Link to the n*de dudes
I've been having trouble recently, beginning reviews of movies and tv shows and then not liking them, or when I like them, there's no gay representation or no beefcake, so they can't go on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends. So this time I cheated by checked in advance: House of Guinness has a gay character, and lots of the actors have appeared n*de.
Episode 1 Prologue: Closeup of the beer-making process, with the ingredients, water, hops, and so on. A sweaty bare-chested bloke adds the fire. I like this tv series already. Then comes family, money, and rebellion.
Scene 1: St. James Gate, Dublin, 1868: As Foreman Rafferty (James Norton, left) walks through the factory, a dude asks if there will be trouble today. Of course, there's always trouble with the Guinness Family.
Scene 2: Iveagh House, the Guiness family home (built 1736, now the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Femme, decadent Edward (Louis Partridge) complains that his button-down conservative brother Arthur (Anthony Boyle) has been in London so long, he's lost his Irish accent.
Left: Partridge physique.
Scene 5: The wake, with a string quartet playing and two of the brothers receiving the condolences and fending off greedy relatives who want a share of the estate.
Scene 6: A girl brings Drunken Ben a gun. She didn't bring bullets, because she doesn't want to help him off himself, but he explains that he's actually planning to kill Bonnie Champion. He runs an illegal gambling operation; Ben owes him 170 pounds, and any unpaid debt over 150 pounds results in you "at the bottom of Dublin harbor wearing irons."
Scene 9: The Girlfriend helps a drunken Ben home, while upstairs, the other brothers watch. Conservative Arthur makes fun of him for being in love. Decadent Edward wants to know if he has stopped believing in love. "Love comes quickly, but then it's 'the snoring and the pimples and the hair.' To hell with it."
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Cut to the cooperage. It's starting to rain, so the fire will be contained. "Maybe the f*kers have God on their side, after all," Rafferty muses. The end.
Gay Characters: We aren't told what Arthur's secret is, only that it involves one of Bonnie Champion's businesses, his siblings know, and it could ruin his career. We find out later, when he is forced into a "pink marriage" and must meet his boyfriend Patrick (Cúán Hosty-Blaney) on the downlow.
Bonus: Seamus O'Hara (Fenian leader Patrick), or a random Irishman.
Episode 1 Prologue: Closeup of the beer-making process, with the ingredients, water, hops, and so on. A sweaty bare-chested bloke adds the fire. I like this tv series already. Then comes family, money, and rebellion.
Scene 1: St. James Gate, Dublin, 1868: As Foreman Rafferty (James Norton, left) walks through the factory, a dude asks if there will be trouble today. Of course, there's always trouble with the Guinness Family.
Outside, someone throws a beer bottle at the logo, and Prohibitionists burn an effigy of Benjamin Guinness: "A brewer of sin and debauchery!" His funeral is today, and they are intent on preventing his procession from making it to the church.
The Temperance Movement was nearly as popular in 19th century Ireland as in the U.S., attributing almost all crime, poverty, disease, and insanity to alcohol consumption.
Meanwhile, Fenian Leader Patrick (Seamus O'Hara) tells his followers than the Guiness heirs are weak and divided, so this is a perfect time to free Ireland -- by attacking the funeral procession! "Grab whatever weapons you can find, but spare the horses -- all horses are Catholic."
England occupied Ireland until 1922, forbidding the use of the Irish language, discriminating against Catholics, and promoting stereotypes that are still common today. There were lots of revolts, rebellions, and terrorists acts, notably from the Fenian Brotherhood.
In the factory (very impressive set, lots of workers), Foreman Rafferty tells the men to arm themselves. They have to fight to get the boss's corpse through to the church.
The battle is accompanied by the hiphop song "Get Your Brits Out," by Kneecap. Ordinarily I dislike contemporary music in a historical drama, but not when it's mostly in Irish:
Ach Stalford agus an DUP
Gach lá, taobh amuigh de mo theach
"Go back to Dublin if you want to rap"
Anois éist, I’m gonna say this once
Yous can all stay just don’t be c*nts
Scene 2: Iveagh House, the Guiness family home (built 1736, now the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Femme, decadent Edward (Louis Partridge) complains that his button-down conservative brother Arthur (Anthony Boyle) has been in London so long, he's lost his Irish accent.
