Created by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, who gave us marital mishap comedy The Worst Week Of My Life, Guantanamo Phil ploughed similar comedic territory in its tale of a meek birdwatcher mistaken by US Marines for a terrorist while crossing the Afghanistan border and summarily detained in Guantanamo Bay for six years. Just released from this living hell, Phil (Steve Edge) returns home to his girlfriend Carly (Rebekah Staton) and tries to adjust to a life of freedom once more.
The jokes came from the fact Phil is a haplessly unlucky man (upon arrival at the airport he's immediately mistaken for a terrorist again by armed police), his friends are all either overprotective (one's convinced he's going to commit suicide so she removes his belt), or insensitive to his ordeal (a man is determined to get the £5 he's been owed six years), and Phil himself has acquired numerous quirks of behaviour as a result of his captivity (he selfishly devours a celebratory cake with his hands, almost pours a cup of urine over his head to "keep cool".)
Guantanamo Phil was pretty weak in terms of storytelling, as numerous things happened but didn't get much follow-through (the talent scout, etc.), and the concept itself was essentially a thin sketch idea stretched to half an hour. It didn't worthy of a full series, and I doubt Bussell and Sbresni even consider it a possibility they'll be asked to write more. No, this felt like they were scratching a creative itch, combining the controversy of Guantanamo Bay and the tale of those British plane-spotters arrested by Greek authorities. Consider the itch scratched, but it all felt eight years behind the curve.
That said, Steve Edge (Star Stories) was pretty good as the gormless Phil, I have a soft spot for Rebekah Staton (Pulling) and her clenched smiles, and the comedy arguably kept you chuckling more regularly than many of this year's Comedy Showcase pieces. It wasn't particularly sharp, clever or insightful, but there were some amusing gags and an endearing sense of silliness. If the story had been stronger and less rambling, I'd have enjoyed it more. But as a daft, extended sketch idea, Guantanamo Phil entertained.
11 December 2009
Channel 4, 10pm
written & directed by: Mark Bussell & Justin Sbresni starring: Steve Edge (Phil Mill), Rebekah Staton (Carly) & Justin Edwards (Government Official)
