Primal squeam
Why you might findHang Upsunsuitable for family viewing
W
atchingTVwithyourparentshas
alwaysbeenaminefield,andwe
allknowthatsinkingfeeling
whenthecharactersstartsnoggingandyou
have a pretty good idea of what’s going to
happennext.You’redesperatelyhopingfor
a cut to the next scene or a tasteful dissolve
orasurprisephonecall,butnope,itlooks
likeyou’regoingtohavetoendurewatching
people having sex while
your mum’s sitting next
toyoueatingaWalnut
Whipandyourdadis
peeringoverhisglasses.
So with that in mind,
pictureifyouwill,the
scene.Myfolkscameto
visit and we all sat down
to watch that lovely
Stephen Mangan in
Hang Ups(Cha n nel 4)
thetaleofwebtherapist
Richard Pitt, who deals
withhisinsanepatients,
hisloserbestfriend,his
overbearing father
(Cha rles Da nce at his
casually vicious best)
and his own weirdo
therapist (only bloody
RichardEGrant)via
his laptop.
Meanwhile, in 3D
reality behind him, his wife (Katherine
Parkinson) is spending a lot of time with her
workcolleagueandgoingawayontripsto
Zurich,andhishouseisfullofteenagersin
various states of undress/self obsession,
doing Inbet weeners-style stuff like
watchingcartoonpornandslippingonpuke.
Loosely based on an American show star-
ringLisaKudrow,mostofHang Upsis shot
on webcam with lots of fantastic semi-
scripted, semi-improvised performances
TV
“Hang Ups is
outrageously
funny – and
absolutely
filthy”
Stephen Mangan (top) and Katherine ParkinsonREAD MORE FROM...VISIT BIGISSUE.COMLUCY SWEETfrom people you’ve seen being brilliant in
other things but you can’t quite remember
what they were. Oh and people you
definitely know, like Jessica Hynes and
David Tennant. Mangan is always likeable
and I once had a conversation on Twitter
with him about halloumi. So I already love
everything about this concept. Right, kettle
on, let’s go.
And Hang Ups is great.
It really is cringingly, out-
rageously funny. But it is
also absolutely f***ing
fi lthy. I can’t decide which
bit made me want to run
out of the house
screaming most. Maybe it
was the posh, gin-soaked
woman talking about how
her husband kept cats as a
subtle way to torture her
for an incident at school
when she was exposed in
the showers for having a
“bald tuppence”. Or
Richard E Grant advising
him that whenever he
thought of his father he
should squeeze his own
genitals. Or the scene
when his wife put on a
condom that snapped
against his balls and
ruined the moment. Yes, in retrospect, it
could have been that one. At one point, to
break the tension, I loudly said, “My God
there’s a lot of sex in this!” to which my mum
casually replied: “Oh well, we’ve all been
there and done that.” O...KAY. If you’ll
excuse me, I just have to leave the room now
to check I haven’t left the grill on. And while
I’m there, I might page Dr Freud.@lucytweet1