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Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun 
Summary
Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun is a sketch comedy television series on Netflix,[2] created by and starring members of the Australian comedy group Aunty Donna.[3] It premiered on 11 November 2020.[4][5] The series' music was composed almost entirely by Tom Armstrong, a member of the sketch troupe.[6] The show's absurdist approach has been compared to the likes of Monty Python[7] and Tim and Eric.[8]
| Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sketch comedy |
| Created by | |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 17–23 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 11 November 2020 |
| Related | |
| Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (2023) | |
Aunty Donna released their second show Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe in 2023.[9]
Cast edit
Main edit
The three performing members portray themselves on the show, but as fictionalized caricatures, as well as several characters drawn from other Aunty Donna shows and podcasts.
- Mark Samual Bonanno as
- Bill Smith and Janiel Smith (S1E1, Family Feud scene)
- Audience member Adam (S1E3, Blair Buoyant scene)
- Cool Barber (S1E4, Barbershop scene)
- Old Italian Man (S1E5, Italian man scene)
- Mark's Mother (S1E5, Italian man scene)
- Man who doesn't want to fight (S1E5, Fight scene)
- S.W.A.T. team member (S1E5, S.W.A.T. S.W.A.T. song)
- Tiny Man (S1E6, Tiny man song)
- Broden Kelly as
- Cowdoy (S1E1, throughout)
- Nervous looking man (S1E1 Man who just shit himself scene)
- Scottish South African Sam (S1E2, South African Sams scene)
- Ellen DeGeneres (S1E2, Ellen DeGeneres scene)
- Anti-Doping Agency Representative (S1E3, piss-drinking scene)
- The Hunk (S1E4, The Hunk and the Dork scene)
- Man who doesn't want to fight (S1E5, Fight scene)
- S.W.A.T. team member (S1E5, S.W.A.T. S.W.A.T. song)
- Angry Contestant (S1E6, The Quiz show scene)
- Zachary Ruane as
- Man who just shit himself (S1E1, Man who just shit himself scene)
- Ben Smith and Danuary Smith (S1E1, Family Feud scene)
- New-Zealander South African Sam (S1E2, South African Sams scene)
- Blair Buoyant (S1E3, Blair Buoyant scene)
- French man from 1832 (S1E4, "Isn't it funny and relatable" song)
- Moogie Woogie (S1E4, Moogie Woogie Boogie song)
- The Dork (S1E4, The Hunk and the Dork scene)
- Cool Barber (S1E4, Barbershop scene)
- Man who doesn't want to fight (S1E5, Fight scene)
- S.W.A.T. team member (S1E5, S.W.A.T. S.W.A.T. song)
- Pausey Pete (S1E6, The quiz show scene)
- Lord Whoopee (S1E6, Etiquette lesson scene)
All three non-performing members of Aunty Donna also make screen appearances:
- Sam Lingham as
- cowboy (S1E1, Roommate search scene)
- Max Miller as
- Director (S1E5, Italian man scene)
- Tom Armstrong as
- Tom (S1E1, Family Feud scene)
Guests edit
- Randy Feltface as himself
- Kristen Schaal as the dishwasher (voice)
- Karan Soni as Jerry Seinfeld
- Ed Helms as himself / Egg Helms
- Kia Stevens as herself / Awesome Kong
- Ronny Chieng as Voice-Over
- Antony Starr as Stray Man
- Sarah Burns as Pirate
- Jack Quaid as Basketball Player
- "Weird Al" Yankovic as himself and Lindsay
- Scott Aukerman as Police Officer 1
- Mary Sohn as Police Officer 2
- Tawny Newsome as The Queen of England
- Paul F. Tompkins as Jukebox
- Ify Nwadiwe as Grenadier Guardsman
- Brendan Scannell as Grenadier Guardsman
- Alyssa Limperis as Poster Clerk
- Michelle Brasier as various including Sports Doctor, and Leg Head
- Ben Russell as various including Bar Inspector and Tommy Nipple Tassels
- Rekha Shankar as various, including woman at fight-scene
- Robert Pieton as Different Hat
- Jessica Knappett as Zach pretending to be an English Lady at the Bar
Episodes edit
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Housemates" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| The members of Aunty Donna (Broden, Zach, and Mark) realise that their dishwasher has become sentient while singing about drums. The dishwasher starts to become annoying, so they evict the appliance. Then, having a vacancy in their apartment, they decide to get another tenant to stay with them. They interview a variety of people including Randy Feltface, a man with only the claws of a chameleon, and "Cow-Doy," but nobody is right for their apartment, in addition to many other absurd characters. Later, Zach changes the Wi-Fi network's name to "poo-poo" and the neighbourhood, along with the rest of Aunty Donna, applauds their genius. Jerry Seinfeld comes out to congratulate them, but then rejects them when they ask to be on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. It is revealed that they chose Cow-Doy to live in the space their dishwasher used to occupy. