I have an interesting relationship with Jason Manford.
While we’ve never actually met, I’m sure he’s a reasonably nice chap (text-messaging aside) but his North West laddish charm sadly riles with me. It’s not a regional thing; there are plenty of broadcasters from that neck of the woods who I admire. Rather, I think it is something informed by my initial reaction to Manford as a “Netto Peter Kay”.
On first impression, there is a bit of the Peter Kay “schtick” within Manford’s delivery, but let’s face it, Kay has been around for a while now and has proved influential in various ways. While I don’t think the description is unfair it certainly doesn’t do the job of crystallizing what Jason Manford really is all about.
So what does?
Well, going back to my previous feelings about the comic for a moment, he always seems amiable and has a good rapport with the audience and people around him, whether he’s on stage or on panel shows. He’s generally “blokeish”, no doubt fed a diet of Men Behaving Badly during the 1990s and his shenanigans and short career as a TV presenter certainly enhance that opinion.
But things have changed for Mr Manford over the past few years. He’s now a father of three, something which informs his routine in Jason Manford *** to a somewhat unnecessary degree. As Chris Addison rightly observes in his new DVD, no one wants to go out and listen to someone talking about their children, but for the first 20 minutes of his DVD that is exactly what Manford does.
Fair enough, some of it is new and amusing (tough with such well-trodden ground) and he should be admired for this. However when things start drifting into nappies and baby poo territory you do begin to wonder if there could be more to talk about. After all, there’s a whole world of non-parenting out there, as Manford establishes when he asks for separate cheers from the parents and non-parents in the audience. This routine begins by alienating half of the people in the room!
Fortunately things move on a little, enabling Manford to get to grips with a few other subjects such as naming babies, taking children swimming and… okay, I’m bring unfair. Airport scanners, the threat of burglary, night-time shopping and pornography are also given the Jason Manford treatment, and these subjects are probably more in keeping with what his fans might want to hear about.
So, a lot of family-based comedy for a mature audience can be found on Manford’s DVD and while this might be enough to put some people off, get past this and you can enjoy a good, competent routine with plenty of laughs and a man named “Barry”.
Despite the problems early on in the show, one thing is clear – Jason Manford is a man of the people, his rapport is excellent and he has perfect delivery and timing. This alone makes him worth watching, whether you’re a fan of his TV work or not.
Pick up your copy of Jason Manford Live 2011 on Amazon for just £12.93