, we can be thankful there's still room on TV for quality fare like this. The Doonan family are excitedly looking forward to their first foreign holiday tonight - but when the cash dries up they only manage to get as far as their front room. Turning their house into a mini-Butlins for a fortnight of karaoke, cocktails and tanning sessions turns out to be frighteningly easy. Jane Simon, The Mirror, 4th December 2009 The glitzy comedy series based on Simon Doonan's book of the same name is proving a jolly affair. (For those who missed the previous episodes, the sitcom recounts New York-based designer Doonan's teenage memories of growing up in Reading.) Tonight's third episode hinges on the young Simon's (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) desire for a water feature at home. Beautiful People - the Eurovision episode Executive Producer Jon Plowman introduces Episode 2.2 of Beautiful People. Written by Jon Plowman. BBC Comedy Blog, 20th November 2009 Eurovision winner Dana International makes a guest appearance tonight, as Simon Doonan (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) and his camp best mate Kylie (Layton Williams) dream of forming a boyband to fill the void left in 90s pop by the demise of Take That. Their body-popping ambitions are given a boost by their cool music teacher Mr Carr (Tom Payne), who also turns out to be their new neighbour. Until, that is, Simon's parents invite him over for dinner. Fashion designer Simon Doonan (Samuel Barnett) remembers an early trip to see the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest as this slightly silly and surreal comedy drama based on Doonan's real-life memoirs continues. Along with best friend Kylie he dreams of making a success of their boyband Emale and the pair leap at the chance to see Europe's campest pop stars in the flesh. Olivia Colman is also great fun as Simon's common mother who invites the new gay neighbours round for dinner only for the visit to end when one of the pair makes a pass at Simon's father. Winner of the Best Comedy Award at the Banff TV Festival (no, me neither) this sitcom is an acquired taste - a cocktail of Advocaat and helium. Simon Doonan's memoirs of Reading ("Reading: You're Welcome To It," as the road sign puts it), the start of series two finds its caricature of family life still slapping on comedy with a spangly trowel. To be honest we'd given up hope of a second series of Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful People so when it was finally annnounced there was much cheering. The initial run was one of the funniest, most warm-hearted programmes of 2008, and without doubt the campest. Written by Nick Holland. Low Culture, 13th November 2009 If The Office made Slough look dismal then Beautiful People makes suburban Reading look similarly gloomy, especially from the viewpoint of an effeminate 13-year-old schoolboy desperate for the glitz, glamour and excitement of London. Written by Jonathan Harvey (Gimme Gimme Gimme) and based upon the childhood memoirs of Simon Doonan, creative director of Barney's department store in New York, the camp comedy drama is back for a second six-part series. Using flashbacks, narration and fantasy sequences, each episode centres upon how Simon (played by Luke Ward-Wilkinson and, in his older years, Samuel Barnett) came to own some of his most treasured possessions. In this first episode Simon recalls a school genealogy project that led him to find out that his parents never actually married. Simon's back from New York with a broken heart and off reminiscing about his childhood again. Back in the 90s, 14-year-old Simon is researching his family tree when he discovers his parents have a shocking secret. He self-harms with his mum's lip-liner to cope. It's a strange comedy, sustained entirely by bad jokes. The performances are brilliant, particularly Olivia Colman, who steals every one of her scenes, but the script is shocking. Still, Starting Together by Su Pollard doesn't see the light of day that often, so that's one good thing to come out of it. Jonathan Harvey - Return of the Beautiful People "Hoorah, it's back! And even more fabulous than ever! I'm so glad the BBC had the huge intelligence, wit and insight to bring Beautiful People back for a second series. It was such a laugh to write, and hopefully it will make you laugh too." Written by Jonathan Harvey. BBC Comedy Blog, 12th November 2009 Beautiful comedy of '90s adolescence A review from Australia. Finally, a show to fill the void in a post-Absolutely Fabulous world. Written by Michael Idato. The Age, Australia, 18th June 2009 Review from America: Why aren't more people talking about Beautiful People? The BBC series about Barney's creative director