Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon make "an irresistible double-act" in Michael Winterbottom's tangential adaptation of Laurence Sterne's 18th century tome The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Changing the title to A Cock And Bull Story was just the first step in re-shaping this story to fit the big screen. A bit like Adaptation, it's really about the attempt to film and 'unfilmable' piece of writing and the results provided a welcome shot in the arm for British comedy.
A Line of Bull
In keeping with the spirit of the film, the DVD extras are amusingly semi-surreal. "I'm playing a version of myself that's slightly grotesque," Coogan tells TV interviewer Tony Wilson in what is essentially an extended scene. Here, Coogan sums up Sterne's book as "a post-modern classic before there was any modernism to be post about", and he's later pressed on the similarities between his performance in the film and his TV alter ego Alan Partridge.
In a separate reel of footage from the premiere, Coogan insists that in real life he is actually Edward Bainbridge from Middlesex and has spent the last 40 years "living as Steve Coogan" in preparation for A Cock And Bull Story. "Exhausting," he says, "but I've enjoyed it."
Key to the film's success is the playful banter between Coogan and Brydon and there's more of that in four extended scenes. As they review their work in a darkened theatre, Brydon casually tells Coogan, "You've got a great body." Cue the uncomfortable silence, but this improvised dialogue goes on for almost seven minutes and it's quality all the way. There are more off-kilter laughs in three deleted scenes, including Coogan's awkward encounter with The Grim Reaper. And there are no prizes for guessing why the 'baby flinging' sequence was cut...
Full Frontal
Coogan and Brydon talk you through the main feature in a wry commentary that takes a sharp left turn at every point of seriousness. For instance, they reflect on the strange experience of playing heightened versions of themselves, which meant being " emotionally naked." Of course this then spirals into a series of homoerotic gags where Coogan reveals, "We opened up to each other emotionally and physically," and ends with the disturbing declaration that, in fact, they're also recording this commentary naked. You get the idea...
In the behind-the-scenes section, Stephen Fry pays homage to Laurence Sterne on a guided tour of Shandy Hall. This was where he wrote the book that nobody wanted to publish and which later became a big hit. Fry explains the appeal saying, "Everything goes wrong and then you die - the book's great achievement is to find humour in this." In the same section you'll find fly-on-the-wall video footage of a night shoot involving an army of English Civil War re-enactors.
In summary, this DVD offers an innovative, funny, and thoroughly engaging batch of extras. The downside is that there are no contributions from director Michael Winterbottom or screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. Still, for fans of alternative comedy, this is a must-have disc.
EXTRA FEATURES
A Cock And Bull Story is released on DVD on Monday 10th July
