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Boy Meets Girl may sound like an original idea, bringing transgender characters into a sitcom, with a man falling in love with a trans girl, but a quick search online gives us the 2014 American comedy movie of the same name centred around Ricky, played by Michelle Hendley.
Both the BBC and the US movie studios couldn’t have had the same idea with the same title simultaneously, so perhaps it was like way back in 1991, as both Patrick Bergin and Kevin Costner were about to grace the big screen as Robin Hood, in that order. Everyone remembers the latter movie, but no-one ever admits to watching the first. Rumour has it that all prints from that movie have since been burnt in a deep pit in the Arizona desert. And by “rumour has it”, I mean “I made that up.”
The story centres around Leo (Harry Hepple) who, while out for the night in a bar with his brother, James (Jonny Dixon) – who cops off with a girl with whom he’s clearly punching way above his weight, chances upon a meeting with an older woman, Judy (Rebecca Root, starring in the forthcoming The Danish Girl), not realising that she was once a man. Given that Judy is dressed similarly to Miranda Hart in her tired sitcom, and with indistinguishable vocal tones, their meeting began to effect the same sound as that.
This impression was then enforced with too many predictable moments, such as when Judy tries to explain her situation on their first proper date while Leo’s not really listening, cueing a not-so-hilarious soap opera-style/Carry On moment when she blurted out Miranda-style, “I was born with a penis!”
And later, when Judy thought Leo didn’t want to kiss her because she’s a transsexual, when it was simply because the car window was closed too much, causing the restriction.
With an accompanying cast full of people who are simply going through their usual motions and giving us nothing new – namely Denise Welch and Janine Duvitski as Leo and Judy’s respective matriachs, plus Nigel Betts and Lizzie Roper, between this and Cradle To Grave, I had a much more exciting hour the day I spent an hour on the M60 going nowhere fast. The cast was also rounded out with Vineeta Rishi, best known for playing Jas in BBC1’s Doctors, the only soap I watch, and the only character I felt was never very well-written, being given little other than a dull boyfriend, and a ridiculous stalker storyline where the culprit turned out to be someone we’d never heard of.
Despite the problems with this programme, Boy Meets Girl does have a bit more promise to it than Cradle To Grave, so unlike that comedy’drama, I might dip in for a second episode.
Boy Meets Girl continues next Thursday on BBC2 at 9.30pm. You can watch episode 1 on the BBC iPlayer.
Boy Meets Girl Series 1 is released on DVD on October 12th, and click on the packshot for the full-size image.
Overall: 5/10
Director: Paul Norton Walker
Producer: Margot Gavan Duffy
Executive Producer: Sophie Clarke-Jervoise
Screenplay: Elliott Kerrigan and Simon Carlyle
Cast:
Leo: Harry Hepple
Judy: Rebecca Root
James: Jonny Dixon
Pam: Denise Welch
Peggy: Janine Duvitski
Tony: Nigel Betts
Jackie: Lizzie Roper
Anji: Vineeta Rishi
Meat Guy: Will Graham
Barwoman: Milanka Brooks
Waiter: Simon Ludders
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.