Sheridan Smith reunites with screenwriter Susan Nickson for Sky Comedy\u2019s Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything, which could easily be interpreted as a companion piece to their first collaboration: Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.<\/p>\n
Premiering in the early noughties, the sitcom followed a group of mates led by \u2018ladette\u2019 Janet Keogh, who could regularly be found boozing at her local or ridiculing her boyfriend for being a \u201cbig gay\u201d (yikes). This new series answers the question of what Janet might be up to today assuming she stayed on that trajectory.<\/p>\n
Title character Rosie Molloy had similarly alcohol-soaked formative years, although seemingly spent more time with bad influence dad Conall (Ardal O\u2019Hanlon) than people her own age. Now in her late 30s, she finds herself a high-functioning addict, just about managing to hold down a well-paid job while consuming an enormous amount of substances on the daily.<\/p>\n
That is until an embarrassing display at her little brother\u2019s wedding serves as a wake-up call, compelling Rosie to go cold turkey on pretty much everything \u2013 from coke (the drug) to Coke (the drink).<\/p>
Despite having a serious theme at its centre \u2013 the devastating impact of serious addiction \u2013 Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything consciously pitches itself as more comedy than drama. That\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing, either, as the genre is a great space to explore hard-hitting topics in an accessible way (a la Feel Good<\/a>, Bojack Horseman, and\u00a0I May Destroy You<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, in this case, the show just winds up feeling really shallow. There\u2019s about as much snorting, smoking and shotting as you can reasonably fit into a half-hour, but the reflection feels almost like an afterthought.<\/p>\n We get some insight into what traumas have brought about her bad habits, but \u2013 much like Rosie herself \u2013 the show is so concerned with not getting too serious that it doesn\u2019t give these moments the appropriate sincerity or time to breathe.<\/p>\n It seems altogether more interested in Rosie\u2019s outrageous misbehaviour, from escaping rehab (as seen in the series\u2019s trailer<\/a>) to downing a full bottle of wine (an apparently unplanned scene which, to be fair, is impressively executed by Smith \u2013 although the wine on set was fake, of course).<\/p>\n Overall, Smith is solid as ever and very much carries the show, appearing in literally every scene. It\u2019s an energetic performance that commands attention, but I suspect this won\u2019t go down as one of her more popular roles.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Rosie doesn\u2019t come across as a particularly nice person despite the show\u2019s insistence otherwise, as she frequently punches down to sister-in-law Ruby (Adelle Leonce) and oblivious colleague Monica (Leah MacRae), among others. There are also glimmers of the outdated Two Pints humour in her, as she makes a couple of needless jabs at gender identity in just the first five minutes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fun to see Father Ted co-stars Pauline McLynn and Ardal O\u2019Hanlon back together, this time as parents Win and Conall, but both only have a few moments to shine. The same can be said for Lewis Reeves and Adelle Leonce as newly-wed brother Joey and sister-in-law Ruby; two characters who are such wet blankets they almost glamourise Rosie\u2019s behaviour by comparison.<\/p>\n Rounding out the cast is Oliver Wellington as flatmate Nico, probably the least likeable character of them all, whose extreme enabling of a troubled woman borders on the sociopathic.<\/p>\n In a sense, Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything tries to have its cake and eat it too; an act which is ironically befitting to its impulsive title character. In putting its roots down so firmly in comedy, the show mishandles its central theme, with fleeting moments of attempted sincerity failing to resonate.<\/p>\n With stronger execution, this idea could have been more interesting and genuinely provocative. As it stands, it\u2019s watchable enough, but lacks any meaningful commentary and feels like less than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything premieres on Sky Comedy and NOW on Wednesday 7th December 2022. Find out more about\u00a0how to sign up for Sky TV<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our Comedy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<\/b>subscribe now<\/a>. For more\u00a0from<\/span>\u00a0the biggest stars in TV, listen to the<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Radio Times\u00a0View<\/span>\u00a0From<\/span>\u00a0My<\/span>\u00a0Sofa<\/span>\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/span><\/b><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By David Craig Published: Wednesday, 07 December 2022 at 12:00 am 2.0 out of 5 star rating Sheridan Smith reunites with screenwriter Susan Nickson for Sky Comedy\u2019s Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything, which could easily be interpreted as a companion piece to their first collaboration: Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Premiering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":26688,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/rosie-molloy-gives-up-everything-review-little-better-than-a-hangover.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Wednesday, 07 December 2022 at 12:00 am 2.0 out of 5 star rating Sheridan Smith reunites with screenwriter Susan Nickson for Sky Comedy\u2019s Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything, which could easily be interpreted as a companion piece to their first collaboration: Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. 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