Yes, it's another WIP show, but Hodgson doesn't use his notes as much as expected, and is always funny. He says he's trying out a new style of comedy, away from his usual storytelling or character styles. But what we get still pays strong allegiance to both. It's about his relationship with the USA, from early childhood until the Obama years, and how the culture and politics affected him. So it's definitely a story, and he uses his impressionist abilities to fill out the characters discussed. - maybe not so different then!
It's a coming of age story. America, for him, was the epitome of cool when he was a kid, and he could never understand his parents favouring Europe. Then came Dubya... The politics changed, along with the music and movies he'd once loved. And 9/11 told him that the promise of world peace wasn't as real as he'd thought.
So it's a move from naivete to understanding, from confidence to uncertainty, and it ends... hanging, because he knows he has more to write. Hodgson is easy to like, and has an accessible style that contains plenty of unusual slants on past events. For this oldie there a few too many references to aspects of culture that only someone under forty is going to get, so maybe being younger would give you more than I got. As with any WIP it's a bit hit and miss at times. That will change as August progresses, he adapts the material to his audiences and learns the lines better.
Hodgson is certainly worth seeing, and provides an entertaining hour, but it's a shame he's not doing a longer run with this show. It might have been really good by the end of the month!
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