Beautiful People (I) (2008–2009) User Reviews

First episode very engaging with some great characters...

[lee-wilson · 8/10 · 3 October 2008]

I thought the first episode was very engaging with some great characters and laugh out loud funny. It is so hard to create a whole universe in one episode, introduce the characters and have time for a story but it really worked.

As one review put it, it is not just gay friendly it is gay delirious, it is the story of Simon growing up in the 80's, wearing dresses, battling his family and school friends with the help of his best friend Kylie (or Kyle as he is really called!).

When was the last time a British comedy actually had great lines and delivery? Excellent fun.

Fantastic show

[bbewnylorac · 9/10 · 29 January 2013]

I wanted to thank Simon Doonan for inspiring such a fantastic TV series. The acting is superb and the plots lots of fun, but the best thing about it is that it has heart. It's really made with love. I think Olivia Colman, as the mum, steals the show - she can be kooky, but she is also fair and compassionate with a lot of commonsense. And I love the Dynasty-style fight she had with another mother. One of my favourite episodes is when they sent up the pretentiousness of a female installation artist. Not much to do with the central character of a gay teenage boy, but man, it was funny. I guess this show will never come back, but I'd love to see other TV shows made by the same producers.

What a lovely show

[FromDecatur · 9/10 · 28 August 2013]

I really enjoyed this show. Young Simon is vivacious and funny. His best friend is a great foil. The family and neighbors and classmates are all excellent characters. The '80s setting hits the right notes of nostalgia but is really used as a backdrop for a celebration of people. The musical and dance numbers that drop in here and there are really entertaining. The attention to details in mining the humor in the various situations says to me that this was a work of love by those involved. I came of age in the '80s and went through the Reagan Revolution and the beginnings of AIDS in Midwestern America and actually watched Boy George perform at a Stop Clause 28 rally in London in 1988. I really empathized with the older Simon in wishing his younger self could know that it was all going to be OK. Often with shows I like I watch them through as quickly as I can. This one, I spaced out so I could savor them as I saw them all for the first time.

Truly Hilarious

[TinyPliny · 23 August 2010]

It's been so long since I have had such a good rousing laugh out of watching characters on screen. And such wild and colourful characters they are - set in equally atrocious plot lines! The six half-hour episodes of the two seasons of Beautiful People are unpredictable and completely loony. The jokes are sometimes so terrible, you cannot help but laugh helplessly at the insanely good acting that makes each of them work.

Young Simon, played extremely well by Luke Ward-Wilkinson, is at the heart of his crazy family and deluded neighbours. Joined by his over- the-top across-the-street best friend, Kylie (played fabulously by theatre star Layton Williams), the pair gradually give viewers a roller-coaster of an insight into what it is to truly express yourself. The supporting cast of the wickedly awesome Olivia Colman as mum, the deceptively mellow Aidan McArdle as dad and the dead-set funny Meera Syal as auntie Hayley take the meaning of "supporting" to new heights - standing solidly behind the zaniest acts that Simon and Kylie concoct.

The music in the show is outstanding. The cast adapt many show-time tunes into hilarious and creatively choreographed renditions. Many catchy stick-in-your-head-for-days 90s pop tunes pop dangerously up at the most unexpected of times and force a hearty laugh out of you. Even more funny are the silly little cameos by theatre greats like Elaine Page and pop starlets like Danni Minogue. The whole show had me in splits around 97% of the time.

Beautiful People is just as hilarious on screen as it was in print. Go and watch it - your brain will thank you with a burst of warm endorphins!

Perfection

[matt_sole-372-208203 · 10/10 · 25 November 2023]

I recently rewatched this series for the first time in years and loved it all over again.

Amazing casting, hilarious storylining and gorgeous representation of growing up gay in pre-millennium Britain.

Gloriously camp and OTT, but rooted in real life experience, every episode has you laughing out loud. There's some really clever writing (and some industry in-jokes I missed the first time round) and guest characters that help flesh out a fantastic ensemble... you know that anything Olivia Colman is in will be fantastic and she brings the maternal character t9 life brilliantly.

Set primarily in 1997/1998 thee are a few anachronisms with a lot of 80s cultural references, but you can overlook that for the sheer joy that the rest of the show is.