Results tagged “JOEY BARTON” from Birmingham Mail - Mega Movies

My, my, my... we are a touchy lot today!

I get lambasted for suggesting that John Barrowman has gone over the top with Robin Hood, whereas JB gets off scot free for relentlessly flaunting himself in front of more than 1,000 people, many of whom will be children at every show.

Fancy that! But then that's the world we live in today, where people like soccer 'star' Joey Barton (coincidentally another JB) earn too much money, start to believe in their own success and then think they can not only step over the line, but stay there.

Well, the harsh truth of showbusiness history is that your sexuality can snowball to the point that it gets in the way of your act, and in my opinion that's where Barrowman is.

To set the record straight, some of my best friends are gay and I don't care whether their weather vane swings east, west, north or south.

For all I know, many other people I know and love might be gay.

But, since they don't make a song and dance about it every time they appear in public, they can get on with their lives quietly and with their self-respect intact.

The embarrassment with Robin Hood comes not with the fact that it contains 'gay' gags per se, but that they are so relentless that all subtlety is lost.

It's as if the only thing that matters is Barrowman's sexuality when we're actually supposed to be watching Robin Hood.

After the relentless 'gay' theme, how can it then make sense for JB to sing 'Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic' with a straight face?

Barrowman is a good showman and Robin Hood is an exciting, colourful panto with brilliant sets, fully worth the four star rating I've given it. I wish the show and everyone connected with it all the best for a hugely successful run.

But the fact is that JB lacks the subtlety needed to truly engage an audience on anything other than a superficial level. Hence the one-joke persona.

Will he still be at the forefront of the nation when he's as old as Bruce (81 in February) Forsyth? I think not.

John Barrowman can be fun, but he isn't hilarious, Dee.

But Don Maclean and Paul Zerdin certainly are. Without them, the show would be in danger of falling on its...

As for Elaine's view about pantos being 'tongue in cheek', this show is too overt for that. Where's the class of past Hippodrome panto stars like Danny La Rue or even Julian Clary?

The fallout from the Ross-Brand debacle carried on for weeks after it first happened but should still have been fresh enough in JB's mind for him to keep it zipped in a radio studio just prior to starring in a panto for children. He's lucky he wasn't fired (but then theatres can act like football clubs when they want to and ignore potential trouble).

The audience which subsequently roared its approval at JB's token 'apology' on ITV1's Loose Women has a lot to answer for.

They should have stayed almost silent so that he would have got the message: 'calm down, or sling your hook back to Glasgow'.

Copying fellow Scotsman Tony Blair, he excitedly gives us things in triplicate to make sure we understand a trite message ('hot, hot, hot' / 'fantastic, fantastic, fantastic' etc) which might not stand up in the long run.

Perhaps JB needs to spend a month as a hospital janitor to bring his ego back down to ground level.