So I have watched some episodes of the Netflix Aunty Donna show, grateful that for once Netflix, whatever it actually is, is presenting something to me that is at least semi-in my wheelhouse. I have enjoyed some of the AD material on TikTok and they have that wild manic improv thing about them, to the degree that, when you appreciate that shows like this one are super-microstructured, the fact that they really do feel like they have been collaged up to the max, is pretty impressive. The episodes include so many twists that however many times the tropes/directions get stale or boring or obvious, something's going to come along and change it all up anyway, and there's a kind of hypnotic quality to that (yes, like TikTok itself, or things like Rage etc).
Publicity for the show has the cast praising Netflix for letting them get on with it with no intrusion but there are a lot of concessions to an American/global market which do get up my nose . 'Abe Lincoln', who gives a shit? But then there are other bits and pieces that are possibly very Australian which I didn't necessarily notice (I thought of this when I saw them cowering under a table all saying 'Shivers! Shivers!' I actually don't know if that's an international language or just Australian). All the US guest stars are a bit much, piled on for reasons unclear except that I suppose it gets an international viewership involved ('if "Weird Al" Yankovic is on it then, ah, I guess I will give it a shot' - I think this kind of approach is short-term advantageous, long-term problematic, and it also looks a bit desperate). I also feel that the way of dealing with the fact that three white men are the public face of the whole show by including a massive guest/supporting cast of women (in amongst other men) is tokenistic on the one hand, on the other hand I suppose as a white man serving as the public face of myself, I can't really complain too loudly at this.
Top marks for setting the whole show in a californian bungalow of sorts, a style which is not really Californian at all (I wonder if they knew that) but which nonetheless no-one outside Australia would recognise as typically Australian.
One thing that intrigues me, and which I'm not sure is a reflection of reality or a reflection of me not being able to pay attention to things, is that while I now know their individual names, I am still more or less of the opinion that the three Aunty Donna men are indistinguishable characters, because they do so many characters that any one of them could do any of the characters/personalities/stereotypes they inhabit, albeit for very short periods of time. I have no opinion about whether this is a plus or a minus, I'm just intrigued by it.
But when the chips are down, I'm in favour of the show. I think they're really talented comedians with great chemistry and a generosity between them that makes them able to dominate the screen and bring you in almost immediately. Even when I (as per the above pic) have to be all snide about how many previous iterations there have been of the 'boys in a house' sketch/satire show (everyone's mentioned The Young Ones, no-one's mentioned The Goodies) the fact is ultimately that's just a structure/scaffold and it works.
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