Lessons With Luis comes off as a heartfelt dedication to the ABC’s children’s broadcasting of the mid to late 90s, featuring all the fun, joy, storytelling and interactivity that shows like Play School slugged into generation upon generation of Australian youth. All the hallmarks are there – clever usage of VHS to help tell a tale, singing, costumes, dancing – it’s an energetic, well-crafted show with an intelligent element to it, but perhaps pushed more style than it did substance.
Luis’ performance seemed very reliant on either humour that appealed to a younger audience or jokes that were intentionally meant to fall flat. Anti-comedy is an art form that, if perfectly executed, can really challenge the boundaries of perspective and add a rare level of depth to a show. The problem here is that while Luis had some grasp upon this, he relied too much on the childlike elements he incorporated into the show leaving the humour rather lacking. This became a bit grating, watching something that was reliant on that youthful innocence and energy would probably be too much for most people mid 20s and up. That said, there was clever anti-comedy – the parts where the tape cut out to a video of his brother working out, the video recordings of his father where he would constantly make ‘wet’ noises into the mike, the hints of Luis’ back story and relationship with his family along with and Luis’ slip ups at character acting were all great additions and kept a subtle adult element of comedy for people to hang on to. These elements were mildly frustrating in a good way, featuring a healthy mix between endearing and pathetic and helping reinforce a comedy performance everyone could enjoy.
While Luis’ childlike elements defined the show (for better or for worse), the moments where Luis showed emotion – the way that his ‘persona’ seemed to fall into a depressive state in the final few minutes of the show – gave a much needed reprieve from the cats, the costumes, the high pitched voice and were definitely the more interesting moments from his performance (as far as an adult audience is concerned). The other factors had great appeal with children as there were kids and mums at the front of the show who were having the best time ever – but after leaving, it’s easy to question if the show has something for everyone, or alienates through focusing on what arguably weakens it.
BY BRANDON HILLS
