Dave Allen at Peace

The first reviewer has not one clue. This was a brilliant tribute to the wonderful man with a top cast

I was a fan of Dave Allen's comedy. In the late 1980s when he did his stand up series for the BBC, he showed the up and coming generation of comics that he could still produce the goods.

Dave Allen was 'alternative' before the phrase was even coined. His target was the Catholic church. Just imagine if he was alive today what he would have made of the revelations of the church's misdeeds in Ireland over the past decades.

Well this drama reflected it on it. Young Dave being whacked by the nuns. It seems Dave had a comfortable lifestyle (bar going to a church school) in Ireland thanks to his father who worked in newspapers but then he died.

Dave with the help of his older brother got into comedy in Butlins. While his older brother became an alcoholic, Dave hit it big on the BBC.

Yet this was a curious drama, it recreated some sketches, you saw a bit of his stand up or should it be sit down comedy.

You see a reflection of his childhood and a tender moment between the adult Dave and his brother as he once again tries to recover from his alcoholism.

I still walked away knowing very little about Dave Allen. Apart from why he picked on Catholicism, we never even find out how he lost his finger!

A comedy genius with an incredible story ruined by a simplistic telling. Performances by Aidan Gillan, Ely Solan, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Senan Jennings were great but also ruined by the flashbacks and flash forwards. A great story ruined by the production

I'm sure Dave Allen would have approved of the humour of Aiden "Littlefinger" Gillen playing him, but unfortunately Aiden didn't quite manage to portray his mischievous humour, but then who could? The film showed his childhood influences, but seemed to skip quickly through his early days, not mentioning his early days in Australia and his marriages and children. A good attempt, but could have delved deeper!

It's an ambitious project, taking on one of the greatest comedians and storytellers ever. They mostly get away with it - but woe, how short it is! Entire aspects of Dave Allen's career are either left out or glossed over. His relation with his brother, almost worth an entire film in itself, is pencilled out with broad strokes, only to come to life with one final banter that shows what the film could have been. Plenty of good Allen jokes, delivered as well as you can if you're not actually Dave Allen, and great acting efforts all over. But at the end of the day, it's little else than a fond reminder of who he was. Go watch some of the clips of the real Dave Allen on the net instead. Discover the genius.