Chivalry review: Steve Coogan comedy skewers Hollywood's everyday sleaziness
The Alan Partridge actor and co-creator Sarah Solemani star in the Channel 4 comedy set in post-MeToo Hollywood.
"Tatiana, that's from Midsummer Night's Dream... Bottom... Titty... Titiana, not Tatiana," rambles film producer Cameron O’Neill in Chivalry, shortly after meeting the intimacy co-ordinator hired in the wake of MeToo.
Ill-judged, inappropriate comments like these are the bread and butter of the Channel 4 comedy, which sets out to skewer the everyday sleaziness of the film industry – but with a deft, light touch from co-creators and series leads Steve Coogan (Cameron) and Sarah Solemani.
The show's trick is eliciting a laugh from its viewer even as it poses uncomfortable questions. For example, the stink of Cameron's verbal diarrhoea temporarily distracts us from the issue that indie-filmaker Bobby Sohrabi (Solemani) faces.
Drafted in to help reshoot the distasteful sex scenes in Cameron's big-budget movie, Bobby wants an authentic, raw, feminist approach – but at the same time, she's sick of the interfering intimacy co-ordinator Tatiana (Aisling Bea), who halts production when the male stand-in says he feels unsafe opposite film star Lark (Sienna Miller).
Impatient, Bobby resorts to asking a very smug Cameron for help in distracting Tatiana (“I don’t care how that sounds,” she tells him), flipping our expectations.
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The same is the case when the young, muscled stand-in later bursts in on Bobby in her cramped trailer, seeking professional advice and seemingly blocking her exit. The viewer's sudden (short-lived) expectation is that he will cross a line, and we fear for her.
But instead, Bobby (dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with 'Unite Women') dismisses his acting dreams and tells him he should seek out a different career path.
"Do something else. You're a good-looking guy, you're a confident guy. Help some people," she says.
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Chivalry revels in these grey areas, or unexpected scenarios where our lead characters buck pre-conceptions.
Cameron, the movie producer dating his 24-year-old assistant, may have the clearest emotional journey from the show's outset – but it could well be Bobby's arc that proves the most interesting and challenging.
Chivalry is available to watch now on All 4.
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