'The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin' review: As wickedly fun as its title | 6ZOPLFI | 2024-03-02 10:08:01
"Stand and ship! Please?"
In the event you've come here for a historic account of the adventures of England's notorious 18th century highwayman, you must have learn the label. Apple TV+'s rambunctious comedy collection The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is strictly that, full fabrication, with comic Noel Fielding leaping into the highly effective purple footwear of the titular anti-hero who, to our information, by no means wore such flamboyant footwear (his loss).
A knowingly revisionist history in each sense of the phrase, the collection looks like Monty Python meets Our Flag Means Death as far as historical parody goes, with inevitably surreal The Mighty Boosh power. It is the friendliest freeway robbery around, featuring probably the most outlandish bunch of characters plucked from English history portrayed by some of Britain's largest comedians.
What's The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin about?
Set in England in 1735, the six-episode collection is a self-aware retelling of the tales of Essex brigand Dick Turpin, usually following an adventure-per-episode format. Every chapter looks like a great ol' common yarn informed over pints of lager in a dark tavern, as characters themselves do. And it's all captured by true crime "punchy pamphlet" writer Eliza Bean (Dolly Wells), who needs to "build the legend" and gasoline that sweet, sweet notoriety for the gang.
At 33, the actual Turpin was hanged for horse theft in 1739, so the show is technically set within the final 4 years of his life.& The English equivalent of outlaws like Australia's Ned Kelly or America's Jessie James, Turpin is the stuff of English legend, and was dramatically romanticised after his demise. In this occasion, the show cleverly weaves in Turpin's superstar during his lifetime, ranging from Eliza's writing to the "Turpin Excursions" operating via the forest where visitors anticipate "exclusive Dick motion" — not the only Dick joke within the collection, what do you're taking the writers for? As there's so much rumour round Turpin's legend, it's useless to anticipate the show to adhere to any sort of historical accuracy, which suggests vital artistic freedom (and a few extraordinarily after-school-TV supernatural parts) for the writers: Jon Brittain, Richard Naylor, Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis, Stuart Lane, and Fielding.&
</div> Apart from one episode set in London ("the place the streets are paved!"), the collection is about in Turpin's residence county of Essex,& the place he by accident finds himself the chief of the less-than-professional Essex Gang: Ellie White as sharpshooter Nell Brazier, Marc Wootton as extraordinarily sensitive muscle Moose Pleck, and Duayne Boachie as dramatic, empathetic tracker Honesty Courage. They're making an attempt to stake their declare in the county's forests, politely robbing coaches and making an attempt to determine a hideout that isn't frequented by canine walkers.
Like its fellow rapscallion journey parody Our Flag Means Dying, Dick Turpin renders historical figures with gentleness and silliness, especially eroding toxic masculinity with a delight in much less aggressive attributes and a flippant use of recent language: "What's incorrect mate, you've got hardly touched your rat?" Whereas a number of the jokes really feel slightly dated (a Fro-yo bit, in 2024?), the script gives real chortles for the drama-crushed amongst us.
Noel Fielding's Dick Turpin might be Vince Noir's ancestor
</div> "My first highway theft! I have never been this excited since I found my very own cheekbones!"
Together with his number of feathered tricorne hats, star-spangled pleather cape, velvet justacorps, and people highly effective purple footwear, Fielding wears this version of Turpin nicely, presenting much less a highwayman more a merry bard continuously placing one leg up on a stool to tell-you-a-tale. He's a vegan and a pacifist who prefers knit-offs to duels, constructing villages product of courgettes to slaughtering swans, and he polls those he robs "to improve your freeway theft expertise." Primarily, he is terrible at this job, preferring appeal and panache to violence and intimidation, leaving a lot of the actual legal work to his equally floundering gang.
Extra concerned with the facility of friendship and fine-tuning his tailoring expertise, Fielding's Turpin shouldn't be the outlaw of English legend. Fielding's in nice comedic type right here channelling his earlier work into the position, particularly bringing The Mighty Boosh power into the infamous felony as if Turpin was one in every of Vince Noir's ancestors. The Bake-Off host's more wholesome fashion of narration comes into play when he is explaining the advantages of needlework to his gang members or explaining "I've obtained a simple appeal that the mums take pleasure in," and there's even slightly "Fantasy Man" in his disguise as a person pretending to return from 15 minutes in the future.
</div> This longtime dalliance with the nonsensical and surreal makes hard-to-sell scenes really feel easy for Fielding; one moment that includes convincing a ghostly baron handy over some glittering curse-lifting mittens is a troublesome ask, nevertheless it's a delight. Fielding's allowed to go on lengthy runs of fanciful descriptions topped off together with his signature "Imagine that!" that serves to infuriate the varied rough characters within the collection.& And his costumes, designed by Rosa Dias and Richard Cooke, look drawn right from the comic's own wardrobe — sure, including that nun-habit-and-bolero-jacket "disguise" in episode 3.
Fans of The Mighty Boosh will be capable of spot lots of Fielding's former collaborators among the many forged, together with his brother Michael Fielding as Dick's cousin Benny Turpin, Wealthy Fulcher as the driving force of "The Unrobbable Coach", and Simon Farnaby as unwitting rich guy Lord Saltley. However in fact, they're just some of a veritable tidal wave of British comedians that make up the forged.
The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a cornucopia of British comedians
</div> In what turns into a Pointing Rick Dalton marathon of British comedians and comedy actors, The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin has a stacked supporting lineup — a couple of of whom just about steal the entire show. With so much comedy expertise appearing in six brief episodes, the collection takes full benefit, brimming with Abbott and Costello-style "Who's on First?" routines, seeing characters cyclically repeating the same strains or unsuccessfully avoiding saying a sure witch's identify.
Joe Wilkinson is a deadpan delight as Geoffrey the Gaoler, Asim Chaudhry brings relatable fluster to Craig the Warlock,& and each Sindhu Vee and Cunk On Earth's Diane Morgan are wildly underused because the fanciful Woman Saltley and warlock council member Maureen, respectively. Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville brings fun gravitas to Turpin's nemesis, the relentless thieftaker basic Jonathan Wild, who's given the lion's share of Dick jokes within the script — Bonneville delivers each one with stone-faced finesse.
</div> Nevertheless, the actual highwaymen of the collection, hijacking each scene they're in, are Tamsin Greig because the highly effective Woman Helen Gwinear, Greg Davies as the grizzly Leslie Duvall, and Sex Education's Connor Swindells& because the incredibly named Tommy Silversides. Because the execution-happy aristocrat and chief of the felony Syndicate, Grieg doesn't waste a single line of sharply aimed dialogue. Roaring by way of his second, Davies is an absolute delight bantering together with his fellow By no means Thoughts the Buzzcocks panelist Fielding as the growling leader of the Hellbenders gang. Nevertheless it's Swindells who takes the supporting crown.
Swindells paints the theatrically charismatic Tommy Silversides as the Hansel of highwaymen. So scorching proper now, he flaunts his Krav Maga coaching, horse-bound acrobatics, and penchant for push ups in a perfect blonde wig and sky blue cowboy boots. Swindells' job is to "smash the panache" of Fielding's Turpin and he does it with flamboyant gusto and a musical introduction. As if the writers acknowledged Swindells' potential, Tommy at one point says (appropriately) aloud, "Word to self: should do extra comedy roles."
When you're in search of a enjoyable, history-adjacent comedy adventure, The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a gratifying, surrealist romp. Fielding's Turpin will not be historically correct in any respect, but his unfaltering optimism and love of knitting makes for one of the extra unique interpretations of the legend.
The right way to watch: The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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