Summer Heights High (DVD)

...It is here, one of Summer Heights High’s finest exchange students first appears.


The series consists of 8 half hour long episodes, set in sequence following the life of a term at Summer Heights High, a state school in the suburbs. As already alluded to, it follows the lives of three very different characters in the school. Each gives the impression of living their everyday lives whilst being followed be a camera crew for a documentary ...
...He has been at Summer Heights High for 9 years, and in alternate years is responsible for the school play, including such classics as Ikea the Musical, and Tsunamarama – a tribute to the victims of the tsunami set to the music of Bananarama... We hear how his latest inspiration came after the death of a pupil at the school from an Ecstasy overdose, a pupil he never taught I might point out. He goes on to create Mr G: The Musical, looking at how he ... more

Rated 15 – Warning, contains very strong language and very adult humour - not for the easily offended.
Disc 1 contains 8 30 minute episodes making up the whole series.
Disc 2 contains 3 and a half hours of outtakes, the trailer for ‘We Could Be Heroes’, and subtitles.

When this was shown on BBC 3, we first saw it completely by chance. They had obviously just finished showing the series, as they were doing one of those marathons where they show all the episodes at once. We were flicking through for something to watch and this seemed to be the only option. We missed the first couple, and had never heard anything about the programme before, so for a good while were more than a little confused. Because of the fantastic costumes, supporting actors, and amazing acting ability of Chris Lilley, it wasn’t immediately obvious that one actor played all three of the leading characters. This, coupled with that feeling many of you remember when you first saw The Office and hadn’t heard of Ricky Gervais – namely one where it looks like a legitimate documentary style programme watching normal characters, but they can’t be real can they? Something wasn’t quite right, but we weren’t sure what... As we eventually clicked and realised what was going on, it was impossible not to get sucked in for the rest of the night. When they re-ran the series again watching just one episode at a time was never enough. As a result, Santa knew what to do and bought me the DVD last Christmas.

The series is written, and the three main characters are played by Chris Lilley, an Australian comedian. He had previously written another spoof documentary ‘We Can Be Heroes’, which followed the run up to the Australian of the year competition, Lilley playing all five contestants, and the final of the competition. It is here, one of Summer Heights High’s finest exchange students first appears.

The series consists of 8 half hour long episodes, set in sequence following the life of a term at Summer Heights High, a state school in the suburbs. As already alluded to, it follows the lives of three very different characters in the school. Each gives the impression of living their everyday lives whilst being followed be a camera crew for a documentary series looking at their school and their lives within it. Each episode cuts seamlessly across their lives, from one character to the next, with them having small segments of a few minutes at a time. This is understandable as Lilley would have struggled to play the individual characters so well if they were all together. Having three separate main characters allows the opportunity for depth in your relationship with them, and to try and truly understand the subtleties, or not so subtleties in the humour. This is in stark contrast to most modern sketch shows that only have time for quick and repetitive sequences to ensure all the characters get an airing. It is a crafty stage technique, allowing the action to cut away to something completely different yet familiar at any climatic points in the action. It also secures the interest of the viewer as you wait for your favourite character to reappear.

I have alluded to the three characters, but have not yet given much detail. Over the course of the series we follow them through the everyday trials and tribulations of the term. Firstly, there is my personal favourite, Jonah Takalua. Jonah is in year 8, which I guess is around 13 years old, and is originally from Tonga. He loves break dancing, drawing, is in the Poly-Force Crew – made up of the other Islander boys – and attends Gumnut Cottage for remedial reading for 5 periods a week. We see life from his perspective, about how he just wants to do fun things and struggles to keep up with his behaviour contract and his tumultuous relationship with his dad who raises him alone. Add in all the usual hormonal issues, girls and establishing the hierarchy of alpha males and you have Jonah. The teacher does comment in the first episode on how he struggles as he is physically advanced for his tender years. He and the crew get up to all sorts, show you the graffiti inside the boys’ bathroom – particularly Jonah’s Dick_Tation tag – how they end up mentoring a group of Little Brothers who are not settling in well at their new school, and how Jonah creatively got out of his homework assignment. The rest of the Poly-force crew are normal young teenage boys, and provide some fantastic acting and only reinforce Jonah’s role as a 13 year old. He’s one of those boys that makes you shake your head – as with the amount of time they spend trying to find ways of not doing things, they could have finished the original task half way through. But, everyone’s school had their Jonah, and if you’re not at the mercy of their behaviour, you can’t help but want to mother them. Even after several watches, seeing how life turns out for him still almost brings a tear to my eye!

