Cheers: A Lilley By Any Other Name....
Chris Lilley, Summer Heights High
Cheers to Chris Lilley for taking America by tour de force with Summer Heights High.
The Australian comic brilliantly embodies three characters in HBO's delirious import: Ja'mie King, a stuck-up private-school girl sent to the titular public school as part of an exchange program; Jonah Takalua, a breakdancing Polynesian eighth-grader with severe behavioral problems; and Mr. G., a horrifyingly self-absorbed drama teacher. It's a feat of acting worthy of Peter Sellers, and even more impressive when you consider Lilley also created the series, which was shot at an actual high school using real students and staff members.
At first it may seem derivative of mockumentaries made by the likes of Ricky Gervais and Christopher Guest, but as the story unfolds, Summer Heights High reaches new peaks of comedic ecstasy.
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