Our take
In a TV age where dark comedies and slick satires are all the rage, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is refreshingly light, good-hearted fun. Its humor leans on the surreal, silly, and slapstick, but it doesn’t necessarily sacrifice smarts for a laugh. Here, the legendary robber is reimagined as a reluctant criminal who is more interested in knitting and doing his friends good, a rather sweet fool who unwittingly stands at the opposite end of toxic masculinity. There are jokes about equal pay and light commentaries on class inequality (Turpin and his so-called Essex Gang want to only rob the inordinately wealthy), and you’d think it was all too much, but the show achieves a confident, balanced tone that’s hard to question.
The story
Legendary highwayman Dick Turpin sets out on a series of wildly absurd escapades when he's made the reluctant leader of a band of outlaws—and tasked with outwitting utterly corrupt lawman Jonathan Wilde.
Follows the misadventures of highwayman Dick Turpin (Noel Fielding) and his gang of fellow robbers as they loot the rich and escape from the ruthless thief-taker Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville).
The absurd humor, which is reminiscent of Monty Python and (for a more recent reference) Our Flag Means Death.
It’s one of those rare, winning, wholesome comedies in a sea of dark satires that’s pretty hard not to love.
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
