The Cricklewood Greats

This nice, relaxed comedy is one of those you're glad you watched. It does nothing new, doesn't try to shock, has no swearing, and relies on funny characters doing silly things; I loved it for it's simplicity.

It's a mockumentary very much in the style of Garth Marenghi: Peter Capaldi plays himself, as he investigates the history of the fictional "Cricklewood Studios", the kind of studio that makes those stuffy films you watch on late Sunday afternoons, Ealing Comedies and Hammer Horror films. We see footage from some of the films they made, interviews with some of the people involved in making them, and in one surprising moment, Terry Gilliam rears his head, in a sort of send-up of himself.

Like all good mockumentaries, it draws the line very thin indeed between reality and fiction: like Spinal Tap and Garth Marenghi were only slightly exaggerrated versions of what they were spoofing, so too is this, and I have heard several tales of people who actually went to look up the studios, to no avail. It gets this element spot on indeed, and in fact there are a couple of films on here that actually look a bit appealing (the Fly spoof "the Worm" comes to mind).

Peter Capaldi leads it on with grace and charm, and Alex Macqueen as the tour guide through the various artifacts and props from the time is a joy.

This is a fantastically whimsical spoof that doesn't break any new mould but does make you feel slightly happy. The perfect antidote to these sweary, sexy Hollywood comedies that are getting churned out by the dozen these days. A lovely reminder that there is still intelligence and good nature working in comedy today. It might not make you laugh out loud at every opportunity, but it will make you feel all happy and nostalgic on the inside.