Bloody circumstances have mob fixer Paulo Keegan (Colin Donnell) jumping a plane to Australia,but along the way he encounters Reverend Mackenzie Boyd (P.J. Byrne),a priest having a crisis of faith. Mackenzie takes Paulo’s loot,and Paulo has to take Mackenzie’s identity,including his assignment to the village parish of Clump. Barely connected to the digital realm,it’s like “1982” according to Paulo,who can lay low but has to figure out how to hold a Sunday service.
Created by Paddy Macrae,withSeaChange co-creator Andrew Knight as a prominent collaborator,Irreverent is an eccentric vision of rural Australia for an international audience. Clump is a successor to Porpoise Spit fromMuriel’s Wedding,where the locals bamboozle Paulo,who is perpetually exasperated,and literally shoot first and make tea later. Even the local crime clan are mostly talk,merely smuggling “chop-chop” tobacco. The first time Paulo gets into a scrap it happens off screen and is seen through the bug-eyed reaction of locals.
It’s merely a matter of time until the locals get under the loner’s skin. Prime candidates include wise-to-the-con teenager Daisy (Tegan Stimson),church council president Peter (Wayne Blair,letting his knee-high socks ring true),and town cop Piper (Kylie Bracknell).Chicago Med star Donnell is an effective foil for the Australian ensemble,making Paulo’s machinations and his unintentional embrace of pastoral care an entertaining struggle instead of a fait accompli. Does he pull off a eulogy? Of course he does.
The local rituals and unexpected blow-ins move along a plot that favours the charming over the conniving. The underlying question is how far Paulo can push his priesthood without upsetting his unorthodox relationship with Clump?Irreverent doesn’t want to resolve too much,lest it sacrifice the wry tenterhooks the show hangs on. I’m not sure how long it can stay in motion,but for this debut season it’s an enjoyable screwball comedy update in the cane fields,where some like it really hot.
Stuck ★★★★
SBS on Demand
Written byBlack Books′ Dylan Moran,who along with fellow comic Morgana Robinson plays the couple at its centre,Stuck is a bittersweet and occasionally bilious dissection of a relationship just starting to find its stress points. “What is your answer for this,” Robinson’s Carla demands of Moran’s Dan,but the two are worried about asking the relevant questions. They’re not sure if they’re supporting each other or being dragged down.