Touches You

The Age of Commercialism

Sorry, this movie sucks

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The Coopers vs the rest, another sitcom featuring a dysfunctional family, Tess and Toby have three adopted kids, three very different kids. Tess, an overbearing mother, with a definite idea of right and wrong, Toby, a very placid, easy going guy.When I was watching it, I kept thinking the same thing, it felt like a 'Street' version of outnumbered, like they were trying to do outnumbered for a more mature audience. It felt very much like a pilot episode, with the actors trying hard to quickly establish the characters. If I'm honest I found it a wee bit safe, it needed to be a little more daring, all of the laughs came from the youngest kid, who was genuinely funny, if the series takes off, I can see her being key to its success.It was nice, easy viewing, it's nice to see the BBC at least trying to re-ignite the sitcom scene, which let's be fair has been in the doldrums for too long. When the comedy high point of the week is the Dad's Army repeat (MAGICAL TV) then there is something wrong.6/10 a good try.

It is very shallow. Comedy can be real, have more uncomfortable bits and still be funny.I am an adoptive mum with two children. I feel like some very big issues were mentioned in conversation and then brushed over.For example, when Charlie said he thought he was being adopted again, for an adopted child this life and death terrifying and my son, who has done that (but not in the same circumstances), had a massive melt down and he is not unusual. It takes days not seconds to recover. He said it like he forgot to tie his laces. There were also issues with attachment, rejection that were glossed over. If you watch this with an eye to adopting or to understanding families like ours then you might go away thinking it is a lot simpler than it is.I quite like it but I think the writing could have been deeper and thereby funnier. I do think it might damage adopters credibility in a world which doesn't always believe how hard adoption is or how different our children can be. I think it has potential.

I actually watched the BBC comedy series Outnumbered well before my kids discovered it a few years later. The Coopers vs the Rest was basically Outnumbered with adopted kids and minus the improvisation.Tanya Franks and Paterson Joseph are the put upon parents of three adopted kids; Frankie, Alisha and Charlie. Frankie the eldest is rebellious and stays out too late, Alisha is a preachy Christian due to her religious grandma who she keeps in touch with thorough Skype and Charlie does not seem to have too many friends at school. He was the only kid not to be invited at a schoolmate's 8th birthday party. However it turns out that it is his mother who is disliked, being maybe too pushy.Maybe this pilot was shown too soon after Outnumbered. Joseph's dad is nice and easygoing while Franks mom comes across as abrasive and unsympathetic to the audience. The kids were OK but I felt this pilot was a bit rough around the edges but showed promise. Although why it was scheduled away from a family friendly time and BBC channel is a mystery.