Simon Doonan's childhood (updated from the '60s to the '90s) is the kind of deliriously whacked-out comedy that should inspire a cult following-especially since it's produced by one of the men behind Absolutely Fabulous. Written by Mark Peikert. NY Press, 16th June 2009 Beautiful People gets second BBC2 series BBC2 has recommissioned Jonathan Harvey's sitcom Beautiful People. Written by Matthew Hemley. The Stage, 11th February 2009 Sometimes you just have to admit you were wrong. And, as Beautiful People limed to a disappointing conclusion, the bloom had well and truly left the cheeks of Jonathan Harvey's saga of a high camp Reading childhood. Keith Watson, Metro, 7th November 2008 Although it's not been universally loved, the humour, music, characters, performances and classic lines ('she loved watermelooooooon' etc) have gained it a loyal and devoted audience. OK, so its '90s references aren't all that accurate (perhaps it's not considered 'period' enough to have a proper continuity team; perhaps they just didn't think continuity mattered that much) but that's generally forgivable when the show has so much energy and fun. Jonathan Harvey's sitcom bows out with a guest appearance from Frances Barber as a new teacher at school, while young Simon and Kylie attempt to leave Reading behind to join the beautiful people in London. While each episode of this series has had bad patches, at its best it's been beautifully observed and frequently uproarious. Let's hope life in 1997 Reading isn't over quite yet, as a second series would be most welcome. Each instalment of this comedy opens like an episode of Sex And The City. But the chirpy voice-over and shots of New York City only book end a flashback to entirely less glamorous Reading in 1997, where the younger Simon (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) inadvertently broadcasts his desire for his very own Posh Spice doll over the school tannoy system. Although this yearning places us squarely in the late Nineties, Beautiful People feels as if it is floating somewhere before that time; perhaps because of references to TV shows such as Knots Landing, which finished in 1993. Apart from the irritating narration, I liked this when it started and since then it's been growing on me even more. The second episode improved on the first and we were even treated to some CGI trickery, as the street where the main characters live was transformed briefly into the yellowbrick road. The gran character in episode three, who turned from nice to nasty after an operation, was tremendous fun, as is the show itself. Bright, colourful and beautiful, the Doonan's are possibly the best sitcom family since the Royles. Without doubt one of the week's top highlights. Beautiful People is enjoyable enough to make a point of watching it, especially for Olivia Colman's sublimely brilliant performance as Simon's bonkers mum. I watched esipode 2 of Beautiful People last night and laughed quite a lot. Any show with a musical montage from Annie, Joseph and, er, another one (musicals aren't my area of expertise) has to be good. TV Insider, 10th October 2008 Humour is a subjective beast. You sit watching your telly thnking something is dead funny and then find most people think it's a dud. And vice versa. So I'll continue to champion Beautiful People - last night's in-the-street musical fantasy was a hoot - even though I'm laughing alone. Is that a sign of madness? Who cares? Keith Watson, Metro, 10th October 2008 The humour is gentle rather than hysterical, but the jokes are clever, unforced and in plentiful supply. Great performances too, particularly from its young stars Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Simon and Layton Williams as Kyle, aka Kylie. Written by Harry Venning. The Stage, 6th October 2008 I like Beautiful People, it has a really nice nostalgic sheen to it that, while not laugh out loud funny, is certainly watchable in a quirky way. Simon and best buddy Kylie are in raptures at the prospect of headlining the school's production of Joseph, and hysteria ensues as they prepare to audition. The best thing about Beautiful People is the divine Olivia Colman, who shows her range here beyond being a foil for Mitchell and Webb. Mark Wright, The Stage, 6th October 2008 When it wasn't trying so hard to establish itself (always difficult in a first episode) and when it wasn't trying so hard to be liked, it was actually very, very good. The scenes involving Simon's family, his friend (he only seemed to have one) and his neighbours, were delightful. Written by David Sharpe. Cool Blue Shed, 5th October 2008 Beautiful People comes running on to the screen and licks you all over. It's a Labrador of a sitcom, so eager to please it's exhausting. It's