Am I the only person in the world who does not find Dinner for One in the least funny? The sketch belongs to a low, unsubtle type of slapstick, something that may appeal to some non-Anglosaxon audiences. A world apart from the best of subtle humor (as in Yes Minister), or the best of slapstick for that matter (as in Laurel and Hardy movies). Even if some of the incidents could be regarded as comical (for example, the butler's frequent collisions with a tiger's head on the floor), their very repetitiousness engenders tedium. All the 'comical' bits are contained in the first three minutes, after which they are repeated ad nauseam. Mocking the frailties of old age seems unworthy to me. The success of Dinner for One remains a mystery.
Review of Dinner for One
Dinner for One
(1963 TV Short)
A succession of not very funny, tediously repetitious incidents.
16 July 2005