Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Families, eh?, 26 Sep 2008
Having read all the reviews of this drama, I would agree that in parts, it doesn't quite deliver. However, in the interest of balance I have to say it's not THAT bad!
The plot is standard fare - five siblings are re-united after 20 years estrangement at their father's funeral.
As the will is read, their dysfunction becomes apparent - Fragile minds, fractured marriages, and the threat that the sinister secret shared by two of the sisters, will be finally uncovered.
Writer Debbie Horsefield ('Cutting It') does sometimes veer perilously close to caricature, but she does at least have a canny ear for capturing the natural rhythms of Northern speech.
Although this is largely a female-centric piece, most of the acting plaudits surely belong to the men.
No-one exudes grimy menace quite like David Bradley, and both Paul McGann and Brendan Coyle (as Nash and Kaz, respectively) deliver winningly understated performances.
But for me, it was Paul Hilton's turn as the comically phobic, mascara-loving Dennis who was the real delight.
Like a sexually bewildered Harold Steptoe, Hilton presents a man both revelling in and recoiling from, all the years left alone in his Father's company. As Dennis, he nabs all the best clothes, most of the best lines and injects them with a sort of wounded glee.
All in all, 'True Dare Kiss' is a bit of a quirky concoction. If the Waltons had been created by Edgar Allan Poe and Tim Burton decided to lock them up in a decaying Mancunian Townhouse and film them, it may well have ended up something like this.
Granted, it's not Pinter or Kafka (although, I do think they may have appreciated one or two of the characters...) but in a TV landscape dominated by Reality shows and U.S imports, there is something unapologetically British about 'True Dare Kiss', and I applaud it for that.
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9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Flat and Lifeless!, 29 Aug 2007
My wife persuaded me to watch the first episode of the TV series and I was hooked. Strong cast, beautifully filmed and promising a great unravelling of the dark secret(s) that the Father, 4 daughters and the son have gone through. Sadly, episodes 2 to 6 failed to deliver. The cast tried valiantly to make the characters come alive but there's only so much they could do with the limp script. Even the promise of the great reveal at the end became vague and ambiguous. We were left with a mild twist at the end that wasn't very satisfying. So much of the story was relayed to the viewer by watching people make / take mobile phone calls or sending / receiving texts that it became tedious. No wonder the characters weren't brought to life if all the actors were forced to do was use their phones! I love good drama - Sci-fi, costume, romantic, crime, mystery - this wasn't good. A great idea, brilliantly set up, but nowhere to go after the first 60 minutes. Buy at your peril!
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8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
gothic light, 2 Sep 2007
The setting of a decaying gothic victorian house was a great matephorical backdrop to visualise the lies and secrets at the heart of a disfunctional mancunian set of siblings, reunited after the death of their cruel twisted father. The trouble was the only real grit was on the kitchen floor. The series was gripping and compulsive. The acting excellent, and the production values lavish. BUT THE SCRIPT WAS RIDICULOUS!!! I can only assume that because it was shown over July and August it wasn't supposed to be viewed as anything more that a light hearted untaxing filler, in an undemanding summer shedule.I kind of wish I hadnt watched it because due to the silly ending it was totally forgettable.
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