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A review by chrisannee
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
5.0
Reading P.G. Wodehouse is like getting on a boat, pushing out into a lazy river oar-less, and letting the current carry you wherever it may... except that in that instance a bit of worry about your eventual well-being may linger in the back of your mind.
With Wodehouse, you don't have that worry. Trouble < Jeeves.
Bertie's Aunt is in trouble. In an impossible series of events that include a silver cow creamer, that may or may not be "Modern Dutch," various engagements, a Hitler-wannabe (written in '38 so, at that point, Hitler's deepest sins had not quite made it across the channel), newts, a policeman's helmet, a violent terrier, and, of course, the most perfect gentleman's gentleman, Jeeves, Bertie Wooster manages to avoid jail, indigestion, and an engagement, and stays his own upbeat, unbeatable self.
Touted as Wodehouse's best, I find it hard to argue. His portrayal of the mid-wars generation, product of the '20s but still thinking as if it was the 1800s, is hilarious. Inept though they may be, there is a hint of a spine about Wooster... suggesting, perhaps, that when 1939 came he probably joined up with the rest of his ilk, was shipped across the channel, and spent his time there as honorably as possible. Not quite sure what happened to Jeeves though.
Note: Though Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry deliver impeccable performances as their respective characters, this was not one of the BBC's best adaptations. Not quite sure why. Try their others instead.
With Wodehouse, you don't have that worry. Trouble < Jeeves.
Bertie's Aunt is in trouble. In an impossible series of events that include a silver cow creamer, that may or may not be "Modern Dutch," various engagements, a Hitler-wannabe (written in '38 so, at that point, Hitler's deepest sins had not quite made it across the channel), newts, a policeman's helmet, a violent terrier, and, of course, the most perfect gentleman's gentleman, Jeeves, Bertie Wooster manages to avoid jail, indigestion, and an engagement, and stays his own upbeat, unbeatable self.
Touted as Wodehouse's best, I find it hard to argue. His portrayal of the mid-wars generation, product of the '20s but still thinking as if it was the 1800s, is hilarious. Inept though they may be, there is a hint of a spine about Wooster... suggesting, perhaps, that when 1939 came he probably joined up with the rest of his ilk, was shipped across the channel, and spent his time there as honorably as possible. Not quite sure what happened to Jeeves though.
Note: Though Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry deliver impeccable performances as their respective characters, this was not one of the BBC's best adaptations. Not quite sure why. Try their others instead.