10/10
Endearingly raunchy fun
3 May 2005
I don't know what the problem is with some of IMDb's viewers. Maybe their sense of humor is atrophied, or maybe they're just a bunch of prisses. "Les Patterson" is one of my all-time favorite comedies, and the title character, played by the comic genius Barry Humphries, is earthy, lusty, memorable, and larger than life -- laughing-out-loud funny and raunchy but also endearing and in a certain way almost inspiring, with elements of Rabelais, Falstaff, and R. Crumb. (I'm told, unaccountably, that Humphries himself is none too proud of this film today; if that's the case, I'm mystified. Maybe he hasn't seen it in a while.) Try this movie for around 15 minutes; if that doesn't convince you, well, switch it off and go watch a sitcom.

P. S. Writing this in midsummer 2022, I just watched this film for the third or fourth time. (To my surprise, it's available on YouTube.) Afterward, checking Wiki, I discovered that Humphries is now 88 years old. That's extremely depressing news; he's a unique presence, and I hate to think about losing him. However, it appears that, at least as of last spring, he's still appearing onstage -- which is cheering.
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