Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour (2003) Reviews

• Quite funny but definitely not their best

  flensborg822005-01-16

  This is Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondsons fifth Bottom live show, and this one is, as always, worth a watch - especially if you are a fan of the two immature old boys :) I won't recommend it for a first time Bottom live show watcher, since this one is weaker than the first three live shows, and not nearly as much fun. But then again it's not as "weak/bad" as the fourth, An Arse Oddity. But not to worry, there's still quite a few memorable moments that make you laugh out loud (for example the scene with "The Evacuator" ... which is a clever little device to be used in stead of a toilet ... Richie is of course the one who test drives it - trust me, this scene will leave your in tears with laughter) - and this live show does contain one of their best and most impressive scenes - the one where they travel 30 minutes back in time with Eddies invented time machine "The Turdis". Thereafter they fast forward those 30 minutes, which means they have to reenact the 30 minutes they have already acted once, and they do this in a very VERY fast pace. I was really impressed with this stunt as it must have taken a REALLY long time to choreograph into perfection. Well - to the plot: In this live show Eddie has invented several thing: The "Time Machine" (The Turdis") i've just mentioned, "Weapons Grade Lager" and "The Patent Painless Tattoo-Remover". And that's pretty much the plot... What other thing, that happens in this show I will leave as a surprise. It's worth a watch, but don't watch it with too high expectation, because this one is not their funniest work.

• They got old, but definately did not lose it!!!

  filmfreak-52004-01-02

  I found out purely by coincidence on imdb that this was out, didn't know...ordered it from amazon.co.uk and had it three days later.. This is yet another masterpiece of a show...personally I think they started to focus a little TOO much on butt-jokes, but it's ok.. It's no news ofcourse, but it's gotten a little too anal focused now...but it's no problem, it's still one hell of a joyride, and I still give it 10/10 although I still prefer the older stuff a little bit more.. Rik and Ade is still empowered like hell, you can see they're not totally young anymore, but atleast they have not sold out like to many genious geezers before them once they start to fear not being able to each the cash they need...these guys are still going strong, and all I wish could for, was that they would take their live shows around the world, and not JUST in the UK....I would literally kill to see these guys live!

• Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!

  Morbius_Fitzgerald2013-02-22

  This is the worst spin off of Bottom that I've seen. I know, bring on the hate Private Messages as to why its not Guest House Paradiso, but even though I do think their comedy has truly ran dry by this point (which isn't surprising after 30 years), they still manage to entertain. I think by this point the duo knew they were going to beat each other to a bloody pulp for the last time and even though I would kill to see them live now, I understand why they decided to throw in the towel. Rik looks like he's aged 10 years in between Bottom 2001 and this one. By this stage they were borderline 50 years old so as I said I can understand why they wouldn't want to go on with another show. The "American voice" joke was actually crap as was the "you say, I say" joke. With that being said "The Evacuator" the reprisal of the Young Ones, "The Turdis" were all funny jokes. Overall I like this live show but its the worst of both the Bottom TV show AND the live shows.

• The weakest of the Bottom Live Shows so far

  WakenPayne2013-02-20

  Take nothing away from Mayall or Emondson. Their ability (or sheer insanity - take your pick) is enough to make me like (maybe even love) a 1½ hour conversation between them both, along with whatever they pass off as a plot. The closest this show comes to having a plot is that Eddie has been in the lavatory for 15 days straight. Richie is tired of it and wants to know what he's been doing in there. Turns out the answer is building gadgets (that most were thought up by Richie's dead uncle who fought in the first world war). Some of them include time machines (of which I think is the main "jump the shark"), Evacuators and Weapons Grade Larger (of which is so powerful that you don't remember a thing after your first sip). I think the introduction of the time machine is the one real thing I find wrong with it. The only funny part that comes out of it is Rick and Ade going back to their Young Ones material, only to finish it with Rich saying "Your material hasn't changed much in 20 years". The whole "The meaning of life is pants" thing was less funny and more in the vein of childish (and this is coming from somebody that found one or two things to laugh at in Disaster Movie - namely the Chipmunks and the Enchanted Princess in places - that's about it). I found the Evacuator hilarious as well as their outbursts of meaningless and senseless violence. So this an okay show for you to watch. It's just that it could have been so much better than what it was.

• ''You can tell we're in Essex, can't you?''

  RaspberryLucozade2015-11-19

  Two years after their last show 'Bottom Live 2001 - An Arse Oddity', Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson resurrected Richie and Eddie for one last stage outing - 'Bottom Live 2003 - Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour', filmed live from The Cliffs Pavilion in Southend. 'Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour' kicks off with Richie, desperate to use the toilet, being unable to relieve himself due to the fact that Eddie has been locked in the bathroom for a fortnight. After gaining access he is shocked to discover that Eddie has been creating all sorts of creations, such as Weapons Grade Lager ( which he has named 'G.M.T.V' ), The Patent Painless Tattoo Remover ( which does not so much remove the tattoo as make it merely illegible, as Richie finds out much to his cost ) and a special vacuum cleaner of which the suction is so powerful it strips a room of its entire contents. Richie is also surprised to find that Eddie has built a time-travelling toilet as well, which he names 'The Turdis' ( an blatant dig at 'Doctor Who' ). Predictably, one mishap leads to another and Richie and Eddie end up being blasted into the unknown, only for The Turdis to run out of power in the middle of nowhere. Survival looks slim... 'Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour' is not a shining example of Rik and Ade at their best but it is not a bad farewell either. Some gags were recycled from previous shows such as the Stephen Fry reference from 'The Big Number 2 Tour' and 'The Pants Song' from 'An Arse Oddity, neither of which worked particularly well here ( though in my opinion 'The Pants Song' didn't work first time round ). There are some corkers though such as Eddie rhetorically asking Richie ''Who would have thought you could have been so full of s**t!'' after sucking the waste from his body with the vacuum, Richie claiming to have a 'quad bike flashback' ( another reference to Mayall's quad bike accident ) and Eddie's underpants shrinking to microscopic proportions whilst he is still in them. And that is where 'Bottom' ends. Rik and Ade felt they were getting a bit too long in the tooth to be knocking each other about with frying pans and were keen to move on. Probably a wise decision. In 2012, Rik and Ade planned on making a revival of 'Bottom' for television based on the 'Hooligan's Island' stage show but due to Edmondson's reluctance, it never came to anything. Funniest moment - Richie asking Eddie why he has named his home-brewed lager 'G.M.T.V'. ''Because it completely f**ks up your mind!'', replies Eddie. Second funniest moment - Richie and Eddie apparently having travelled so far back in time they have transformed into Vyvyan and Rik from 'The Young Ones', much to the delight of the audience.