Stars: Ricky Tomlinson

Director: Sarah Smith

Summary: Stand up comedy with the popular star of the Royle Family filmed in front of a live audience in his home town of Liverpool. Ricky also gives a personal tour of Liverpool to show the places and people which have played an important part in his career.

Liverpudlian comedian Ricky Tomlinson performs his trademark humour live in front of a hometown audience. He also provides a guided tour of Liverpool, visiting the people and places that have shaped him and his career, including four friends who also happen to be local comics.

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Recorded in 2001, Laughter My Arseis a celebration of Ricky Tomlinson's ascendancy to the top table of British comic actors. The role which really established Tomlinson's popularity was through three series of Caroline Aherne's acclaimed Royle Familysitcom. In this DVD he cashes in on the catch phrase of couch potato Jim Royle and takes us back to his roots in the working men's clubs of Liverpool.

Much of the programme consists of his one-man show. Royle Familyfans will appreciate the humour which obviously informs Tomlinson's characterisation of Jim. But this act only tells half the story. He has also proved himself an accomplished and formidable performer in television drama and independent British films and with a bit more imagination, the producers could have come up with a more rounded portrait. The most poignant moments come outside the club when Tomlinson reminisces with friends and colleagues about the good old days when they were starting out on the club circuit. Anecdotes abound and Tomlinson's ability to make some pretty grim episodes funny says much about the fundamental warmth of the man. Even so, this is probably one for old fans rather than the idle curious.

On the DVD: the sound and picture quality are fine. If the producers had wanted to be truly authentic, they could have taken a grainier option for the comedy act sequences and harked back to the days of Granada's Wheel Tappers and Shunters Clubshow which was a staple of ITV schedules in the 1970s. If the comedy isn't your bag, the chapter selection option allows you to skip straight to the nostalgic reminiscence sequences and by way of extras, there's a small handful of mildly amusing outtakes. But essentially, this is a basic package rather than a comprehensive portrait.--Piers Ford

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	2001
Release Date:	November 26, 2001
Runtime:	90 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	902 026 9
Keywords:	Live, Comedy, General, Laughter, Ricky, My, Tomlinson, Arse
Genre:	Comedy