Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

graduatedan There is a wonderfully absurd sensibility in Ponpidou, which stars Matt Lucas as the title character, a boorish aristocrat who's seen better days and finds himself living with his man servant and faithful dog in a run down trailer. The programme is virtually dialogue free, and therefore relies on the actors to communicate the story. For that reason, it may not be for everyone, but those willing to give it a try will be delighted by this charming, imaginative comedy. Pompidou, for example, has a pet fly that he keeps in his mother's false teeth container. His dog, actually a full sized puppet, wears a night cap to bed and reads books like Who's afraid of Virginia Woof. Pompidou, despite behaving like a petulant child much of the time, still manages to be endearing; one can't help feel sorry for the poor fellow. This is laugh out loud giddy fun that never talks down to the audience. A family comedy in the truest sense of the word.

Brent Brent I have no idea what the executives were thinking when they decided to produce this series. It is more abstract performance art than comedy. It seems like the writers/performance combined Benny Hill, Mr. Bean and Charlie Chaplin and managed to make it absolutely unfunny and totally predictable. The clever connivingness of Mr. Bean is attempted and what results is some mindless sketches that are similar to what one would find on a children's show.The character Pompidou is played very annoyingly by the main actor. I will give it to him that for 28 minutes, he is able to stay in the character. After 5 minutes, I wanted to stop watching because of the annoyingness. If you've ever been bored while cooking a meal or getting ready in the morning and made silly faces and noises, that's basically what the main actor does. It is more like fingers on a chalk board than cute or funny.With a character like Pompidou, there is nowhere to go, one would think. He is selfish, childlike, clueless, bumbling and mischievous. But he's a one note pony. Benny Hill, Charlie Chaplain and Mr. Bean had some depth of character which made you want to keep watching and eventually like the character. Pompidou has none of that. Add in some predictable, unnecessary slap stick and its just not fun. You find yourself saying, 'please don't let him slip on the banana peel a second time.' And Pompidou slips 4 times.Oddly, I think the story lines do work in that they are simple and if the concept/characters weren't utterly annoying they would be a good vehicle to deliver some good comedy in their simplicity. Occasional concepts/bits within the show are clever but are overused and become stale. By the second or third episode, you've pretty much seen all the depth you will see from the Pompidou character and then it just becomes a children's show caricature which runs in circles and is the same old annoying act.The annoying squeaks and 'language' the characters use to communicate ... It's like they are saying words but intentionally garble them so you can kind of understand, which is an interesting concept. However unlike say Scooby Doo where it is cute, it becomes annoying fast and I honestly think if the characters did speak, the show would actually be easier to watch. The avant garde concept does not work in this show, though it is a brave attempt at being different.Overall, this is an attempt at abstract performance comedy that just didn't work.

korkeekonrad This was surreal to watch in that I couldn't figure out how this ever got the green light. I understand Netflix is willing to try new things and in many cases it has worked out to varying degrees but this is way off the mark of what they were going for I believe. I understand the idea of a family friendly show is going to have a restricted sense of humor but I don't see anyone over 3 years old finding this entertaining. I was embarrassed for the actors and hope this doesn't hurt Netflix's reputation for being open minded. The mumbling isn't quite silent film era, the physical comedy isn't of Benny Hill or Mr. Bean caliber and the set with a puppet was a really odd reach tat just made me feel like I was on drugs trying to watch it.

karenjarboe I love Matt Lucas's incredibly unique style in this show. The unintelligible but intelligible speech is a unique experience and well done. I think it's pretty damn funny. Pompidou's child like mannerisms make him likable, but are twisted by a lack of common morals. The humor is light and somewhat slapstick. I find the combination to work quiet well. My only complaint is that there are moments when things become a little too unrealistic and it's hard to connect with; however I do enjoy that we have to suspend reality a bit to get along with the show. I think the production value is quality and acting is spot on. It's always a pleasure to see Matt Lucas work. I'm looking forward to more!