Philomena Cunk: Life on Earth

Based on reviews by friends, Agatha and I sat down and watched the first three Netflix episodes of ‘Philomena Cunk: Cunk on Earth’. I’d seen a few sketches on YouTube and thought them and her hilarious, so Agatha and I loaded up the wine glasses with chilled Pinot Gris and paid close attention to what Netflix was streaming to us.

We concluded that the show would probably only appeal to a smaller audience, as not everyone will get the jokes. Many will watch the first episode and at best smile, but vow never to watch the second.

This is British comedy, but not of the era of ‘The Young Ones’ or Morecambe and Wise. This is ‘literate’ comedy, and will appeal most to those who love to play with words, or who are wordsmiths. As I said, not everyone’s cup of tea. But I found myself slapping my thighs repeatedly as Cunk trips over her own ignorance and stupidity; ‘Were the pyramids built from the top down or from the bottom up?’

Aussies of a certain age will remember the genius of Norman Gunston. He too played with words, and at first few Australians ‘got it’.

Esteemed professors from the finest UK universities, obviously not in on the joke, take Philomena’s questions at face value; their faces not really hiding their bewilderment at the inane questions from this clearly stupid, uneducated young woman. Only one professor cottoned on to what she was doing and he (a close relative of Professor Dumbledore) played along beautifully, like Paul McCartney did on first meeting Norman Gunston, only this time around this new comedian is without the Brylcreemed combover and tissue paper on her face.

If you want to sample some ‘Philomena Cunk’ for yourself, check out these videos on YouTube. If you have Netflix, feast on the whole series before she becomes so popular that you will lose your ‘trendsetter’ status if you take too long.

She’s worth it.