What I expect from a comedy show to be perfect is to be both canny and shameless.
What makes ABOFL so remarkable (actually it's one of funniest and pleasant things I've ever seen) is a well-known formula to comedy duos: balance. It looks obvious to conceive, but hard to achieve.
Every duo MUST have a leader. It's hard to accept, but it's completely necessary. That doesn't mean that one is better than another, it's just you can't have a body with two heads: one must point at the direction and the other must move towards the goal, the head and the body.
With this in mind, one must agree Fry is the head. I saw one review here where one says the he has an overbearing presence... I agree, but not in that sense of loftiness, but in the sense of command and control. See, Hugh is the body (a lovely one by the way), he is the fun, the grace, the spirit that moves the show. But what if we had two Lauries? We'd have lots of laughter but no wit, and this would be wearing, it would run in circles around itself, an explosion without function. And if we had two Frys, we would have and interesting show flirting with comedy, but not fun.
Here is what all the genius of these two brilliant men is all about: Judgment. Fry never tries to be funnier than Laurie, because it's not possible, just that! Laurie was made for comedy like few people are, and his type of humorous talents can be hardly beaten, Fry's cannot compete with this. But, at the same time, Hugh, despite being so brilliant, knows it and allows Fry to lead him. Because he (Fry) has sense of artistic form, like technical, he knows what to do and how to - a perfect timing - then Hugh comes and does so. He is the player, Hugh is the ball, together they reach the goal.
I totally recommend this. Here is my favorite quote from the show: "Please, Mr. Music, will you play? ...Soupy Twist."
What makes ABOFL so remarkable (actually it's one of funniest and pleasant things I've ever seen) is a well-known formula to comedy duos: balance. It looks obvious to conceive, but hard to achieve.
Every duo MUST have a leader. It's hard to accept, but it's completely necessary. That doesn't mean that one is better than another, it's just you can't have a body with two heads: one must point at the direction and the other must move towards the goal, the head and the body.
With this in mind, one must agree Fry is the head. I saw one review here where one says the he has an overbearing presence... I agree, but not in that sense of loftiness, but in the sense of command and control. See, Hugh is the body (a lovely one by the way), he is the fun, the grace, the spirit that moves the show. But what if we had two Lauries? We'd have lots of laughter but no wit, and this would be wearing, it would run in circles around itself, an explosion without function. And if we had two Frys, we would have and interesting show flirting with comedy, but not fun.
Here is what all the genius of these two brilliant men is all about: Judgment. Fry never tries to be funnier than Laurie, because it's not possible, just that! Laurie was made for comedy like few people are, and his type of humorous talents can be hardly beaten, Fry's cannot compete with this. But, at the same time, Hugh, despite being so brilliant, knows it and allows Fry to lead him. Because he (Fry) has sense of artistic form, like technical, he knows what to do and how to - a perfect timing - then Hugh comes and does so. He is the player, Hugh is the ball, together they reach the goal.
I totally recommend this. Here is my favorite quote from the show: "Please, Mr. Music, will you play? ...Soupy Twist."