How to Irritate People (1968) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ian Fordyce

Writers:

Graham Chapman (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...

Release Date:

21 January 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

In this mock-documentary, John Cleese narrates a series of sketches on irritation -- types and techniques...

Plot Keywords:

Fake Documentary | Satire | British Comedy | Made For Television | Crazy Humour

Cast

John Cleese	...	Himself - Various
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Various Characters
Graham Chapman	...	Various
Michael Palin	...	Various
Gillian Lind	...	Various
Connie Booth	...	Various
Dick Vosburgh	...	Various

Also Known As:

John Cleese on How to Irritate People

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG | UK:PG | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

David Paradine Productions

Trivia:

The "Car Salesman" sketch was written by Graham Chapman and inspired by a real encounter he'd had with a dealer who flatly refused to admit that the car was broken. John thought that there was something funnier to it and, when the time came for "Monty Python's Flying Circus" the basic framework of the sketch was adapted for the now infamous "Parrot Sketch".

Quotes:

Various: This ruthless concentration on one's self is a successful irritant widely practiced by women. A friend of mine once demonstrated this to me at a large party. He stood in the middle of the room and said very loudly, "The trouble with women is that they always take things personally." Four women immediately replied, "Well I Don't."

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Roots of Monty Python (2005) (V)

Not quite Python, but certainly on the right road

HOW TO IRRITATE PEOPLE was released on video in the early 1990s, and seemed to have come out of nowhere. The origins of the programme were a mystery, except that it was a David Frost production dating from 1968, and there's no record anywhere that it was ever shown on British television. Apparently it was shown in the United States, however, and was a one-off special intended to introduce the performers (John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Connie Booth) to American audiences, but their 'big break' didn't really happen until Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and the Goodies were broadcast Stateside in the early 1970s. That's the origins dealt with, so is it any good? Well, yes and no. To begin with, the picture and sound quality are distinctly lacking and the presentation actually seems to vary from scene to scene (even on the DVD!), which suggests that a master copy no longer exists and that this version of the show was cobbled together from various sources. John Cleese seems ill at ease performing his linking monologues directly to camera, and the studio audience sound hesitant and quite baffled at times, which makes the whole programme seem strangely flat. But bearing in mind that this was a whole new style of humour back in 1968, it's not all bad. The Python trademark of abandoning punchlines and structure hasn't been introduced yet, so every sketch has a beginning, a middle and an end, which suits the 'revue format' of the show rather well. Some of the sketches are absolute duffers - the faulty car sketch is tiresome, but the Indian restaurant routine is about the worst - and yet, there are plenty of little gems, most notably the airline pilots who cause their passengers to fly into a panic just for fun, but the early version of 'Spot the Brain Cell' with Cleese as a grinning Michael Miles-type monster and a gurglingly funny Brooke-Taylor as a hopeless contestant is also a rare treat, and it's never less than interesting to see these future comedy giants at such an early (and obviously formative) stage in their respective careers. Just don't expect belly laughs or great revelations.