Norman Lovett is probably best known for his role as Holly in the brilliant Science-Fiction comedy series Red Dwarf, and as he walks on stage for this live stand-up show he acknowledges that Holly is perhaps the reason why most of the audience are there.
At 60 years of age (though he doesn't look it) you may expect an old fashioned skit of puns and punchlines, but Norman's act wouldn't look out of place coming from a guy in his twenties - though nobody else could quite capture the brilliant deadpan whimsy of Lovett. As he stands on stage playing and rating the performances of various plastic bags (a Sainsbury's bag scores a 4, in case you wondered) he engages with the audience and drifts into some surreal and quite brilliant tangents.
Although this isn't a consistently hilarious routine it has some fantastic moments and is never less than amusing. Norman is compelling to watch, you're never sure if he is playing some sort of character or not but you get the distinct feeling that this is a fairly honest portrayal of the man himself. This doesn't feel too rehearsed, instead of polished it has the feel of an improvised routine and is delivered in a natural way. Lovett doesn't appear desperate to get laughs from the audience, he looks to be enjoying himself on stage in a relaxed atmosphere and the audience are won over by his strange brilliance.
The main feature runs for just over 50 minutes and a bonus feature where Norman Lovett reflects on his standup career (amongst other things) adds another ten minutes to this DVD release.
In a nutshell: After watching this I must say that it was a pleasure to spend nearly an hour in the company of a man who appears effortlessly entertaining and made me laugh out loud at the TV. Many would find portions of this DVD lacking in laughs but I personally enjoyed it, it's a shame that this is Lovett's only Stand Up DVD as I'd love to see more.
NOTE: Bag fans will love this DVD, but biscuit lovers may be disappointed as Norm ate them all prior to the recording.
