CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 8/12/05

Farcical, French, and Offensive? Mais Oui!

by jason davis

Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft

Chronicling the misadventures of René Artois (Gordon Kaye), a café owner in Nazi-occupied France, 'Allo, 'Allo adopts the tropes of French theatre to poke fun at the inhabitants of a small town overrun with amorous French waitresses, buffoonish Nazis, and increasingly indecipherably secretive resistance agents. While René, who's having affairs with two of his employees, tries to recover a stolen sausage containing a priceless work of erotic art, his attempts to keep his life and community intact are continually thwarted by an array of foreign and domestic interests conspiring toward their own ends. An interesting BBC program debating the show's entertainment value against its possibly offensive presentation of tragic historical realities is an unusual and welcome extra that tries to establish the relationship of comedy to history. With copious double entendres and slapstick antics alongside René's fourth wall-demolishing soliloquies, the series may not offer much in the way of satiric commentary, but it does manage to entertain.

'Allo 'Allo: The Complete Series Three
BBC Home Video
Not rated; 220 min.
$34.98

Buy it now for only $24.49 (save 30%)

At the age of 21, Jason Davis was hit in the face with a car. He has since devoted his life to writing. His words have appeared on TBS, MSN.com, and CS Weekly, where he serves as DVD Coordinator. He lives in Burbank.

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