like The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, except camp. Screamingly, thrashingly, life-threateningly camp. In Simon Doonan's autobiography Beautiful People, he escaped from just such a drab English environment. Camp and outrageous, he grew up in dull old Reading in the 1950s with his entertainingly dysfunctional family, but he longed to be with the glamorous folk. Getting his wish, he ended up in Manhattan as not only the world's most celebrated window dresser, but also a witty reporter of the fashion scene. Jonathan Harvey made his name with Beautiful Thing, a play about growing up gay in unsympathetic working-class suburbia. Now he has written Beautiful People, a sitcom that follows suit, loosely based on the memoirs of the top Manhattan window-dresser Simon Doonan. This doesn't sound like much of an advance, and watching the first episode I had the sense of a talent in full retreat: a randy neighbour tries to tempt Simon's plumber dad round - "It's right draughty round my gash. I mean, gaff." It is peopled with what are clearly intended to be lovable originals, but no lovability came over, and precious little originality. It's all rather ugly. Robert Hanks, The Independent, 3rd October 2008 Beautiful People, like Gimme Gimme Gimme, is loud and brash. I got into a total decade and age muddle with it. Beautiful People is funny and adventurous, breaking off for dream or fantasy sequences and Jonathan Harvey doesn't want to tell a conventional tale, so homophobia is not really an issue. Written by Tim Teeman. The Times, 3rd October 2008 As cheekily camp as Simon Doonan's recollections of his barmy family are, Jonathan Harvey's innocent adaptation looks oddly as though it should be broadcast in the middle of the afternoon. Don't look now, but I think something pretty amazing just happened. A new comedy show was broadcast, after an advertising campaign that made it look promising and - wait for it - IT WAS GOOD. Really good in fact! Written by Anna Lowman. TV Scoop, 3rd October 2008 The beige boredom of suburban adolescence has produced a stream of anti-heroes. Now, to add to the notable likes of Holden Caulfield, Malcolm (in the middle) and Adrian Mole, we have Simon Doonan, self-styled star of Beautiful People and survivor of growing up in Reading. Which takes some doing for a teenage boy into frocks. Beautiful People traces the life and times of an outrageous, unashamed teenage fashionista - played with great charm by Luke Ward-Wilkinson - growing up in Reading in the 1990s. His father is a plumber; his mother is a drinkers and his blind Aunty Hayley is as mad a March hare. In case you don't know (and unless you spotted him offering style tips on America's Next Top Model - why should you?) Simon Doonan is the British-born window-dresser and creative director of the glamorous New York department store, Barneys. This new sitcom is inspired by his autobiography about growing up gay and working class in un-glamorous Reading. Jane Simon, The Mirror, 2nd October 2008 This new comedy from Jonathan Harvey (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme) is adapted from the novel by Simon Doonan (now creative director of New York's famous store Barneys), based on his childhood. The Express, 2nd October 2008 There are, I'm sure, a number of responses to be elicited when told that the creator of Gimme, Gimme, Gimme has created a new sitcom for BBC2 - not all of them complimentary. But Jonathan Harvey has done just that, and after the first two episodes of Beautiful People landed on our doormat recently, I have to say that it looks like it's going to be a finely crafted, rather sweet, and often incredibly funny series. Written by Scott Matthewman. The Stage, 30th September 2008 A promising new sitcom, based on the best-selling memoirs of Simon Noonan, the now creative director of Barney's department store in New York. Growing up in suburban Reading of the 1990s, the young Simon dreams of escaping a dreary existence that is seriously lacking in glamour. Where, oh where, are the beautiful people? Quirky and fun, this might just do the business - the cast includes Olivia Colman, Aidan McCardle and Meera Syal. Mark Wright, The Stage, 29th September 2008 Meera Syal, star of the new sitcom Beautiful People, tells The Telegraph that there still aren't enough non-white faces on television. Written by Michael Deacon. The Telegraph, 29th September 2008 Olivia Colman moves from Peep Show to play mum in the mildly potty Beautiful People. The Times gets acquainted. Written by Bruce Dessau. The Times, 27th September 2008 The Independent visits the set of Beautiful People to provide a preview to the show. Written by James Rampton. The Independent, 22nd September 2008 |
