Eric & Ernie

Like nearly everyone in the UK I am a huge fan of Morecambe and Wise. I truly believe that they were probably the greatest comedy double act ever. So I watched Victoria Woods biography of Eric and Ernie s early years with a little trepidation. I really shouldn't have worried. The BBC have obviously pulled out all the stops. Eric and Ernie is a master class in how to honour two show biz legends. The writing, direction and especially the performances were simply perfection. Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick were spot on. They managed to show the friendship between Eric and Ernie without lapsing into parody. Special mention should be made of Vic Reeves who played Eric's dad, George. The part was played with quiet humour and dignity and Victoria wood was especially good as Eric's pushy mother. The only reason that I have given Eric and Ernie 9 out of 10 is that I had a small pang of regret when the credits rolled. I really wished that I could had maybe half an hour more. maybe showing more of the great years of Morecambe and Wise. Maybe one day they could make a sequel, but only if its up to this standard.

You just cannot make a better biopic than this.

Even their voices were down to a T, which is usually the most overlooked bit. They couldn't have got any closer to the real Morecambe & Wise unless they stuck a camera in the faces of the real M & W. This is so good it must have been a secret candid camera having followed them in real life. I'm just speechless.

You really can't see the join.

A perfectly cast and brilliantly acted TV movie.

A funny and moving portrayal of Eric and Ernie's early days together. Victoria Wood and Vic Reeves were excellent as Eric's parents. Daniel Rigby and Bryan Dick were spot on as Eric and Ernie, their facial expressions and mannerisms were excellent, almost to the point that you believed they were them!

If it had been slightly longer it would have been interesting to see the relationships with their future wives expanded on a little more.

A must see programme for any Morecambe and Wise fan!

So why only 9 out of 10? - Because it finished too soon! I would have loved it to have gone on and told the rest of their story.

Watching this for my sweetheart, Miranda Hart. She's not in the movie, but it's a biopic of her comedy hero and his sidekick, Eric Morcombe and Ernie Wise.

Miranda loves Eric so very much, and it makes me care about them too. She is my darling, and we tend to have the same taste and things. So I'm sure when I get into their show, even if it's not my style, I will still like it.

Another reason to see this is Victoria Wood's involvement. I was pleasantly surprised to see her name be the first one flashing in the credits when I started watching it. So I'm looking forward to that. She was my British comedy favorite before I found my sweetheart, Miranda. But I still adore Victoria Wood, for different reasons. She was never my crush, she was always my role model in a way. I wanted to be more like her, and I saw a lot of myself in her. In the case of Miranda Hart, I'm just absolutely smitten with her and want to marry her. So I love them both, but as you can see, for totally different reasons haha!

If you love British comedy, I recommend this. It's got history, so much history attached to it.

Eric And Ernie (2011) -

I remembered enjoying this greatly when I first saw it, for its strong castings and wonderful humour, but I had begun to doubt myself after rewatching 'Rather You Than Me' (2008), the similar Frankie Howerd BBC biopic, which didn't resound as well as I had recalled.

My fears were needless though because I thoroughly loved this exploration of Morecambe & Wise's early years.

The script and direction cleverly sculpted the path to define where and how some of the humour might have been formed and used suggestions to represent what I knew that the two jokers became.

Vic Reeves (Jim Moir) and Victoria Wood worked really well as Eric's parents and again I could see how they shaped Eric's onstage persona. I didn't think that the smoking suited her though, looking as if she was an actor with a prop and that she didn't really like it. It sounds nitpicky, but it really jarred for me. I was surprised to see very little about Ernie's parents though.

As for Daniel Rigby as Eric himself, he absolutely stole the show. He had clearly studied the man to get all of his inflections and mannerisms. It was hard to remember that he wasn't the actual comedian in question.

Bryan Dick in the role of Ernie was good too, but he didn't quite pack the same punch. The younger incarnation played by Josh Benson could have been something from an old Wise family home movie though, because he nailed Little Ern.

Overall I felt that the casting was spot on, they all looked and acted like they belonged in that era. I never once thought that I wasn't watching something from that time. The sets, costumes etc were all appropriate too.

Although it was essentially a very well done drama I also loved the humour throughout. I could absolutely see those kids growing into those teens in to those men that I've laughed at for years and how the jokes and affectations matured into their acts.

From their earliest days of pageantry to their first appearance on BBC, It was a very worthwhile piece about a pair of comic geniuses that was highly entertaining. A masterpiece in how to do a biopic properly and one that I would have liked to have seen a sequel to.

919.81/1000.