Reeves & Mortimer

by Bruce Dessau

Reeves and Mortimer are the comic sensation of the 1990s. This twosome has become a household name with a unique style of turbo-charged comedy which is also a living history of modern humour. On the one hand they seem to have the ability to be tap into the British appreciation of the completely puerile and on the other hand they can create comedy as clever and sophisticated as anythingby the Pythons, Spike Milligan or Jacques Tatti. The book of the Big Night Out sold 250,000 copies, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer won a Silver Rose at Montrose, Shooting Stars is the most popular TV show on BBC2 pulling in nearly 6 million viewers and they now tour 2000 seat theatres. But like all success it's not been a fairy tale and the pair can be difficult to work with.They are known for using support acts and dropping them if they get good. Their working methods are punctilious and professional sometimes to a fanatical degree.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did kind of expect this book to just tell me facts I already know because they are my favourite comedians but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of research and learnt a lot that I didn’t know. It is true that most of the book focuses on Vic Reeves, but I can see why he has decided to do that. Some of the book seemed quite directionless and as if it had been put together in a random order but the chapters about their childhoods were brilliant and it was a very analytical book!

[Emma Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very straightforward biography, with some nice little anecdotes. Focus was mainly on Vic Reeves.
For a book on a comedy double act, there was very little comedy in the writing, but I guess that’s to be expected.

[Stark]

Nothing of note but better than reading a mediocre comedy book that’s not about Vic and Bob.

[Stan Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - started ok but author seems to panic towards end by cramming in irrelevant/ cod-philosophy.

[Maya Panika · Rating 3 out of 5]

A straightforward telling of a tale – the writing doesn’t exactly leap from the page, the prose does not dance; in fact in a few places, the writing was so clumsy I had a job to tell just exactly the author was actually trying to say, but I came to this biography as a dyed in the wool Vic and Bob fan, I’m a captive audience, I was bound to keep reading. The story is interesting, the anecdotes entertaining.

It’s an older book than I realised. It finishes just when the story was actually getting most interesting – Randall and Hopkirk was just being made, Bang Bang and Catterick and the half-decade lull in Vic and Bob’s careers were still in the future when this book was written. A follow-up seems long overdue.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read filled with lots of details and anecdotes, and ultimately satisfied my Vic & Bob needs. However, a lot of it was very Reeves-centric, not a lot of stuff on Mortimer, and some of the name dropping went over my head. Pardon me for being a Yank! A further update would be nice, since now that the duo have already finished their Randall & Hopkirk reboot, had Shooting Stars cancelled, and have gone on to create more new series. The photos were a nice touch, though - Judge Nutmeg!

Note to self: obtain a copy of Jim Moir's book(s). Y'all know he's got some strange stories to tell.

[Kathryn Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, Loved it, LOVED IT! was such a great read that every time i went to put it down for a bit, i had to pick it back up to read some more. It was a great book to get me back into reading once more. The only problem i had with it was that it seemed to mainly focus more on Jim/Vic and less on Bob. I love them both but ifelt that most of Bob's background and what he gets up to in his spear time was lacking. I would have loved to read more about what goes on with Bob