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For those who thought Dame Edna Everage was a cynically nihilistic '90s phenomenon with her popular '92 British game show,
Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch, and her Broadway play,
The Royal Tour, it might come as a surprise to learn she had a politically incorrect film career in Australia long before she became a "dame." In 1972, "Aunt" Edna had a prime role in Bruce Beresford's crudely observant "ocker" social comedy,
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and in its 1974 sequel,
Barry McKenzie Holds His Own. In a sense, Edna Everage is a predecessor to other irreverent British comedy TV shows such as
Absolutely Fabulous,
French and Saunders, and (albeit obliquely) Rowan Atkinson's
Black Adder and
Mr. Bean. This DVD, which features six episodes of
Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch is a hilarious if one-joke addition to the legacy of raucous Brit humor. "Nothing is too private or too sacred" on this game show, as hostess Edna innocently invites three members of the audience to take part in what might be the most embarrassing moment in their lives. Why? Edna's hidden camera has invaded the home of one of her guests. She not only digs up a little dirt, but dishes it too, in her quest for comedy at the contestant's expense. Though
Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch is nastily funny, it loses some of its fresh appeal after three or four of the episodes because Edna's jokes and pokes are often repeated on each program. Additionally, the sound is garbled and it's hard to understand the words to the opening intro, talk-sung in Edna's high-pitched timbre, which is as shrill and tacky as her wild outfits and her outpouring of biting, witty insults. Still, if you're intent on sampling the best of British TV humor, you can't pass up the Dame.
--Paula Nechak
