I like Paddy. He’s engaging, charming, has a great rapport with the audience and is hilarious when he’s sharing off the cuff thoughts (such as dealing with hecklers and the token “garlic bread!” cry from the audience).
His new show, Paddy McGuinness Saturday Night Live!, is thankfully a definite improvement over the previous release (which no doubt suffered by having a key joke ripped from its belly, thus ruining all pace), but there are still a few weak areas that won’t appeal to everyone.
After his successful hosting of Take Me Out for ITV and the 70 Degrees North series featuring celebrity adventurers surviving in a very cold climate, McGuinness has finally emerged from the shadow of his friend Peter Kay to pull together some good material for this 90 minute show. As comedy routines go it is in the top half of the table, but this doesn’t mean that you won’t have to sit through pointless rants about picking up dog shit from the front garden, or the pointless foreshadowing of an inconsequential and dull comedy character with a bit of classic Noel Edmonds/Ant & Dec “hidden camera” nonsense.
Additionally, while Paddy amusingly concedes that he can’t do material that might relate to a once popular performer having relations with minors, he is still canny enough to feature a big red button that, once pressed, plays some gentle music accompanied by visuals of cute fluffy dogs to immediately distract the audience away from any shocking punch lines.
Sadly this prop doesn’t get the most opportune use, but it is at least amusing to see Paddy bear hugging a burly bald guy from the audience “like a young Right Said Fred!”
While the idea of holding a giant game of bingo in the venue wasn’t ideal, it does at least provide an interesting way of pulling women – much in the same way as McGuinness’ Take Me Out show, which is regularly referenced throughout and forms part of the ill-conceived finale.
It is also a tragedy that Paddy can’t really sing, given his predilection for breaking into song at various points in the show (including the Peter Kay-inspired finale). However don’t leave this review thinking that this is one to avoid; if you’re suitably prepared with some boisterous friends and family you should be able to sit through the poorer material (with the addition of a few drinks) to get to such gems as Paddy’s accidental misuse of Lil-lets, his reaction to Bear Grylls and the wonderful comparisons of stag nights and hen parties.
You’ll get laughs from this DVD, it’s an improvement on Paddy’s earlier release but it’s certainly not a classic.
Paddy McGuinness Saturday Night Live