Full Bottom: Not Another Half-Arsed Boxed Set (1991) – DVD Review

Film:
DVD:

Written by Rik Mayall and Arian Edmondson
Directed by Ed Bye and Bob Spiers
Starring Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Christopher Ryan, and Steve O’Donnell

Features:

• Outtakes and bloopers
• Three early stand-up and comedy appearances by Rik and Ade
• Cast and crew bios

Released by: BBC Home Video
Rating: NR (some humor may be unsuitable for young audiences)
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Nope; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: At the very least, rent it.

[ad#longpost]Richie Richard (Mayall) and Eddie Elizabeth Hitler (Edmondson) are, quite simply, bums. However, they manage to have a flat since they live of the fat of the government. That way, they get to spend all of their time running around chasing women and getting into trouble. And, if anyone from the government happens to come by, they will simply add that person to their hijinks and keep right on moving.

Okay, here’s what I love best about this show: these two idiots decide to go trick-or-treating with a cattle prod. Need I say more? Some of the writing is simply disgusting, but it’s supposed to be. Pretty much any time they set foot into the kitchen area of their flat, you can expect to find your stomach trying to share the same space as your brain for a little while. Mayall and Edmondson are absolutely insane. These two guys not only put this stuff on its feet, they also do most of the writing for the show as well. Seriously, they’re not afraid to put themselves into any situation and get really dirty in the process.

This disc contains all of the shows that were aired on the BBC in 1991, 1992, and 1995, with each disc contiaining one of the seasons plus some bonus material. The disc is kind of stingy with the bonus material, but what is there is worth watching. First of all, the outtakes and bloopers are not very well organized and it’s hard to get to them on the discs. The best features in this set are the stand-up comedy appearances by Mayall and Edmondson. Some of their stand-up is outright hilarious and the rest is just bizarre and leaves you wondering how in the world they came up with something like it in the first place. For example, in one routine, Mayall plays the entire set as a comedian who is paranoid and on the verge of snapping and killing everyone in the audience. I mean, it’s just whacked.

As a side note, each of these DVDs in this set begins with a series of previews that you are forced to watch. You can’t even fast forward through them and you can’t use the menu button to skip beyond them. I absolutely hate that.

If you are looking for one of the strangest series to ever be put on television, you definitely need to pick this one up as a rental. You’ll want to buy it if you are a fan of very odd bathroom humor.

• Buy it from Amazon.