Opinion: Is The Bros Doc The Funniest Show Of 2018?

Update: in case you missed this and don't understand the concept of iPlayer this is being repeated on BBC2 on Saturday, January 26.

 

The comments started flooding in on social media pretty soon after it started but I didn't need to read them. I was already watching and laughing at Bros: After The Screaming Stops last Sunday night myself. The feature-length documentary about Luke and Matt Goss, aka Bros, reuniting for a gig at the 02 Arena was priceless, must-see television.

The comedy was presumably unintentional but as the brothers talked about their life and their philosophy the quote-worthy lines came thick and fast. Matt, the lead singer who has recently had a Vegas residency, delivered the best lines, though drummer-turned-actor Luke chipped in too. When one wasn't laughing one was watching through one's fingers as they had an argument. You could cut the tension with a knife as they had a bust-up just as they were about to appear on This Morning to plug their stage show. By the end one did have some sympathy for their emotional turmoil and personal issues, but not before one had had a good laugh.

One notable comic highlight of the access-all-areas film, directed by Joe Pearlman, was them revisiting their south London home and recalling how they were so poor they didn't have a dartboard, just one dart which they used to throw in the air for fun. Talk soon turned to the demise of conkers in the UK due to health and safety.

Maybe the key scene to the programme, dubbed #Spinalbros on Twitter, was the visit to Matt's home, full of crystals and pristine sofas. And in one corner a well-stocked bar with a picture of his pet bulldog Alfie clutching a pint of foaming beer...

It is no surprise people on Twitter have been saying it is funnier than This Is Spinal Tap.

Here are some choice lines from the documentary. Maybe the full title should have been Bros: After The Screaming Stops The Giggling Starts.

 

"I made a conscious decision because of Stevie Wonder not to be superstitious" 

“I’m obsessed with the news, it ironically relaxes me, if I don’t see the news I don’t feel informed then I can’t go about my day properly. CNN is the thinking man’s reality show.”

"Embankment. Big Ben. Cab drivers!"

"The letters H.O.M.E. are so important because they personify the word home." 

"Rome wasn't built in a day. But we don't have the time that Rome had."

“We had so many band names. Summerhouse. Gloss. Caviar. We didn’t know what it was but we knew it was expensive. When we found out it was fish eggs, we thought that wasn’t a good look for a band.” 

“Everyone has to be on the same page otherwise you don’t get to turn the page. Because somebody gets left behind otherwise and then somebody has lost the page of the story which maybe key to the ending.” 

“I think hindsight is the philosophy of fools." 

 

Watch Bros: After The Screaming Stops here.

 

 

Articles on beyond the joke contain affiliate ticket links that earn us revenue. BTJ needs your continued support to continue - if you would like to help to keep the site going, please consider donating.

Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.