They are lovely, friendly, openly optimistic people with a joy for life. Exactly the kind of people who scare us to death when they appear without warning.
To be fair, they’re just stereotypes of how we brits see some Americans. It’s the contrast between overtly positive and outgoing to our reserved and generally private nature here in 🇬🇧. The awkwardness in these sketches makes it funny.
Paul Whitehouse is the more versatile comic actor of the two (not to diminish Harry Enfield's major contribution). Johnny Depp, no less, is on record as saying Paul Whitehouse is 'the greatest actor in the world', so much so that the 90s sketch show 'The Fast Show', of which Whitehouse was a core part, managed to get Depp for a guest appearance in the last episode. He (Depp) still considers it one of his proudest moments. He idolises Whitehouse, not the way round you'd expect!
@@thegroovetube3247 He's not in this particular sketch, I was saying that generally he's the more versatile. Alice Lowe plays Pammy here. Paul Whitehouse is very capable of playing some pretty damn convincing female roles, mind, and if he had to play the wife here I'm sure he could have done.
Meeting Americans like this visiting Britain isn't too annoying at all, they're contributing to the economy and are generally very polite and friendly. I once had an American tourist come up to me and say "Hey buddy, is there an ocean around here?" - we were about 5 miles from the nearest beach so he wasn't too far off.
its perfectly acceptable to say “faggots” uncensored in that context dude- its an English dish kinda similar to haggis I’d say but more meat based- goes nice with peas and gravy.
I miss this! This reminds me of the time I was having a break from my job...I sat outside in the beer garden as it was roasting....This lovely Texan woman came over to me and was so much like this. She was the cutest and full of compliments. I know alot of older British women like this too though. It's better than being miserable I guess.
Oh bless you, did you think she was being sincere when she complimented you? It'd just what they say. They don't *mean* it. Like the "Have a nice day" from shop assistants. They don't really give a flying fugg whether your day is 'nice' or not.
@@PhyllisGlassup2TheBrim lol who knows. She did seem genuinely nice though. She was here visiting family In the North of England. She must have been nice because this town is a dump! 🤣
I don't think it's meant to be too critical of the stereotypical older American.I think the humour in these sketches is drawn from the contrast of the friendlier open Americans with the more reserved uptight Brits.I think it's quite affectionate.Harry Enfield certainly portrays many of his British characters much less sympathetically.
I love Americans! I should do, they pay my salary. Cracks me up Americans always tell you the City/Town and State they’re from as if you know it! 😂. Average Brit would just say, “I live near London” or “I live in the north”.
I recently started working in a historic old church in Edinburgh, and we get busloads of Americans of that age coming through every day. To be fair they arent too bad and always donate so much money and then buy so much from the gift shop, and are actually interested in the history of the place which younger people sometimes arent.
The "Peekaboo" sketch with these American characters is my favourite. :-) Also loved Harry's "I Saw You Coming" & "Polish Cafe" sketches. "The Fast Show" is another one you should look out for with Harry's collaborator Paul Whitehouse. Look out for his "Unlucky Alf" sketches, especially the Parrot one, haha Had me in stitches.
I haven't seen Harry and Paul for a very long time. They probably don't broadcast it anymore because because it's too offensive for modern audiences. Probably the same reason they don't show come fly with me because Matt Lucas did blackface and both Matt and David played oriental women.
Hi King Boomer. 'The Fast Show' would be a good one to start watching - try out 'Jazz Club - Jackson Jeffrey Jackson' as a taster or (as you are in Greece on holiday) 'Chanel 9'. So many brilliant sketches.
Paul wasn't in this sketch. Not sure if you like fishing or not but, if you do, you might enjoy Whitehouse and Mortimer go fishing, which is a programme about, er, well, Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer going fishing. I don't like fishing but still found it to be a gem of a show (now on it's 5th series); funny, moving, fascinating.
Paul is best mates with Bob Mortimer and they have both had heart scares the last few years. They got together and do a fishing show at the moment where they ponder their own mortality whilst taking the piss out of each other. Its a great show.
