Turn Up Charlie, Netflix
If Idris Elba is trying to boost his chances of becoming the next James Bond, he picked a strange way to do it – and though you’d imagine playing a DJ might do some good for his ongoing music career, his character in this Netflix eight-parter is the opposite of what the real-life Elba fancies himself to be. Charlie Ayo is a washed-up loser trading on former glories, who once had a minor dance hit but now lives with his Aunt Lydia (Jocelyn Jee Esien) and his stoner mate Del (Guz Khan) in a house belonging to his Nigeria-based parents. He talks to them on Skype while wearing a shirt and tie, the better to continue the deception that he’s actually a successful record company boss. They say they need a new cooker, he says he’ll send the money. Out of range of the webcam, Lydia rolls her eyes.
Comedy isn’t a genre we’ve seen Elba explore before, but it’s no surprise that he’s good at it, though he’d have been even better if the script had been a match for him. But it’s interesting to see him subverting his moody, tough guy image in what is essentially an odd couple story. At a friend’s wedding he re-connects with old schoolfriend David (JJ Feild), now a famous Hollywood actor married to superstar DJ Sara Caine (Piper Perabo). They've just moved to London with their 11-year-old daughter Gabrielle (Frankie Hervey) and, to cut a long story short, end up asking Charlie if he’ll become her nanny. Or “manny”, if you prefer. Charlie doesn't like either term and is appalled at the idea but ends up taking the gig – partly to help out his oldest friend but also to pay the rent. Oh, and he thinks Sara might give him some studio time in the swanky set-up she has in the basement of the family’s enormous London mansion. And so it goes.
Charlie’s problem is the thoroughly unpleasant Gabrielle. The viewer’s problem is the thoroughly clunky dialogue given her by former Hollyoaks and Skins writer Georgia Lester. Stressing the girl’s preciousness at every opportunity is no excuse for some of the lines put into her mouth. That said, Turn Up Charlie chugged along pleasingly enough and we did eventually see Gabrielle’s vulnerable side as her friendship with Charlie deepened following an incident at her posh new school. But ultimately the show is too crass to be charming, too adult to be whimsical and too obviously calibrated to appeal to an American audience to have any worthwhile specificity for a British one. A vanity project for Elba? Possibly. He does have a co-creator credit. Either way, he can do better than this.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here