First, the gorilla in the kitchen. Gina Riley is hilarious as the self-absorbed Kim and Jane Turner equally so as her perky mother, Kath, but they don't really look like mother and daughter (appearance-wise or age-wise) but this series is so funny that you soon stop focusing on that. The Australian suburbs provides the perfect setting for this series about two oblivious women living mediocre lives (the fact that the theme song for the series is "The Joker is Me" should tip you off to that fact). They are ably assisted by Magda Szubanski playing Kim's best friend (Sharon) to bathetic perfection, Peter Rowsthorn as Kim's on again/off again husband, and Glenn Robins as Kel, Kath's new boyfriend (who she marries later in the series). (Note: Glenn is NOT a butcher but a "purveyor of fine meats").
The series has the potential to morph into a dark, nasty comedy (it gets pretty close sometimes). But thankfully, it generally only gently skewers its characters and permits them (even the awful Kim) to retain some humanity. This allows us to laugh at the characters while NOT allowing us to forget their foolishness is often our own.
The series has the potential to morph into a dark, nasty comedy (it gets pretty close sometimes). But thankfully, it generally only gently skewers its characters and permits them (even the awful Kim) to retain some humanity. This allows us to laugh at the characters while NOT allowing us to forget their foolishness is often our own.