Cha'mone Mo'fo'selecta! on E4

Leigh Francis Bo’ Selecta! Michael Jackson Tribute

Sep 24, 2009 Steven Cookson

A surprisingly decent attempt by the Bo' Selecta! team in telling the story of Michael Jackson in their own surreal and foul-mouthed way.

Michael Jackson’s death in 2009 sparked widespread mourning by fans – not to mention controversy surrounding the circumstances – becoming perhaps the biggest story of the year in terms of attention and certainly the major celebrity news of the decade. His memorial was seen by an estimated one billion people and there have been numerous tributes from famous faces since.

One such face, British comedian and actor Leigh Francis (otherwise known as his alter egos Avid Merrion or Keith Lemon), decided on his own tribute by digging out the most famousrubber mask from his popular TV sketch show Bo’ Selecta! to play his caricature of the “King of Pop” one more time for a special episode called Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! shown on Channel 4 sister station E4. The title is taken from the Bo’ Selecta! Jacko’s favourite utterance: “cha’mone mutha f**ka”.

Bo’ Selecta! Michael Jackson Tribute

Bo’ Selecta! is one of those comedies that’s vaguely amusing on first viewing but after that becomes repetitive and full of puerile jokes aiming for cheap laughs through catchphrases or ridiculous situations. Not that there’s anything wrong with scatological humour, it’s just something that can be far funnier than simply having a bloke in a big mask swearing or dressing as a bear who gets involuntary erections.

One of the show’s best creations however was re-imagining Michael Jackson as a foul mouthed, jive-talking aggressive bad ass, more memorable than the other characters such as a Kes accompanied Craiiig David from Morley or an incomprehensible Ozzy Osbourne. So at least on paper Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! looks appealing as opposed to another long-winded series of recycled sketches.

Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! New Characters

It began with Michael Jackson arriving in heaven (greeted by Steve Irwin) and recounting his life with a Bo’ Selecta! spin on things, from the early days of performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5 to the making of the Thriller video to the infamous Martin Bashir interview. And despite resorting to the same old jokes it was actually really funny in places.

The feel of the Cha’mone mocked the talking heads style documentaries typically involving people who had little to no direct connection with the star at the centre of the show. This gave the opportunity to wheel out a couple of new faces; some bad (a smug Simon Cowell complete with saggy breasts and a Tourette’s syndrome suffering northern Kanye “Ken” West) and some good (music producer Quincy Jones and a deranged Uri Geller). It also included a handful of the old characters such as Craig David and the annoying Mel B of Spice Girls fame.

As expected the whole thing was utterly bizarre and surreal, a little too random for its own good at times. At one point, where repeated surgery had taken its toll, Francis brought out a new Jacko mask and persona more in keeping with the real life counterpart, which somewhat defeats the point of using the over-the-top Bo’ Selecta! caricature in the first place.

Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! Final Shot

Cha’mone had all the potential in the world to be utterly terrible given how quickly it was turned out but it was better than any of the series of Bo’ Selecta! had ever been. Okay, so maybe it did overuse the melon farmers, though that made for the funniest scene where a young Michael was beaten by his father for swearing on TV. The whole thing concluded with a final shot where the mask and sequined glove were placed on a piano signified a poignant statement and the end of the Bo’ Selecta! portrayal.

So was this a genuine tribute or tasteless exploitation? Well it was neither, just an excuse to scrape the barrel of any remaining jokes and present something that was admittedly funny in places, if a little protracted due to a baggy second half, and knew exactly what targets to hit for its audience. Bo’ Selecta’s interpretation of Michael Jackson might be viewed by some people as grotesque following his death but this didn’t reach the lows of the mawkish memorial service or the numerous soulless tie-in releases.

Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! is released on DVD on November 23.

The copyright of the article Cha'mone Mo'fo'selecta! on E4 in British/Australian TV is owned by Steven Cookson. Permission to republish Cha'mone Mo'fo'selecta! on E4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Cha’mone Mo’fo’selecta! DVD cover