CHRISTOPHER STEVENS opinions LOL: Last One Laughing UK: Desperate to get fun, did Alan Carr say one thing he’ll remorse?
There goes Alan Carr’s knighthood.
King Charles has a famous fondness for comedy, and he’s well used to impressionists — but it’s going too far, to compare the monarch’s laugh to a chuntering leaf blower.
In fairness to Alan, he was improvising wildly, saying the first things that came into his head, while trying to keep a straight face. He was doing it with a balloon of helium strapped to his back, taking gulps of the gas from a mouthpiece to pitch his squeaky voice even higher.
And he still wasn’t getting laughs. In a situation like that, anyone might accidentally say something they’ll regret for the rest of their career.
The return of Last One Laughing sees Alan pitched into a locked room with Diane Morgan, Mel Giedroyc, David Mitchell and Romesh Ranganathan, as well as newcomers Maisie Adam, Sam Campbell, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Amy Gledhill.
All they have to do to eliminate their rivals is make them laugh. Any expression of mirth will do — a snigger, a chuckle, a splutter or, in one case here early on, a lung-busting explosion, doubled over and sobbing with hilarity.
Reigning champion Bob Mortimer is also back. He won the first series with a joke that’s both wickedly clever and completely unprintable, one that reduced Richard Ayoade to laughter so begrudging, it was practically dragged out of him inch by inch.
The second series of comedy competition LOL: Last One Laughing launched on Prime Video on Thursday
The show features 10 famous comedians locked in a room for six hours with one rule: They must make their opponents laugh without laughing themselves
Making a professional comedian chortle is difficult at the best of times. You might imagine that, whenever two or three stand-ups get together, the hilarity is endless. In fact, they’re all analysing every quip, inwardly trying to work out what they can tighten up to make it funnier.
On top of that, most of them are psychotically competitive. Any clever comebacks usually provoke a scowl, not a grin.
The producers understand this and realise that, left to play the game unhindered, the competitors might retreat to corners and spend weeks with their teeth clenched.
Presenter Jimmy Carr is on hand to stir the pot, challenging players to perform party turns. David Mitchell doing a music hall number from Half A Sixpence is quite a sight.
We don’t see much of Amy at first, or Maisie. I’d never heard of Sam, but he proves from the start that he’s a dangerous player. Diane’s an actress more than a comic, and she’s only safe as long as she stays in her po-faced character.
Romesh might be at a dis-advantage, with a style so deadpan, it’s downright morose. His schtick is to deliver one-liners without cracking a smile, almost daring his audience to laugh. Bob, on the other hand, can turn the most mundane aside into a punchline.
Introducing himself to the group, he announced, ‘My name’s Robert, and my go-to adhesive is PVA.’ It shouldn’t be funny, but it made me bark. I’m straight out, first episode.
