DVD Pick Of The Week - Shameless
DVD Pick Of The Week - Shameless
Just when you thought Paul Abbott - arguably one of Britain’s best writers let alone all of television - couldn’t top his last effort, the master goes and hits one out of the park. This week finally sees the Region 1 release of the first installment of his blisteringly funny, achingly real and utterly brilliant Shameless (Now in its fifth series in the UK). Based in part on Abbott’s own upbringing in a broken home, it may be the crowning achievement on his already stunning CV.
Frank Gallagher (David Threllfall) is a fuck-up of the highest order. Ditched by his wife five years ago, he’s become the laughing stock of the Manchester council estate (that’s the projects to us Yanks) that he calls home - perpetually drunk, dragged home unconscious by the cops regularly, which might be fine, if it makes him happy. Except for one problem: he’s got six kids at home who, in light of being abandoned by their mother, might be a little better off if Dad stopped acting like the village idiot.
Shameless is remarkable in that the Gallaghers’ tale works on so many levels: family melodrama, with each child struggling in their own way with their parents’ failure. Teenaged Ian is in the closet, having an affair with his married boss, while sweet little Debbie seems to be handling it all quite well…until she steals a baby from down the street. It’s high comedy (Maxine Peake and Dean Lennox Kelly, as the oversexed neighbors, are a riot), a deft commentary on British class issues, and frequently quite tragic. And at its core, Shameless Series 1 is a love story: put-upon eldest sister Fiona (the extraordinary Anne-Marie Duff) stubbornly resists being swept off her feet by big-hearted, smooth-talking Steve (James McAvoy). As they inch closer to happiness, we feel a glimmer of hope for their motley crew…and perhaps, by extension, for ourselves. The Osbournes wish they were this dysfunctional.
Also recommended this week: Author! Author!; Criterion Eclipse: Series 2; James Cagney: Signature Series; Les Miserables (1952); The Odd Couple: Season 1; One Day at a Time: Season 1; Panic in Needle Park; Parenthood: Special Edition; The Queen; Tsunami: The Aftermath; WKRP in Cincinnati: Season 1
— Nicole Campos
