“Meet Steve and Becky – lazy, unemployed and filthy.” So goes the voiceover introducing BBC3’s “anti-romantic comedy”, Him and Her. Sadly, not only is there a lack of romance, there is also a marked lack of comedy.
Yes, BBC3’s fascination with twenty-somethings continues, and here we find them in what appears to be their natural habitat – a grotty bedsit strewn with unwashed clothes, dirty dishes and other assorted grime. Neither of them have jobs, nor do they have the slightest interest in finding one. All they want to do is eat, drink, sleep and have sex – lots and LOTS of sex.
Another Low For BBC Three Comedy
“You are very good at blow jobs, and I am very good at receiving them,” drawls ultra-suave Steve (Russell Tovey) from amidst the stained sheets. If there was ever a candidate for Man Most In Love With Himself, it would have to be Steve. He’s obviously meant to be a macho, jack-the lad type, but he’s so utterly unlikeable it’s a wonder his mother goes anywhere near him, never mind a girlfriend.
It’s Steve’s flat, so Steve makes the rules. No eating in bed – he hates crumbs. If you use the toilet you’d better flush, or Steve will have the largest hissy fit known to man. And if Becky (Sarah Solemani) wants to let her sister cross the hallowed threshold of their love nest, she has to promise to let Steve watch as she “gets intimate” with a sex toy. In short, he’s an obsessive control freak.
For such a stud muffin, Steve has a nasty misogynistic streak. He readily agrees to cover for Becky’s sister’s fiancé after he has a one night stand, lying to her face when she asks if Steve knows where he’s been. As a “punishment” for demanding toast in bed, he gives it to her only after it falls on the floor, straight onto a wad of matted hair. And Becky’s request for a mango is met with the sneering “Who the f*** do you think you are? They’re a pound each.”
Not Even A Decent Cast Could Save Him and Her
So what does Becky bring to the relationship? There’s plenty of parading around in next to nothing to keep the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps crowd entertained, and her idea of working up a sweat is to play video games and talk on the phone at the same time. Basically, she’s Steve with better legs and an actual personality. And occasionally she will bite back, taunting his manliness with the closest thing the show has to a joke. “You’re the inspiration for those little pens in Argos, aren’t you love?”
Of course other sitcoms, most notably The Royle Family, have successfully utilized the “nothing much happens” concept. If only there had been one moment when the two leads actually appeared to care about each other, that they did have their own cosy, loving world, it might have been a starting point. But thanks to Stefan Golaszewski’s smutty, juvenile script the whole show appears to be some low-grade porn movie, with Becky just the latest in a long line of Steve’s blow-up dolls.
Him and Her (Monday, 10.30pm) is simply the latest in a long line of BBC3 “lads’ shows”, churned out to show how hip and up-to-date the channel is (or wishes it was). Yet another tedious, puerile waste of the licence fee.
Arlene Kelly - Born and raised in a small prairie town, by the time I graduated high school I decided I’d had enough of Manitoba winters and headed ...
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