Writers: Julian Barratt & Noel Fielding
Director: Paul KingCast: Julian Barratt (Howard Moon/Head Of The Shaman Board), Noel Fielding (Vince Noir/Tony Harrison/The Moon), Richard Ayoade (Saboo), Rich Fulcher (Lester Corncrake/Bob Fossil), Dave Brown (Bollo) & Michael Fielding (Naboo)
Howard reluctantly agrees Vince can throw him a birthday party, which quickly turns into a disaster…Am I the only one disappointed with this new series? It seems to lack the zany energy of previous years, and hasn't been particularly imaginative. The Mighty Boosh TV series is often described as being "two friends who go on magical journeys" but, beyond the excellent Journey To The Centre Of The Punk, series 3 has remained frustratingly tied to the Nabootique shop.
Party is the penultimate episode and suffers from the same claustrophobia, as the entire episode takes place inside the shop. Vince (Noel Fielding) convinces boring Howard (Julian Barratt) to let him throw a birthday party, officially to make up for a childhood mix-up over a bouncy castle, but unofficially just to impress his other friends and have some fun.
Howard agrees to the party, but only because a sexy customer says she's going and he fancies his chances – not realizing she's a fake set-up by Vince to change his mind.
After a typically slow start, the episode begins to hit a stride once the party is in full swing and a host of crazy characters fill up the dance floor; from goofy Lester Corncrake and Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher) to the bizarre Shaman Board -- led by Dennis (Julian Barratt), who has given up the chance to spend time with his Extreme Sports calendar model wife to be there…
By this stage, I was a little depressed that everything was again focused on one location, with the same supporting characters. As much as I like Bob Fossil and cockney squid-head Tony Harrison ("it's an outrage"), I'd rather the show explore new locations and introduce new people. We even get a reprise appearance of Chris DeBurgh...
Fortunately, the laughs and plot kick in once Howard make a woefully unfunny speech -- eliciting only blank stares, until Vince makes his grandiose entrance. As ever, the plot is twisted to fit in the final third, with Vince caught in a cupboard with Dennis' model wife and chased around the shop by the sword-wielding shaman.
More interesting is a moment when Vince scoffs at Howard's belief he could ever be considered gay, which is returned to later when the pair have to kiss each other so Vince can escape decapitation by jealous Dennis. The moment gives virgin Howard has an epiphany – that he is gay and madly in love with Vince after all these years, which explains the tension in their friendship. Sure, it all fizzles out in a matter of minutes once two pretty women appear, but it was the episode's most compelling few minutes.
Overall, Party takes its time to get moving, but the last 15 minutes are quite strong and there are some memorable moments – such as Naboo (Michael Fiedling) revealing he has no genitals, a brilliant "Spin The Bottle" gag, and a closing moment with Tony Harrison shagging the chopped-off head of Lester Corncrake.
But, try as I might, I still think this series has been less than stellar. I've also never rated most of the Boosh's comedy songs (with a bouncy castle ditty here being particularly inane), and series 3 is generally very restrained if compared to series 1 and 2. The sense of freewheeling craziness and adventuring has taken a backseat... to be replaced with kooky banter, a few fun visuals and a fondness for bringing back old faces.
The show's playing around in safe territory and, sadly, it's too late to fix it...
13 December 2007
BBC Three, 10.30 pm
