Whether it’s Father Ted, Derry Girls or U2′s Pop album, Ireland has made huge contributions to international comedy. But on the other side of the ledger stands Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys – an unnerving cosmic force that’s enough to make you question the existence of God, Santa Claus and the commissioning editors who continue to give a green light to O’Carroll’s “Irish mammy” alter-ego.
With a net worth estimated at €11 million, Carroll can, at least, afford a giggle. For the rest of us, Mrs Brown’s Christmas Special (RTÉ, Christmas Day, 9pm) is an annual forced march into a dark and scary space. This year, O’Carroll adds a concrete mixer of schmaltz via an awkward – although well-meant – subplot about dementia and the pain of seeing a loved one fade away before your eyes.
The loved-one in question is Máirín, mother of Father Damian (Conor Moloney). She has Alzheimer’s and cannot remember her son or the cherished Christmases they spent together. However, when invited to Christmas dinner by Agnes and asked to belt out a tune, the years fall away and she breaks into song.
Dementia is a difficult subject. O’Carroll should be praised for addressing it sensitively. But despite honourable motivations, the scenes involving Máirín jar with the boisterous tone of the rest of the episode. That’s a shame, as O’Carroll is coming from a place of decency. Even if you’d rather wear a party hat to your next job interview than sit through another of his single entendres, it is important to acknowledge his good intentions.
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Even the studio audience seems to be skimping, Scrooge-style, on the laughter. Then the sentimentality gravy boat is whipped out again
Elsewhere, O’Carroll and his crew – while entirely capable of crafting a gag – chase the ghost of jokes that never come to the table. “I’ve been getting Christmas dinner since Jesus was in kindergarten,“ Agnes tells daughter Cathy (O’Carroll’s wife Jennifer Gibney). A groan feels too generous.
There is also a zinger about a Christmas tree arriving from “Australia” rather than Austria and neighbour Buster Brady (Danny O’Carroll, Brendan’s son) putting it up upside down in Agnes’ livingroom. Even the studio audience seems to be skimping, Scrooge-style, on the laughter. Then the sentimentality gravy boat is whipped out again for a subplot about a cherished Christmas decoration from Agnes’s childhood.
[ Brendan O'Carroll was not the first choice to play Mrs BrownOpens in new window ]
Mrs Brown is monstrously successful in both Ireland and Britain, and viewers are, of course, entitled to enjoy whatever humour they fancy. There is nothing worse than a comedy snob. At the same time, unless you’re a Mrs Brown true believer you will find the latest seasonal one-off a slog – Christmas dinner without turkey but with extra Brussels sprouts. And that’s despite O’Carroll trying to make a serious point about Christmas, family and memory loss. His heart is in the right place. What a shame his funny bone has gone missing.
