Follow-up to Review
Out of Her Mind – yes she probably is close to the edge. Having now watched the first three episodes, enough is enough: my first impression of the show has been confirmed (see review page). Having said that, I am clearly not the target audience for this show which was written to appeal to women, in much the same way as The Duchess was. No adult woman needs menstruation explained to them so I’m guessing that Pascoe thinks that men do, hence the biology lecture and the technicolour uteri dancing Fantasia style while she sings.
I believe that the surreal scenes are meant to depict the inner workings of her crazed mind projected onto our consciousness. If that is so, then it would appear that she is on the edge of a nervous breakdown: a breakdown that has supposedly been brewing for the previous 15 years. Her mind is unravelling before our eyes, erupting into a display of manic boorish behaviour. This Sara is the kind of person you hope would not sit next to you on the bus and if she did you would studiously peer out of the window to avoid interaction.
Pascoe’s unhinged behaviour doesn’t make her funny. It makes her a rather tiresome, self-obsessed, sad individual for whom it is difficult to have any empathy. The storyline in which her manic behaviour is packaged is not in itself strong enough to bring balance to the proceedings.
A danger for the real Pascoe is that she frequently asserts that the character is actually her, which begs the question, will we now perceive Sara Pascoe, the excellent stand-up performer, as this neurotic person for whom we can at best only show sympathy.
Comedy programmes can make a point but they must be funny. Laughter should be a spontaneous reaction to a situation or a group of words: it should release the endorphins that make us feel happy. If I want to think deeply, I’ll turn to Bertolt Brecht or Sartre.
Out of Her Mind will undoubtedly receive a lot of critical acclaim for pushing the envelope, I do not however go along with Emperor’s new clothes syndrome: so although it will no doubt be widely acclaimed, no doubt win a BAFTA and no doubt be commissioned for a second series, it is sadly not for me.