Give That
Give That was a telethon that raised money for “kids who don’t have an illness”. Hosting it was Justin and Kelly, two performers so hungry for fame and fortune that every year they spruke this “charity” for all its worth.
It was interesting to note that the main focus of the show was on the relationship between the two hosts rather than the telethon itself. We witnessed empty patter between them and apart from some bitchy banter on stage that hinted at their vacuous and debauched personalities, there weren’t any glimpses into their relationship when the “cameras” were turned off. Some may have been satisfied with what these cartoonish characters uttered on stage as being sufficient character development but it would have been nice to have seen a little more.
With the focus clearly on the “performers” there was little in the way of guest performers and deprived kids, these elements were covered briefly in some suitably wacky videos. They employed the repeated calls for cash and emphasised the “importance” of the cause just like in a real telethon, but they didn’t add anything new humour-wise each time so it got a little repetitive. A single tally announcement highlighted the telethon as the sham that it was, but there wasn’t anything else to indicate how the event was progressing in relation to the “audience at home”. Likewise there was no indication of any fallout resulting from the bombshell that ended the show. The hosts merely carried on, attempting to save face.
Despite my grumblings with the script, Justin Cicero and Kelly Fastuca put on entertaining performances with over the top portrayals of two failed showbiz hacks. Decked out in the requisite formal wear, they threw themselves around with some wonderfully slapstick dance numbers and were very expressive in their manerisisms. Their comedic timing was spot on and they bounced off one another well.
Music played a large role in the show with the two randomly bursting into song accapella. Justin’s limited vocal range contrasted with Kelly’s ability to hold a tune to great comedic effect as well as establishing a clear pecking order for these characters. The oft repeated Theme Song was a pared back version of a generic charity song that had some in the audience doubled over upon viewing the video clip but I just saw it as middle of the road music chart filler with a few witty lines. Perhaps there were references to the genre that I didn’t pick up?
Give That had a quite short length which given the focus of the piece was probably sufficient and stopped it from being too repetitive. Overall it was an entertaining parody of fundraising that tickled the funny bone.
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