Can I mention French and Saunders? I love them. Their best stuff is their parodies of films and singers. Then there's 'Bottom' with Rik Mayall (another comedian gone too soon) and Ade Edmondson. Actually, Ade is married to Jennifer Saunders. You'd probably like it because it's really silly, with a lot of slapstick and toilet humour as the title suggests.
KB try watching some clips of Little Britain USA. The British version is very funny but some of the US sketches will absolutely shock you and make you laugh at the same time. Try watching the "l love you more than" or "America's love for guns" sketches.
I visited a country in Africa once. and the driver was driving our group from one town to another. He said we were passing his house so we should come see. Didn't wait for a response just drove us there and we ended up having to watch 4 hours of his wedding video with half the town gathered in the room or watching from the windows. We had no idea who he was... just the driver.
No one talks to anyone on public transport in the UK, that's one the elements that you might of missed that makes it funnier for Brits Also the F word you muted, it's actually a type of food in the UK... There's a brand of them made by a company called Mr Brains if you want to search for proof.
I once flew to South Africa and, as I boarded the plane, was greeted by a very large, middle aged Afrikaner woman. She welcomed me to her country and asked why I was visiting and where I would be staying. She did this to everyone who boarded. Once we'd taken off, thinking she was perhaps someone very important, I asked the steward who she was and he said, 'Just another passenger'. These sketches always remind me of her.
I'm English and my friend married an American guy. I have to say,this was pretty much my experience after the wedding talking to his parents! They were lovely and enthusiastic, telling me about their various activities on "elder" weekends. I really liked this openness- I think us English can be a bit too reserved.
This situation is only really awkward in London where they are scared of talking to strangers. If they were in the North of England I can almost guarantee they would've gotten a proper convo and probably come away with a pointer to some nearby tourist attraction, as we are far more open in the north. I am not sure of what would happen somewhere more rural down south, such as Cornwall, but they will not give you the time of day in London.
Probably the funniest one of the American tourists is Peek-a-Boo , have a look if you haven't already, anothet great one by Harry Enfield is " Gay son "
Paul Whitehouse was the dad wearing the blue shirt in the diners sketch with the little boy. Harry and Paul have made countless comedy shows together since the mid to late eighties.
Countless? Three if you count "Saturday Live", if not, just "Harry And Chums" and "Harry And Paul", both of these had a name change, so you probably count them as four. A few, certainly not countless (unless you can't count).
Okay, if you happen to read this comment, I hope you and the Queen are having, or have had a great time in Greece. Here are some recommendations which I'm sure a lot of my fellow Brits will agree with. 'Peep Show' starring David Mitchell, who you know from 'would I lie to you'. You need to watch it from episode one, series one though, not just clips from RU-vid. 'Little Britain', pretty much any thing from Little Britain is very funny, as is anything from 'The Fast Show; Both 'Little Britain' and 'The Fat Show' are shows made up of various sketches featuring a variety of different characters and are hilarious! There are hours and hours of solid gold comedy from just these three shows, I appreciate you must already have a long list, and only have so much time to dedicate to making and editing your videos, but if / when you find the time to take a look at the three shows recommended above I promise you, you won't regret it....All the best from Simon, from Nottingham, UK.
Paul Whitehouse played a number of caricatures in The Fast Show. Which is a 90's classic known for caricatures that found themselves in situations where they repeatedly used catch phrases like 'Suit you sir' 'Nice' and 'Does my bum look big in this?'
At least tourists like that are happy and enthusiastic. It's the miserable ones who complain, make fun of our accents and think everything is better in the US that we hate.
Years ago I was with my mum and dad in a queue to go round the Palace of Versailles. It was late in the day and everybody in that long queue understood that they where pushing it to get in before the barriers shut; and it did, right in front of us by about 10 people. Maybe a 100 people, from all over the world were disappointed and sighed in quite resignation.. except one guy; a big American bloke who caused a scene, huffing and puffing and shouting...every European in that room looked at him and said nothing, they didn't have to. My family said nothing until we got outside, we were embarrassed to speak English...even though we're English. But since then, living in London, I've met loads of Americans and the majority are wonderfully polite..
