Summer Heights High » Reviews

Episode One
Green Guide

For those who have been eagerly waiting for Chris Lilley’s comic bubble to burst following the adulation lavished on his award-studded hit series We Can Be Heroes, some bad news: Summer Heights High is killer stuff. Set in a fictitious state high school, Lilley sinks effortlessly into the skin of three characters for another hilarious mockumentary. There’s effeminate, ambitious drama teacher Mr G, best describes as the Australian cousin of Christopher Guest’s Corky St Clair from Waiting for Guffman; self-obsessed private-school exchange student Ja’mie, who we met on Heroes; and Jonah, a wise-cracking, swear-happy, teacher-dissing, hyperactive, Ritalin-deprived lad who has an answer for everything, usually involving the f-bomb. As with Heroes, Lilley wisely stops just short of caricature by investing in the comedy of nuance, with mannerisms and off-hand remarks providing the biggest laughs. Jonah, in particular, emerges as the funniest of the three for what he mutters under his breath, the way he moves and for what he spouts during his many spontaneous outbursts. Since the advent of This is Spinal Tap in 1984, the mockumentary form has easily become one of the most over-used in comedy. The aim always, of course , is to replicate the look and feel of a real documentary – an exceedingly tough task Summer Heights High pulls off as convincingly as Heroes, The Office and Kenny did. It’s often too easy to overlook the crucial work of the director, whose contribution has to be so deft as to appear invisible. Pulling off this very exacting style of TV comedy depends a great deal on camera work, framing, performances from supporting players, set detail and the movement of extras. It may all look perfectly incidental but they contribute a great deal to the overall comic effect and serve to enhance Lilley’s work. Matthew Saville never quite got the kudos he deserved for directing We Can Be Heroes, and here Stuart McDonald does an equally superb job making Summer Heights High feel like it was shot in a week and Lilley’s performance appear as though it just happened on the day.

- Jim Schembri