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Treasure" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| In the year 1554, a pirate stumbles into Aunty Donna's home and dies, leaving only a treasure map that the comedians find while singing about "morning brown" (or coffee, as Broden reveals). They decide to search for the treasure, but all have ulterior motives to out the others and take the money for themselves. Then, randomly, they go out to interview people on the streets when the executive producer, Ed Helms appears to chastise them for getting distracted from the plot of the show. They make up, but then Ed reveals that his name is really Egg. Meanwhile, Mark becomes confused while looking for the pirate "booty" and calls in booty finders from South Africa who both tell him that they are really from New Zealand and Scotland but the other one doesn't know. Zachary then gets a call from Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, who awards Zachary with countless gifts for calling. Whilst playing a game of catch with Egg, two police officers and Abraham Lincoln, the boys accidentally discover the pirate's gold which is revealed to be worth £1 billion dollars. As they celebrate, a message appears stating the episode is not canon and the events will not be referenced in future episodes. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "'Lympics" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| In the first scene of the show, Blair Buoyant, a clairvoyant, insults a member of the audience in what was supposed to be a planned-out trick. When members of Aunty Donna joke that they can beat pro-wrestler Awesome Kong in a wrestling match, Kong herself appears and tackles them. She then says that she will challenge them for the most medals in the 2000 Olympics, an offer the comedians hastily accept. Soon after, a drug tester publicly drinks Mark and Zach's urine and Zach pretends to be an elderly lady who sells jam. Broden is enthusiastic about the idea of organ donation, except to a person he knows called Steve, until he finds out he will be required to fill out a form. Later, they all go to a sports' doctor for various exaggerated sports-related injuries, like getting hit in the head with a ball or drowning in e-mails. Next, Awesome Kong gives the comedians Bonsai trees for being such good wrestlers in the Olympics, and then they realise that Awesome Kong lives alone. They invite her to spend Christmas dinner with them, and she eagerly says yes. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Dating" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| After singing about relatable things with each other, the members of Aunty Donna watch a trailer for a movie about a dork and a jock, who are caricatures of their stereotypical selves, until the dork becomes wildly popular when he befriends the jock. When the comedians get a notification that Zach will be going on a date, they all freak out and begin to get stressed. After the date, Zach lies to Broden and tells him the date was perfect, and he even met the magical King of Dance, when really his date left him and he went home alone. After Broden realises that Zach lied, he finds the Mr. Gentleman's Barber Shop and gets a haircut from the insane barbers working at the shop. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Night-time!" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| At night, Zach must choose whether to eat a rotten apple or a can of pudding for a midnight snack until Mark arrives and eats Broden's noodle. When Broden finds out, the others are able to convince him that it was a "night thief" who stole the noodle, and compensate him with unwrapped cheese. Later, Broden goes mad while getting Zach and Mark drinks and turns the house into a bar. Zach then kills a health inspector, not realising that he was in on the entire thing. Mark snaps awake and thinks that the entire occurrence was just a dream until Broden stalks through the doorway covered in blood, furious at Mark from shying away from the dead inspector's body. Mark wakes up again in the same situation as Zach disposes of the body in their dumpster out back, as they have done with all the characters who have ended up dead in the series. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Dinner Party" | Max Miller | Aunty Donna | 11 November 2020 | |