A lot of people are very introvert and struggle with such encounters. That's mostly it. They don't really care what views they have, it's just the social interaction.
Check out harry enfield & friends from the late 80s & early ninties.absolutely hilarious,would love to see your reaction to them,plus peepshow,mushroom party.
I was a police officer in London back in 1988 patrolling the favoured attractions. Obviously I would be the “London Bobby” and I would get so many American tourists wanting a picture and I would always oblige ! I am possibly in a lot of photos in their collections. Always polite and always appreciative. 👍
30-20+ years ago, single, divorced met closer to home people like that. From UK and Ireland, they'd just promised to introduce me to them. They probably felt as much horror as myself. Promises empty. 🇬🇧👵😀 Can you imagine at fiddly squat if the passenger on that bus called them up in Texas saying I'm here to stay? 😅😅😅😅
Paul Whitehouse is Harry Enfield's longtime writing partner and co-performer, just as Bob Mortimer is for/with Vic Reeves. Harry Enfield rose to fame with standalone characters 'Loadsamoney' and 'Stavros', the Greek kebab shop owner, who would share their 'wisdom' on the late night topical/political show .'Saturday Live' from around 1988 or so. The programme made many comedians and political commentators the stars we know today, from Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Ben Elton and other luminaries, and was the first exposure of a great many comedians and stars we know and love.
They had a coupe of show together. And paul was in another classic show . The fast show . ( its like a sitcom of sketches based on flickering through bad television. Its hilarious)
@@shanenolan8252 Just looked it up; the character was based on a man Paul Whitehouse used to work with at Hackney Council. The same man was also his inspiration for the Ron Manager character. (Sunday Mail 23/8/20)
Harry and Paul both did several sketch shows, sometimes together and sometimes separately and usually with large casts of other well known comedians and actors. Paul isn't in this sketch, put you have seen them together at least once to my knowledge when you reacted to Women Know Your Limits.
No don’t tell to go home they are comedy gold and whilst they maybe annoying at the moment they will leave you with a plethora of fun anecdote’s for a life time of use ergo remember those crazy yank’s 😂😂😂
King you said you don't know Paul Whitehouse but two big fans of his are Johnny Depp and the late David Bowie. There is a clip of Bowie on the Graham Norton show doing a impression of Paul. React to Harry and Paul as much as you can, you won't be disappointed.
OUR problem in the UK is that we have SO much good Comedy - past and present - that it's rather hard to know WHAT to recommend to those born outside these shores; something similar, I imagine, to telling an intelligent Martian which _Beatles_ album he should try first, by way of an introduction to their music !
Harry & Paul both supremely talented and amazing chameleons - if you haven't seen already, check out Harry Enfield Pharmacist clips - likewise Women: Know Your Limits - the 2000 movie Kevin & Perry Go Large is very funny and features the also very talented Kathy Burke.
I absolutely love the, "Ain't she pretty?"/"What a guy" sequence. That certainly resonates if you've ever encountered any Americans. Being English, I don't find these types of tourists from the States embarrassing or irritating, just well-meaning albeit being so clearly out of their comfort zones. They're generally from relatively provincial places and would come across the same whether they're in London or even New York or LA.
I love spotting Americans in London. The hubby and me had just walked past Westminster Bridge where there is a red public phone box, just for show. I just about peed myself laughing at the queue of Americans waiting to have their photo taken inside of it 🤣🤣🤣
Nothing wrong with that bleeped-out word in the U.K. "Faggots are meatballs made from minced off-cuts and offal (especially pork, and traditionally pig's heart, liver, and fatty belly meat or bacon) mixed with herbs and sometimes bread crumbs. It is a traditional dish in the United Kingdom, especially South and Mid Wales and the English Midlands" (Wikipedia)
I've been on the receiving end of the odd US American visiting "Liddle ol' England". One was a particularly large and loud gentleman looking to buy the house next to me for his son to live in while at university.😐 Another was a manager for the US subsidiary of the UK company I worked for who came to support his team, with whom we were competing in an inter-company outdoor challenge in Ardenne Forest, Belgium. He was a little less loud after the UK team gave him a ducking in the river! 🤭
You must check out Armstrong and Miller, particularly RAF pilots. You have been told! 😁 Cheers! P.S. Please leave the 'censorship' to RU-vid. Seriously, how precious can you get? Only an American would censor that. Thanks anyway.
