Mansi Movie Reviews

Mention "Are You Being Served?" to someone, and their eyes will light up. Mention "Allo Allo!", and you'll probably be hit with a quizzical look. This has been my overall experience, and it has always been a frustrating one. I link the two series, because both are brainchilds of Britcom comedic masters Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft. Both are absolutely hilarious. But it seems as though "Allo Allo!" has taken the shorter end of the popularity stick here in the US, but with this release of its first season on DVD, I hope that can change somewhat.

The first 7 episodes of the classic Britcom are featured on this collection, and they are the start to a most wonderful, long-running show. The story starts during WWII, when France is being occupied by Germany. Our protagonist is Rene Artois, who runs a cafe. He is the (mostly) sane center to a storm of off the wall characters. Rene's wife, Edith, is older than he is, and is a terrible singer. The local Gestapo agent, Herr Flick, is a psycho with a limp. The German officers are all nutty, and one of them even fancies Rene. The women of the French Resistance are always sneaking into the cafe to cajole Rene into daring missions for France, and then there are also the British airmen -- shot down over France, and now in hiding at Rene's cafe. They don't speak the language, and their appearances in each episode are always good for a laugh. Rene is also quite keen on his bar maids, Yvette and Maria. It is a secret he must keep from the ever-suspicious Edith.

All of this, I'm sure, sounds like a lot of information to take in. And it is. "Allo Allo!" rarely slows down the pace, and this eventually leads to Rene opening every episode talking to the audience, bringing them up to speed on the previous episode's events. The storylines flow from one show to the next, and over the years we are treated to a host of madcap adventures. I think it takes until Series 3 before "Allo Allo!" really finds its groove, but Series 1 is still a solid start to a truly great television show.

Once the disc is over, I'm sure you'll want to see more. And it only gets better. There are many more episodes of "Allo Allo!" to come. I hope that we get to see the rest of them released on DVD someday. The show deserves it.

Every gag in the book... shamelessly used, and with great effect.

I remember talking about Allo Allo to a friend of mine many years ago. He said, "It's no Hogan's Heroes." Of course, he's right... and many folks will make the same comment. However, you'll probably get more new viewers if you tell your friends that "Allo Allo" is the British Comedy series you'd get if you mated Soap, Three's Company, and perhaps just a little Benny Hill.

The story starts very simple, but becomes a tangled farcical mess (intentionally)... so much so that the main character Rene (long suffering cafe owner in war-torn France) must take the audience into his confidence and explain what occurred in the previous episode.

The guts of the show are as follows: the French Resistance wish to use Rene's bar to hide escaping British airmen until they may get returned back to England (with harebrained schemes). Meanwhile, the German Colonel (and his assistant Hans), Rene's regular paying customers, wish to hide some stolen art pieces in the cellar (including the painting of "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies" by Van Klump) until after the war. All the while, Herr Flick of the Gestapo is looking for both the missing painting (of "The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies" by Van Klump) as well as escaping British airmen. Of course the Resistance and the German officers often use each other to avoid detection by Herr Flick. Occasionally wet celery, egg whisks, and flying goggles are required for a scene. How can Rene juggle all of this intrigue while keeping his affairs with his waitresses secret from his wife Edith? Rene would say, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"A comedy about Nazi occupied France?!?!?!", is probably the standard response. However, everyone gets a proverbial pie in the face... there are the French peasants, the French Resistance ("Listen very carefully..."), the British airmen, the German officers (Hans is truly hilarious with a hidden clock in season 2), Herr Flick of the Gestapo, and of course the girls (especially Yvette... va-va-va-voom!)... not to leave out dear Lieutenant Gruber, his introduction is a perfect example of the type of gags the series is known for (actor Guy Sinner is one of the show's scene stealers).

A few bad puns, plenty of sexual innuendo, several catch phrases (if you like that sort of thing you'll probably love "Allo Allo"), and a simple solution to the French/German/English (and later Italian and Yank English) language problem. These gags, costume changes, and excessive mugging characters lasted nine seasons ending with the Yanks liberating poor Rene and his wife (and followed by an old Rene running off with his waitress Yvette in modern days) plus a tenth anniversary special.

Series One is quite funny, but just you wait for the Christmas special in Series Two... a plot to do away with General Von Klinkerhoffen including a drug in a mug made by a pill from the till... not to mention a bomb that is set off by a candle with a handle on a Gatto from the Chateau.

My buddies and I used to watch this a lot while we were stationed at a tiny base in Belgium during the late 80s and early 90s. It's pretty decent, for a European production. We enjoyed this just as much as Mrs. Bucket in "Keeping Up Appearances."