TV

‘Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun’ On Netflix Is Perfect Aussie Absurdism

Well, haven't they done well for themselves.

by Cameron Williams  16 November 2020
Aunty Donna netflix

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Toward the end of Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun the camera pans mid-sketch to reveal there’s a live studio audience; they’ve been there the whole time and haven’t laughed once. Aunty Donna (Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane) look at each other horrified. Canned laughter is the currency of comedy in America. Without it, Aunty Donna are doomed.

Captured in this moment is all the anxiety of uprooting an Australian sketch comedy group to America for a Netflix series — they’ve bloody sold out. But in true Aunty Donna style, it’s part of an ingenious labyrinth of sketches that delights in absurdity but also hits upon something real. At the heart of nearly every sketch in Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun — no matter how weird it gets — is the truth.

The series starts with the Aunty Donna boys looking for a new housemate after they realise their dishwasher can talk (voiced by Kristen Schaal). Sketches and musical numbers make handbrake turns in every direction, flip upside down, get a visit from ‘Jerry Seinfeld’ and venture to the end of time and space, but the moral alignment of the series is always chaotic good.

Aunty Donna fans will recognise bits from their live shows, like the big opening number and earworm ‘Everything’s A Drum‘, but they’re weaved in nicely and exemplify the replay value of Aunty Donna’s comedy. For the record, and in the interest of full journalistic transparency, I’ve watched Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun three times and I’m not done yet.

It’s a thrill to see Aunty Donna play on a stage like Netflix — and surreal and sad to think Aunty Donna tried several times to get a series made in Australia but had to go to America to get it done. On a recent episode of the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, Bonanno jokes that making Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun in America was a different experience to in Australia, where they tried to pitch a show and people would say: fuck you.

Yes, there has been a significant investment from local screen bodies in various Aunty Donna projects (make more Aunty Donna: Glennridge Secondary College you cowards!) but, once again, Australia takes pride in developing talent — but they’re required to flourish elsewhere.

And Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane do flourish. The trio’s ability to flip from sincere to serious without losing any comedic momentum is astonishing. During a sketch where the boys go to visit a stylist it’s so high on giddy makeover energy that the punchline is incredible. But like with most Aunty Donna sketches, it’s never really over. When the boys start to bicker it’s so grounded in everyday arguments and awkward situations that it’s hard not to relate to the experience — it’s too silly and too real at the same time.

In one of the best sketches, ‘and now, two men who definitely don’t want to fight’, the boys re-create a scene that’s played for real outside of hundreds of pubs, clubs and house parties in Australia. “I’m just having a night out with my friends” is the ultimate sign of the calm before the storm. The tone Aunty Donna use when saying “nobody wants to fight” recalls all the times I’ve heard this shouted across streets at 11pm on a Saturday night; it parodies masculine posturing magnificently.

The only problem with Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun is how the hell do I recommend this series because comedy is so intensely personal. ‘It’s funny’ just doesn’t cut it because the first thing I hear whenever this happens is: ‘that wasn’t funny’. Or worse, ‘oh this show is perfect for you’ (because you’re a big weirdo). Aligning a show with someone’s comedic tastes is often like splitting the atom.

Yes, Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun is reminiscent of the cartoonish antics of Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the egotistical lunacy of I Think You Should Leave and the humorous extremes of Mr Show with Bob and David; writing alum of the latter, Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang! Bang!) stars and co-produces the series. Those are hefty comparisons but it’s likely Aunty Donna will soon become their own comparison point for this style of comedy.

Think of it like this, Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun is like a great late-night television discovery while flicking between channels or endlessly scrolling on Netflix. Discovery is such a big part of getting into a show like Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. So, try forget everything I just said about a very good thing.

Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House Of Fun is currently streaming on Netflix.

Cameron Williams is a writer and film critic based in Melbourne who occasionally blabs about movies on ABC radio. He has a slight Twitter addiction: @MrCamW.