PhoneShop
Counting such luminaries as Stephen
Merchant (The Office) and Harry Enfield (Kevin and Perry Go
Large) amongst its fans and with its pilot episode having been
script edited by none other than Ricky Gervais, new British sitcom
PhoneShop was in good hands from the get-go.
Recently renewed for a third season, the
show is the brainchild of producer and writer Phil Bowker, whose
previous comedy credits include the series’ Pulling and the
acclaimed if criminally overlooked 15 Storeys High. In the best
spirit of its thematic forbears like The Office and The IT
Crowd, PhoneShop gathers together a motley assortment of odd
yet lovable misfits, whose frequently hilarious attempts to stave off
the drudgery of the workaday world provide both a welcome respite from
boredom and something approaching a sense of togetherness.
The setting, as may be gathered, is a high
street mobile phone emporium. Presiding over the shambolic workplace is
Lance, who aside from his penchant for frequent masturbation is actually
a fairly nice fellow. Ashley and Jerwayne are the sales superstars of
the branch with egos to match, and delight in tormenting recent college
graduate Christopher, or New Man, himself desperate to prove his worth
in the high stakes world of contract mobiles. Mousy Janine has her eye
on the assistant manager position recently vacated by the legendary if
criminally inclined salesman Gary Patel, and Lance’s near-messianic
worship of his former employee provide some of the show’s funniest
moments. Another treat is Syriana’s Kayvan Novak making a
thoroughly chavvy cameo as rival phone store manager Razz Prince,
determined to prove that this crowd of upstarts are no match for his own
finely tuned crew of salespeople extraordinaire.
The end result is a quintessentially
British comedy that breathes new life into a much-explored genre. The
writing is solid and the majority of the performances spot-on, with
Martin Treneman as Lance and Javone Prince as Jerwayne proving
particular standouts. Tom Bennett’s squirrelly performance as
Christopher also provides much of the show’s comedic impetus, and
writer-producer-director Phil Bowker proves a dab hand at knowing
exactly when to introduce a new character or sudden change of scenery in
order to keep things chugging along at a nice pace. All up this is a
fresh and engaging series that will appeal to fans of the aforementioned
comedies, and those who like their sitcoms slightly silly and a little
bit surreal.
Bonus Features
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes and Behind the Scenes (7 minutes)