| One morning, a mailman (played by a mannequin) delivers the members of Aunty Donna a letter that is supposedly from Buckingham Palace, telling them that the Queen will be joining them for dinner. Broden, Zach, and Mark immediately get to work cleaning spoons until the burst out fighting for calling each other names. Later, the trio book a session at a stylist to get ready for the queen's visit and Broden and Mark ditch Zach to drive around for an hour. When they finally home back, the shop is almost ready to close for the evening. They all drive home, sad and disappointed in each other. After that, the trio hired Lord Whoopee, master of etiquette, to teach them proper table manners from the upcoming occasion. Lord Whoopee tricks them into thinking they are impolite by using whoopee cushions, who eventually dies. Down in their electrical plug, a tiny little man dances around with his tiny belongings until his best and only friend, who is made of buttons, gets sucked into a vacuum. In the end, the members of Aunty Donna have a delightful (if a little silly) dinner with the Queen of England and finally cause their audience to laugh. In the final scene of the season, the tiny little man swears vengeance on Zach. | ||||||
Production edit
Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, which is based on the acting of the members of Aunty Donna, a sketch comedy troupe, was announced in July 2020.[10]
Filming took place in the United States, as well as Melbourne, Australia.[11] In addition to Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane starring in the series as caricatures as themselves, notable actors and comedians, including Ed Helms (who also serves as an executive producer), "Weird Al" Yankovic and Kia Stevens, appear in cameos. Tawny Newsome portrays the "Queen of England", and Kristen Schaal voices the troupe's dishwasher.[12]
Release and reception edit
The entirety of the first season, which consists of six episodes, was released on 11 November 2020, on Netflix.
The first season was critically acclaimed, receiving a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.[13] On Metacritic, it has a score of 85 out of 100, based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14] Junkee noted that "it seems the entire world has learned that the Aunty Donna boys are hilarious, a fact many Aussies have known for a long time after their new series dropped on Netflix last week." The media website also praised the many cameos made by Ed Helms, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Randy Feltface.[15] The Guardian commented on how many of Aunty Donna's previous Australian YouTube and Reddit followers enjoyed the show,[2] and Decider said that the members of the comedy troupe were "the illegitimate grandchildren of Monty Python and sons of Tom Green."[16] TV Tonight gave the first season four out of five stars.[11]
References edit
- ^ Mr Sunday Movies (16 November 2020). "How To Pitch A Netflix Series (ft Aunty Donna)". YouTube. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b Valentish, Jenny (10 November 2020). "Aunty Donna on fame, fandom and the Big Ol' House of Fun: 'We prefer to live in the absurd'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ Allen, Nick (11 November 2020). "Netflix's Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun is Sketch Comedy Bliss". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Miller, Shannon (20 October 2020). "Ed Helms, Scott Aukerman, and Netflix invite you to Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House Of Fun". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "VIDEO: Watch the Trailer for AUNTY DONNA'S BIG OL' HOUSE OF FUN on Netflix". Broadway World. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun: Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Whitfield, Noah (25 November 2020). "'Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun' Is Hilariously Chaotic". The Emory Wheel. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Pobjie, Ben (11 November 2020). "All hail the divine madness of Australian comedy trio Aunty Donna". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Buckmaster, Luke (11 April 2023). "Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe review – sketch comedy trio scramble for laughs in new show". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ a b Knox, David (12 November 2020). "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun | TV Tonight". Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Every Cameo In Aunty Donna's Netflix Show, Big Ol' House Of Fun". ScreenRant. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Salem, Merryana (15 November 2020). "The Entire World Has Fallen In Love With Australia's Own Aunty Donna on Netflix". Junkee. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House Of Fun' On Netflix, Silly Aussie Boys Go Hollywood". Decider. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
