I don’t even know where to begin … and not in a good way. I’m rarely displeased by shows; as long as they’re not scary, I enjoy them, but this one is far different. Comedy group Aunty Donna invites us into their new Netflix Series “Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun,” which recently aired this past Wednesday. While it hurts me to be so brutally honest, I don’t think I would be able to find more than three things that I liked about the show.
Aunty Donna is an Australian comedy group located in Melbourne that consists of three main members: Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane. Surprisingly enough, Aunty Donna’s fanbase is quite large, with over 300,000 YouTube subscribers and numerous Reddit threads dedicated to them. Most recently, they created a podcast called Aunty Donna (original, I know) which led them on tour around the United States and United Kingdom.
In the beginning part of the first episode, Ruane changes their house wifi password to “poopoo,” which somehow garnered the attention and love of the entire neighborhood. One woman jumped out of the bush, the other walked out of the trees and then somehow Jerry Seinfeld showed up. First of all, I didn’t find the change of the wifi name that funny. Then, it was so blown out of proportion that it didn’t even seem realistic. While I believe that making things absurd and completely out of the ordinary is part of their comedic style, it just isn’t my cup of tea.
Another thing that grinded my gears was how they sing at the beginning of their episodes. There’s nothing worse than people singing who have absolutely no vocal talent at all. Not to mention, the lyrics make absolutely zero sense. Can you tell I’m annoyed? On top of that, they spend five minutes trashing their entire home, from smashing bottles across a cupboard to throwing the dishwasher (that speaks, might I add) out the door.
With all of this being said, there are two things I appreciate about the show. The first thing is their superb acting skills. While I’m not sure if they know it or not, all three men are amazing actors. Throughout the show they interchangeably play different characters, and do so in a professional and realistic way. For example, there was a skit similar to the show “Jeopardy” where Ruane and Bonnano play four characters all at the same time. The second thing, and arguably the most important, is their accents. I am a sucker for an Australian, New Zealand or English accent, so the accent box is 100% checked off in my book.
It may just be me, but I don’t think I even cracked a smile during these episodes. Accents and all, the one word I would use to describe Aunty Donna is overwhelming. If you’re into fast-paced, electric comedy, then they may be your style, but I just wasn’t able to keep up.
Rating: 0/5 stars
I think absurdism might not be for you.
Probably the worst article ever
Awful review. The writer doesn’t understand the genre, confuses Family Feud with Jeopardy, has no clue about this trio’s satirical style, and doesn’t know what absurdism is.
I also didn’t enjoy the show – but this review is worse!