'The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin' review: As wickedly fun as its title | 1FIXVSA | 2024-02-29 10:08:01
"Stand and deliver! Please?"
When you've come right here for a historic account of the adventures of England's infamous 18th century highwayman, it is best to have read the label. Apple TV+'s rambunctious comedy collection The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is strictly that, complete fabrication, with comic Noel Fielding leaping into the powerful purple footwear of the titular anti-hero who, to our information, never wore such flamboyant footwear (his loss).
A knowingly revisionist historical past in each sense of the phrase, the collection seems 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 highway theft around, featuring probably the most outlandish bunch of characters plucked from English historical past portrayed by a few 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 seems like a great ol' original yarn informed over pints of lager in a darkish 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 candy, sweet notoriety for the gang.
At 33, the actual Turpin was hanged for horse theft in 1739, so the present is technically set in the final four 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. On this instance, the show cleverly weaves in Turpin's movie star during his lifetime, starting from Eliza's writing to the "Turpin Tours" operating by way of the forest the place friends anticipate "exclusive Dick motion" — not the only Dick joke in the collection, what do you're taking the writers for? As there's a lot hearsay around Turpin's legend, it's ineffective to anticipate the show to stick to any type of historical accuracy, which suggests vital artistic freedom (and some extremely 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 ("where the streets are paved!"), the collection is about in Turpin's house county of Essex,& where he by chance finds himself the leader of the less-than-professional Essex Gang: Ellie White as sharpshooter Nell Brazier, Marc Wootton as extremely sensitive muscle Moose Pleck, and Duayne Boachie as dramatic, empathetic tracker Honesty Braveness. 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 dog walkers.
Like its fellow rapscallion journey parody Our Flag Means Demise, Dick Turpin renders historical figures with gentleness and silliness, particularly eroding toxic masculinity with a delight in less aggressive attributes and a flippant use of recent language: "What's fallacious mate, you've got hardly touched your rat?" While a number of the jokes feel just a little dated (a Fro-yo bit, in 2024?), the script gives real chortles for the drama-crushed among us.
Noel Fielding's Dick Turpin could possibly be Vince Noir's ancestor
</div> "My first freeway theft! I have never been this excited since I discovered my very own cheekbones!"
Together with his variety of feathered tricorne hats, star-spangled pleather cape, velvet justacorps, and those highly effective purple footwear, Fielding wears this model of Turpin nicely, presenting less a highwayman extra a merry bard always 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 manufactured from courgettes to slaughtering swans, and he polls those he robs "to improve your freeway theft experience." Primarily, he's horrible at this job, preferring appeal and panache to violence and intimidation, leaving a lot of the actual felony work to his equally floundering gang.
More concerned with the facility of friendship and fine-tuning his tailoring expertise, Fielding's Turpin just isn't the outlaw of English legend. Fielding's in high-quality comedic type here channelling his previous work into the position, especially bringing The Mighty Boosh power into the infamous legal as if Turpin was considered one of Vince Noir's ancestors. The Bake-Off host's extra wholesome type of narration comes into play when he is explaining the advantages of needlework to his gang members or explaining "I've acquired a simple allure that the mums take pleasure in," and there is even a bit "Fantasy Man" in his disguise as a person pretending to return from 15 minutes sooner or later.
</div> This longtime dalliance with the nonsensical and surreal makes hard-to-sell scenes feel effortless for Fielding; one second that includes convincing a ghostly baron handy over some glittering curse-lifting mittens is a troublesome ask, however 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 in the collection.& And his costumes, designed by Rosa Dias and Richard Cooke, look drawn proper from the comedian's personal wardrobe — yes, including that nun-habit-and-bolero-jacket "disguise" in episode 3.
Fans of The Mighty Boosh will have the ability to spot lots of Fielding's former collaborators among the 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 wealthy man 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 becomes 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 a lot comedy expertise appearing in six brief episodes, the collection takes full advantage, brimming with Abbott and Costello-style "Who's on First?" routines, seeing characters cyclically repeating the same strains or unsuccessfully avoiding saying a certain witch's identify.
Joe Wilkinson is a deadpan delight as Geoffrey the Gaoler, Asim Chaudhry brings relatable fluster to Craig the Warlock,& and both 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 common Jonathan Wild, who's given the lion's share of Dick jokes in the script — Bonneville delivers every one with stone-faced finesse.
</div> Nevertheless, the real highwaymen of the collection, hijacking every scene they're in, are Tamsin Greig as the highly effective Woman Helen Gwinear, Greg Davies as the grizzly Leslie Duvall, and Sex Education's Connor Swindells& as the incredibly named Tommy Silversides. Because the execution-happy aristocrat and chief of the felony Syndicate, Grieg does not waste a single line of sharply aimed dialogue. Roaring by means of his second, Davies is an absolute delight bantering together with his fellow By no means Mind the Buzzcocks panelist Fielding because the growling leader of the Hellbenders gang. However it's Swindells who takes the supporting crown.
Swindells paints the theatrically charismatic Tommy Silversides because the Hansel of highwaymen. So scorching right now, he flaunts his Krav Maga training, horse-bound acrobatics, and penchant for push ups in an ideal 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 level says (appropriately) aloud, "Observe to self: should do extra comedy roles."
Should you're on the lookout for a fun, history-adjacent comedy adventure, The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a gratifying, surrealist romp. Fielding's Turpin will not be traditionally accurate in any respect, however his unfaltering optimism and love of knitting makes for one of the extra distinctive interpretations of the legend.
The way to watch: The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is streaming on Apple TV+ from March 1.
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