Alan Partridge has been through a very interesting evolution, both as a character and in terms of the comedic format he is presented in. He began as a kind of sleazy talk-show host on radio program The Day Today, which carried over into the extremely funny (and uncomfortable) talk show parody "Knowing Me Knowing You" on TV, before transferring to a sitcom format for a 30-minute scripted series following him after the cancellation of his TV show. "I'm Alan Partridge" tweaked the character a bit, presenting him less as a young and greasy talk host and as more of an older, failed dimwit, retaining his trademark narcissism but making subtle changes to his attire. This was, for my money, the pinnacle of Partridge, as those two series -- the first in '97, the second in '02 -- were comedy masterpieces. Coogan has failed to ever create another character as unforgettable as Partridge, despite the underrated Saxondale.
But something interesting happened within the past few years: Armando Iannucci, reeling from the success of his political comedies The Thick of It and Veep, changed the format for Partridge again. Alan re-emerged in the format of an online radio podcast for Folgers beer, which was called Mid Morning Matters. Lacking the laugh track or the typical broad strokes of Alan's humour, this could have been a huge backfire -- but it actually presented a very interesting new side to Alan, a dryer, more subtle side.
The shift in tone may be jarring to some viewers who are coming to the movie fresh from the old TV show, but rest assured, Alan is still very funny. The movie is a smashing success. Hilarious from start to finish, it's framed in a way that assures -- as it parodies action film tropes - - it will be very funny even to casual audiences...but particularly more-so to longtime Alan fans (how refreshing it was to see Lynn and Michael back again!).
I hope this spawns another film or at least another series. I haven't quite gotten my fix of Alan.
For fans of the movie looking for more, check out Alan's audiobook (read by Coogan in character) which was released a year or two ago. Very funny stuff, and a great companion piece to the movie.
But something interesting happened within the past few years: Armando Iannucci, reeling from the success of his political comedies The Thick of It and Veep, changed the format for Partridge again. Alan re-emerged in the format of an online radio podcast for Folgers beer, which was called Mid Morning Matters. Lacking the laugh track or the typical broad strokes of Alan's humour, this could have been a huge backfire -- but it actually presented a very interesting new side to Alan, a dryer, more subtle side.
The shift in tone may be jarring to some viewers who are coming to the movie fresh from the old TV show, but rest assured, Alan is still very funny. The movie is a smashing success. Hilarious from start to finish, it's framed in a way that assures -- as it parodies action film tropes - - it will be very funny even to casual audiences...but particularly more-so to longtime Alan fans (how refreshing it was to see Lynn and Michael back again!).
I hope this spawns another film or at least another series. I haven't quite gotten my fix of Alan.
For fans of the movie looking for more, check out Alan's audiobook (read by Coogan in character) which was released a year or two ago. Very funny stuff, and a great companion piece to the movie.