Dave Allen at Peace

I watched this hour-long potted dramatisation of the life and times of Irish comedian Dave Allen immediately after viewing a real-life TV biography of the man which probably wasn't the best preparation. I was a big fan of Allen's TV series of the early 70's particularly "Dave Allen At Large" using a format of sketches (some of which today might seem un-P.C.) and stand-up or should that be sit-down comedy. Allen regularly sent-up his native country's Catholic religion, often provoking the ire of his countrymen, to the extent where he even received death threats for lampooning the Pope, most (in)famously in a sketch where the holy father disrobes to "The Stripper" by David Rose.

As much a blarney-spinner as a pure joke-teller, Allen's laconic style, drink within reach on the one hand, cigarette in the other, saw him stand out from the older-fashioned variety-show type comics of the same era, like "Morecambe and Wise" or "The Two Ronnies", in short, he had an edge, even once swearing on air to enhance a joke's punchline.

The narrative here concentrates on Allen's relationship with his free-spirited, newspaper editor father who died when he was only 12 and his older brother whose later life revolves around alcohol dependancy. However, given that his mother outlived his father and he himself was married twice, it's strange that the show makes almost no reference to the women in his life.

It also wasn't helped by lightweight lead actor Aiden Gillan's marked dissimilarity to the real Allen as well as his complete inability to get even close to Allen's distinctive accent. There were actually scenes with more than one character present where I couldn't pick him out as Allen.

The jump-starting narrative sidelined into well-known Allen sketches and monologues but none were delivered as crisply as in the original TV show. In the end, it seemed, certainly from the real life bio, that Dave Allen had a full and rewarding life. Unlike other comedic talents he seemed less driven by demons which probably helped constrain this over-respectful yet still misfiring telling of his story.

Oh and I still can't work out the relevance of the show's title unless I'm missing something.