Pitch perfect: the duo’s comedy is perfectly judged
Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins return to our screens as contract killers in the second series of their quirky Sky Original sitcom Hitmen.
Hitmen: Reloaded sees the duo stretching credulity once again as incompetent assassins, but this time they’re getting a lot of target practice courtesy of a new client.
While Fran (Sue) and Jamie (Mel) leave much to be desired as hired guns, there’s nothing half-cocked about this show.
Co-written by Joe Markham and Joe Parham, the script has Mel and Sue’s shtick all over it. There isn’t a line that rings false – it plays like they wrote it themselves.
The six-part Sky Comedy series is every bit as entertaining as its predecessor, but its storyline is a little more involved.
Enter Katherine Parkinson as the third regular character, Kat, an old school acquaintance of the duo’s who has become a self-help guru and invites the temporarily homeless Jamie to stay with her in her enormous mansion.
Fran, a natural born cynic, suspects foul play, and finds herself competing for Jamie’s attention as Kat drives a wedge between the pair (Jamie remains cheerfully oblivious to these dastardly goings-on).
Each episode comes with a delicious cameo performance – Nina Wadia, Alan Asaad and Mathew Baynton are simply brilliant as, respectively, a mouthy spa owner-cum-people trafficker, a teenage private investigator, and an actor who thinks the mass execution he carries out is just a scene in a movie.
And some of the set pieces, such as Fran and Jamie waking up in a coffin together, are perfectly judged.
It brings back memories – and not entirely fond ones. “Ah yes,” grins Mel, “the two of us, snuggled up, in a 6ft x 3ft box. We started to lose oxygen and the hysteria kicked in.
One of the UK’s favourite double acts are still going strong – but can they survive five hours in a coffin? Joseph Furey finds out
Mel and Sue fire on all cylinders in Hitmen: Reloaded
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“It didn’t help that Mel had the cauliflower option for lunch,” grimaces Sue. “It added a real sense of danger to the incarceration.”
I wonder if Mel and Sue can foresee further series.
“It has legs, yes,” says Sue. “But we won’t have them for much longer, not without them being heavily varicose.”
“You’ll be on a bath chair, and I’ll have a frame of some sort,” Mel chimes in.
“It will become a really violent version of Midsomer Murders or Rosemary & Thyme,” says Sue. “Elderly people, but with Uzis.”
Mel and Sue are closing in on “national treasure” status. As Ruth Jones’s character in Gavin & Stacey describes her sexual attraction to James Corden’s Smithy: “We’re like Hall and Oates, Morecambe and Wise, Mel and Sue!” Viewers know a genuine friendship when they see one, but they are bound to wonder if the duo still feel the magic of working together after nearly 30 years.
“It’s so much fun, honestly,” says Mel. “You’re essentially being paid to be silly with your best mate. You wear funny costumes and get silly things to say. If we stop having a laugh, it will be time to put the bag of props away, but while it’s still good fun, we’ll keep going.”
Sue agrees: “We love each other and we have a laugh. I’d be very happy to be doing this well into my eighties.”
Watching the show, I couldn’t help but think that some of the scenes must have posed a physical challenge for the duo.
“We started the first week doing some heavy stuntage,” says Sue, “which at my age is a bit of an ask, I won’t lie. In my head, I’m Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix. In reality, I’m Bella Emberg as Blunder Woman. The difference between me and a real assassin is that my hip flexors really twang the next day.
The
hitlist
Katherine Parkinson
as Kat Gaitskill
Nina Wadia
as Siobhan
Sanjeev Bhaskar
as Robin Sharma
Mathew Baynton
as Kieran Roberts
This is Mel and Sue doing what they do best. They’re a classic comic double act with the kind of chemistry no lab could concoct. Whether they’re bumping off a ruthless drug dealer dressed as a football mascot or doing away with a human trafficker, the duo bring a lightness of touch to some very dark settings. Their friendship clearly underpins their banter.
Our expert analysis of series two
Killer reviews
Mel and Sue bring a lightness of touch to some dark settings
Bruce Dessau
arts critic
The superimposition of the harsh world of contract killing on the sweetness of a close friendship works a treat. Fran and Jamie tease each other and squabble over trivialities while disposing of a body. The comedy is sustainable because the friendship at its heart feels real. Mel and Sue still relish each other’s sense of humour. Long may they continue.
The comedy is sustainable because the friendship at its heart feels real
Izzy Mant
comedian
A shotgun blast of fast-paced carnage and deliciously dark humour, this show keeps you on the edge of your seat. Despite its body count, Sky’s action comedy has a warm heart. This is thanks to the deep bond of friendship between Mel and Sue. Theirs is one of the most enduring screen double acts.
Despite the
body count,
this action comedy has a
warm heart
Stephen Dalton
film critic
“You’re basically John Wick in a sports bra,” beams Fran to Jamie, or, more precisely, Sue to Mel. One of the many pleasures of this second series is how cineliterate it remains. The concept is a wonderfully English take on Tarantino. What if Vincent and Jules from Pulp Fiction had a British sense of humour?
The concept is
a wonderfully English take
on Tarantino
Ian Nathan
film writer
Watch
Hitmen: Reloaded on Sky Comedy
– available from September 29
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