'A marvellous mixture of comedy and heartfelt observations'

Suki Webster picks her Perfect Playlist

Suki Webster – who is heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with the improv show she performs with her husband Paul Merton – picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites

Zombies vs Cockneys

A British comedy horror film. The title of the film deftly conjures up the theme and tone of this rollicking zombie romp. At a building site, an ancient burial chamber is accidentally unearthed releasing zombies to ravage the East End of London. It features a hapless petty criminal gang of thirtysomething EastEnders and their joyfully chaotic attempt to rob a bank. The gang includes comically aggressive Metal Mickey who is described thus: ‘I heard he once pulled a geezer’s spine out and wore it as a belt.’

We cut between them and the Bow Bells retirement home, a care home for a bunch of brilliantly feisty Cockney OAPs. There are no slippers and pipes or saccharine shots of sweet Nannies and Grandads. This lot swear like troopers, love a knees-up, and become gun toting vigilantes against the zombie apocalypse.

Highlights for me include the slowest ever chase sequence with OAP Richard Briers and his Zimmer frame trying to escape an equally slow zombie. Alan Ford as Grandad Ray pointing a machine gun towards the marauding undead and screaming: 'Oi! You f**king want some an all do yer?’

This gem of a film is brilliantly written and directed, and the ensemble cast are superb. It’s an absolute joy to see pensioners portrayed as action heroes.

My Favourite Year

My Favourite Year is one of my favourite films. It stars the magnificent Peter O’Toole as Alan Swan, a swashbuckling alcoholic film actor well past his prime who has been booked to appear on a live television sketch show.

The script by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palombo is superb and Peter O’Toole‘s performance is just fabulous. For anyone who only thinks of Peter O’Toole as a great dramatic actor you will be astounded by his magnificent comic timing and brilliant comedic physicality. He’s inebriated entrance into the writers’ room is a tour de force. In an effort to prove his sobriety O’Toole does a hilarious somersault onto a table landing slap on his back which knocks him out cold.

Another highlight is when Benjy, a junior comedy writer on the show, takes Alan Swan home to meet his family. Benjy ‘s mother is so excited to meet the debonair Hollywood legend she has inappropriately dressed up in a ball gown. Then Benjy ‘s aunt appears wearing her old wedding dress.

When Alan smoothly asks the mother ‘What should I call you?’ She replies, ‘How about "yours"?’ It’s a wonderfully funny examination of the corrupting allure and power of fame.

I was once lucky enough to meet Peter O’Toole. He came to see an improvisation show I was in with Suzy (Eddie) Izzard. Most stars who popped back to see us would be greeted by Suzy at the green room door and would barely give the rest of us a cursory glance. However, Mr O’Toole swept past Suzy, grabbed me and lifted me into the air and declared that the show was marvellous, and he simply had to know more about me. Such was his personal charisma and charm long after he left, I was still floating.

Brian And Charles

Brian And Charles is a wonderful British film released in 2021 that details the heart-warming relationship between a lonely eccentric man and a robot he builds out of a mannequin head and a washing machine.

On paper, this may sound simply ridiculous but the warmth of the characters, and the brilliant performances, completely draw you in and captivate you throughout.

This film is a marvellous mixture of comedy and heartfelt observations about loneliness, friendship and letting go.

There are many moments that made me erupt into laughter like a joyful volcano. Comic highlights include how Charles reacts when Brian suggests his new friend should be called Tony, Charles’s gleeful dancing and Brian’s endless enthusiasm. And I still like to mispronounce the word Honolulu!

Brian and Charles is written by and stars David Earl and Chris Hayward who are fellow comedy improvisers. I really hope I get to see them performing live one day as that will be a real treat. And if only all bots were as charming and kind as Charles, we would have far less to fear from artificial intelligence.

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is a brilliantly irreverent TV series that combines ridiculous legal plots with some wonderfully intelligent insights into American politics of the time (2004-2008).

This show is a satire, and I warn you, the two main male characters are completely un-PC, however it’s a fantastically comical look at the male ego.

In one episode William Shatner, who plays Danny Crane, is convinced that women find emotional men more attractive. Hoping for a conquest, he attempts to rig up a discrete watering system underneath his eyes to give the impression that he’s crying. Unfortunately, the device malfunctions and his dinner date is hit directly in the face with two jets of water. It’s a wonderfully funny visual gag.

There is another great episode that pays homage to the film Network. Reality TV is put on trial, examining how this genre will affect comedy writers, actors, and other creatives. I only wish the program was still being made as I’d love to see how creator David E Kelly would examine the current debate about AI and the entertainment industry.

Modern Family

This long-running sitcom first aired between 2004 to 2020 offering us a staggering 250 episodes.

In the pilot, we think we are following three separate families. Jay an irascible 60something with a much younger, stunningly beautiful, and hot-headed Colombian wife, Gloria, and her son Manny. Claire a pragmatic and overworked mother of three, married to the utterly lovable, ever cheerful, bumbling fool Phil. And gay couple Mitchell (who is tightly wound) and Cameron (who is emotional and a big fan of the inappropriately grand gesture). Plus, their adopted daughter Lilly.

Hopefully from these brief thumbnails you can see some of the fun you’ll have if you haven’t watched this show already. The action of the first episode then brings all the characters together and we realise Jay is the father of Claire and Mitchell and the patriarch of the whole family.

The show combines wonderfully comedic observations about family situations and dynamics. With killer one-liners, superbly drawn characters, brilliant physical set pieces and some beautifully touching moments.

One of my favourite episodes, Las Vegas, is written as a farce. It features Stephen Merchant as an eager-to-please hotel butler. As the farcical plot gathers pace all the main characters are gathered in one hotel bedroom as six bare chested Scottish men dance into the sound of the bagpipes. Oh, how I laughed at the glorious Kilty Pleasures.

City Lights

Charlie Chaplin took a huge gamble releasing this film in 1931. Sound films, talkies, had arrived in 1927 and quickly made silent films obsolete. Four years later, City Lights, a silent film premiered to universal acclaim.

Its mixture of physical comedy, visual gags and heart-breaking drama wowed audiences around the world. The comic highlight is undoubtedly the beautifully choreographed boxing match.

Charlie and his opponent dance around the ring in unison, with the tramp eager to avoid any physical contact whatsoever. It’s balletic and totally unlike any sequence in the world of sound. Although I have called City Lights a silent film it was released with a recorded musical soundtrack – composed by Charlie himself. Further testimony to his genius.