They're not Americans, they're folks from Badiddlyboing. They're not obnoxious, they have just misjudged their location. Their manner would work quite well in a National Trust Cafe or the Outer Hebrides, but on a London bus it's just too in your face. London only keeps running because the people ignore each other.
You should try ‘Yerp’ … it’s a retrospective look at why UK should be in the EU (all well before brexit) some you won’t get I’d imagine (politicians, etc) but it’s funny all the same. It’s a mock political broadcast by the Conservative party (right wing) and their half hearted attempt at remaining in Europe
We didn't suggest Harry and Paul, because they are one in a multitude of great Brit comedians. You've still a long way to go. 'The Fast Show' next (Paul Whithouse going it alone with a few others). One of the greatest sketch shows in Brit history...Monty Pythons Flying Circus being THE best.
We all get annoyed with Americans but by & large they are nice people, I've found most of them to be affable types, quite upbeat, positive sometimes a bit naive, but definitely friendly so they are OK in my book. It must be difficult going through life without tea & cricket.
What I find most funny about these sketches now is that, the 'couple' are so very pleasant...though just 'a bit too much'. There obviously 'has' to be something there for Enfield and Whitehouse to 'take the piss', but really it's only being nice and sociable... Still, very funny though.
A lot of American tourists came to Scotland due to the show, Outlander. Everyone I met was SUPER-friendly... which is very suspicious to a Scot... or a Brit in general. Never trust someone who is happy all the time, I was told as a lad :)
I have to disagree. I've met people from the US like this here in the UK. I think they're kind-of sweet. Obviously the sketch is exaggerated for comedy effect but the essence of it - people my granddad's generation (the ones who went through World War 2), is true and it's something to take pride in I think.
King, if like Harry Enfield my favourite all time sketch is him and a group of drunk friends singing rugby songs. It comes up if you search Martin Clunes Rugby Songs.
Harry & Paul had both been successful in their own right, but by the time this series came around this kind of 'safer' comedy just wasn't really what people were talking about. I guess it was slightly after it's time. Oh and someone's probably mentioned this already, but would you believe that the guy they're talking to on the bus is Will Smith? Actually true.
You really need to lighten up mate, some of the skits we get from Americans could cause a war but we know(I hope) there is no malice there. We take the piss out of ourselves more than others. Probably why we had the greatest Empire the World has known. 😂😂😂😂🇬🇧🇺🇸
I've got a quality one for you to review,its called dapper laughs,I'm shure you'll think its tha bomb,it was massive back in 2013.it really is fucking brilliant.
Yes, we were about to suggest it. But you needed more frame of reference first. Like "Clarkson Island" is not that fun if you haven't watched Top Gear before... 🙂
🤨 weirdly there's a certain charm in the ridiculousness of "typical" Americans abroad, they're the funniest people in the World though they don't know it.
King Boomer to let you know Paul.Whitwhouse was in The Fast Show a brilliant TV comedy sketch show check it out The Fast Show buddie it was on the TV in the UK btw in the 90's
Paul Whitehouse is one of the best comedy actors there is. Even Jonny Depp agrees. If you are enjoying his work make sure you watch "The Fast Show" which also stars Paul.
We're not as pc as you are (yet). Average gay people over here would not find anything offensive about this comedy. The joke is on the loud Americans, no one else. And it's of course just a skit as you say. Your levels of correctness sound horrifying to us. Most gay people I ever knew made more fun and jokes than I did.
I assume the bleeped word was "f*ggots"? In the UK f*ggots are a type of small meatballs, the other (US) usage is creeping in here via US TV and movies but it's still fairly rare in my experience.
