|
Keith Allen teams up with a party of teenagers from the Tourette
Scotland support group, and travels with them to France on
a red Routemaster bus. Led by John Davidson, the group's ultimate
goal is a visit to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris,
to see for themselves the place where their condition was
first diagnosed, back in the late 19th century...
In
1989, John's Not Mad, a QED special on the life
of Tourette sufferer John Davidson, was partly responsible
for school children all over the UK swearing, spitting and
being unruly as they mimicked the star of the show. Over night
an icon was born, mainly due to the fact that most kids had
never heard that level of swearing on TV before. John's
Not Mad was the first time many had heard of Tourette's
Syndrome. Many years have passed, so what is Davidson up to
these days?
That
was obviously the basic premise behind this documentary -
find out what childhood icon Davidson is up to now. Maybe
he'll be a PR officer for Royal Mail, or a London taxi driver,
or maybe he's the new head of programming for Channel 5. What
seemed like an interesting idea for a documentary could so
easily have fallen apart, but thankfully Davidson works for
Tourette Scotland, an organisation that helps Scottish suffers
and their families.
I
loved Keith Allen's previous documentary Little
Lady Fauntleroy,
but while his take-no-prisoners interviewing technique worked
well to show the Harries' for the publicity seeking media-whores
that they are, I was a little apprehensive about how he would
treat a bus load of young kids with Tourettes.
I
needn't have worried. Allen treats them like anyone else -
never once patronising them, or making the viewer feel sorry
for what is essentially a group of normal teenage kids. It's
a brave man that interviews a sufferer who spits on you, while
your eating, without raising an eyebrow. But he also takes
no crap either. He's just as aware as they are, that they
can use their condition to their advantage when they want
to. And he presses this point. In the extras on this disc,
Allen gets one of the lads to admit that he has used his condition
to his advantage in the past - swearing at teachers and blaming
it on the illness.
I
couldn't help wondering if the ticks and swearing wasn't made
worse by the TV cameras. Would the kids have sworn so much
if Allen and his crew weren't there?
As
well as debunking the myriad preconceptions about the syndrome,
Allen looks at the humorous side of society's reaction to
Tourettes. By turns funny and touching, it gives the viewer
a rare insight into a group of normal, likeable, and occasionally
mischievous teenagers who are managing to live fulfilling
and rewarding lives, despite the bizarre hand that fate has
dealt them.
The
biggest star, for me, on this DVD was not Allen, Davidson
or any of the other Tourette sufferers, but Dixon the Ghanaian
bus driver. What a star. Okay, he can't sing, and his religious
beliefs are arguably the result of too many home made Ghanaian
cigarettes, but he is the coolest, laid back individual you
could ever wish to meet.
Extras
include extended and additional scenes; Stills Gallery
(set to the tune of Summer Holiday); John's Not
Mad trailer; Little Lady Fauntleroy trailer; and
text information on Tourette Scotland.
The
extended scenes are certainly worth watching as it reveals
a few things that should have been left in the finished edit.
For example, while watching some men fishing Davidson admits
that he had a strong urge to push the men in the river. Allen
laughs and says so did he. But it's Allen's next revelation
that is really shocking. He admits that he has to keep away
from the platform edge and tube stations as he has an urge
to push people in front of trains. Word of warning. If you
see Allen on a tube platform in the future, keep as far away
from the edge as possible.
If
I have one complaint, it's that this programme is too short.
Sadly we don't really get to know the kid's as well as we
should. While we get some interesting interviews with some
of the kid's others are left out. But, other than that, this
is a f*cking great DVD.
Darren
Rea
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£11.99
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£11.99
(Play.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£13.99
(HMV.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£11.99
(Sendit.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£10.99
(Bensons-world.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