Next up is Helen ‘Greg’ Gregson, but given the popular name Mr G by his pupils. My partner described him as ‘truly an appalling human being’, which isn’t far from the mark to be honest! For me, he is how Eric Cartman would turn out twenty five years on if he lived and taught in Australia, and ever aged past 8! Mr G is a drama teacher, who through the course of the series, takes over temporarily as Director of Performing arts. He is himself an ‘industry standard professional’ in dancing, singing, and acting – make him that rarest of talents, ‘a triple threat’. He has been at Summer Heights High for 9 years, and in alternate years is responsible for the school play, including such classics as Ikea the Musical, and Tsunamarama – a tribute to the victims of the tsunami set to the music of Bananarama... We hear how his latest inspiration came after the death of a pupil at the school from an Ecstasy overdose, a pupil he never taught I might point out. He goes on to create Mr G: The Musical, looking at how he influenced the pupil’s life and how he had tried to warn her away from sex and drugs. Alongside this plot, Mr G is also trying to secure funding for the Gregson Performing Arts Centre, his vision of a perfect teaching space and theatre complex. With this he has run-ins with the headmistress, an incredibly down to earth likeable woman who looks as though she hasn’t got long left until she is free to retire, and also with the special-ed kids. She never brings into question the idea of her being an actress or it being a comedy show – she simply is the Headmistress of Summer Heights High.

WARNING: Mr G is walking an incredibly thin tightrope, veering somewhere between completely political incorrect, and an interesting perspective on how ‘normal’ society reacts to those who are different. Personally I am not offended by this, as the character of Mr G is one there to both love and hate – to challenge our own preconceptions and ideologies - and that makes your skin crawl – again a little like Gervais in his role as David Brent. This said, one of his supporting characters, Toby, who has Down ’s syndrome, cannot help but steal Mr G’s spotlight, and even softens his harder edges. Toby is simply fantastic, his comedy timing and ability to stop Mr G in his tracks with a well timed hug or comment are second to none, and he does a fantastic job playing Mr G in the final production of Mr G the musical, and of course with Mr G himself on the microphone doing all the speaking and singing – as no one else was quite good enough for that part! And before I move on, I must also give a notable mention to another of Mr G’s co-stars, Celine. Celine is a Chihuahua, seemingly Mr G’s only true friend. Their relationship appears based more on dependency than love. Celine was bought as a puppy on the advice of a friend in the showbiz industry, who said they were going to be next big breed, with all sorts of opportunities for acting. She has acted in commercials, and is due to take a starring role in Mr G the musical. Their relationship is not founded on reward and praise, but on negative reinforcement. Her heartbreaking story is particularly bizarre...

The final star of the documentary is Ja’mie (pronounced Ja-May). Ja’mie usually attends a very expensive and exclusive school, and is spending just one term at Summer Heights High on what can only be described as a cultural exchange, aimed at demonstrating that education across Australia is of a consistently high standard. This character is what really demonstrates Chris Lilley’s comedy genius. How many other white, thirty something year old men can firstly play a Tongan 13 year old and a thirty something year old teacher of the calibre of Mr G, both exceptionally convincingly – before taking on the role of Ja’mie, sixteen year old, popular, hot, girl? Very few me thinks.

Ja’mie (originally Jamie but she had it changed for obvious reasons...) has come to Summer Heights High on a government program, but also for her own reasons. Partly she wants to see what life is like in the suburbs and to challenge her own views of what it is like to be a povo (poor). Partly, she seems to love being the centre of attention, and the superiority complex she has obtained in her sheltered life thus far serves her well putting her new classmates into place. Lilley’s portrayal of the trials and tribulations of popular teenage girls can only be described as first class – getting every detail just right, and looking entirely comfortable in his school uniform. The relationship between the popular girls has its ups and downs; Ja’mie becomes the first girl in her year to date someone in year 7; and she attempts to bring a bit of class to Summer Heights by trying to organise a year 11 formal. If you like cringeworthy but realistic comedy, with Lilley once again examining Ja’mie’s less than savoury personality and understanding of the lives of the everyday teenage girl, this is for you.

Finally, a few words about Disc 2. It contains a whopping three and a half hours of outtakes and extended scenes. It is divided up into the three characters, with each having their own menu and the choice to run through the whole lot or to pick individual scenes. There is some cracking stuff on here, including a few scenes were Jonah is doing such a good job, the rest of the Poly-force crew can only try and hide their laughter. Watch out for Leon in particular, he’s completely fantastic. Having read an interview with Lilley on Yahoo some time ago, I seem to remember him saying that rather than censoring himself, he just recorded and pushed things as far as he could, then got brutal in the final cut when decisions had to be made. This is shown in some of the outtakes, and makes an intriguing watch. Be warned, also for this reason – that he has pushed the boundaries as far as can - he also feels he has taken everything from these characters for now, and has no immediate intention to create a second series. This is an admirable quality in the days of re-runs and tired one-liners. These three characters will retain their charm and integrity. Less is very definitely the potential for more.

*Also posted on Dooyoo under nicolap82*.

 

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