The third brother, Benjamin (Finn O'Shea, top photo) is asleep on the couch, still hung over from one of his benders.
They discuss the hypocrisy of everyone pretending to grieve, when the Irish hated him, and the English are happy that he is gone: now they can manipulate the children.
Sister Anne tells them to shush their bickering; it's time for the funeral, and they have to act like a civilized Christian family: "Decadent Edward, change your shirt. Drunken Benjamin, change into some clothes you haven't slept in. Conservative Arthur, just change."
More after the break
Left: Partridge physique.
Scene 3: More of the battle, while inside the church the minister praises Old Man Guinness, who brought the Catholics and Protestants together, and represented Dublin in Parliament. The children keep eyeing each other and other people in the congregation, with whom they no doubt have a history.
Scene 4: In a pub, Fenian leader Patrick congratulates his men on their performance in the battle. He tells his sister about their next step: they're going to break into the cooperage and burn all of the barrels, so the beer can't be shipped out and the brewery will go under!
Sister has a better idea: she's been talking to the maids and other staff, and three of the four children have secrets that could destroy them. One of them will be taking the seat in Parliament vacated by their father; they can blackmail him into pushing for Irish independence!
Scene 5: The wake, with a string quartet playing and two of the brothers receiving the condolences and fending off greedy relatives who want a share of the estate.
Meanwhile, Sister Anne heads down to the alley to give Foreman Rafferty the brewery workers' wages -- with some extra for not killing anyone during the battle. They discuss their hookup a few nights ago. Anne regrets it -- she's been praying for God's forgiveness constantly. Rafferty thinks that she has a wild side beneath her pious exterior, and suggests that they hookup again.
Anne's secret: An extramarital affair.
Scene 6: A girl brings Drunken Ben a gun. She didn't bring bullets, because she doesn't want to help him off himself, but he explains that he's actually planning to kill Bonnie Champion. He runs an illegal gambling operation; Ben owes him 170 pounds, and any unpaid debt over 150 pounds results in you "at the bottom of Dublin harbor wearing irons."
"But aren't you rich?"
"Arthur is in charge of the money, and he won't give me any more."
The girl has an endowment, and she'll lend him the money if he agrees to marry her, and if the madness stops.
"Sorry, can't do it. I am the madness." She yells "F*ck you!" and storms off.
Ben's secret: Gambling debts.
Scene 7: Conservative Arthur and Decadent Edward talk to Uncle Henry, who runs a college that trains missionaries (an important part of the British colonial project). He disapproves of the brothers' irreverence, but hopes they will keep up Dad's contributions, which kept the college open. Sister Anne interrupts to announce that she will be continuing the contribution; it's her decision, because she will be in charge of the business, screw gender roles.
Scene 8: Night. The sister of Fenian Leader Patrick appears at Crime Boss Bonnie Champion' Haulage business. The gatekeeper thinks she's applying for a job as a prostitute, and claims that he gets "first go." She pulls a gun, forces him to undress (no beefcake), checks it out, and says "No, thanks, not big enough."
Inside, Bonnie Champion knows her: head of the Fenian Ladies' League, "a dangerous woman. A woman with brains." He's already giving the Fenians 10% of the profits on his bookmaking and prostitution rackets. What more do they want? "Family secrets."
Sure: Ben gambles because he hears voices in his head, fae (fairies) and such. He owes a lot of money, but Bonnie can't kill him because then their enforcer, Foreman Rafferty, would come gunning.
"We don't care about him. We want to know about Conservative Arthur's secrets. He's patronizing one of your non-gambling services." The prostitutes?
Meanwhile, Patrick and his boys set fire to the barrels in the cooperage after all (thousands of them, quite a sight). Foreman Rafferty appears to direct salvage efforts. Uh-oh, he sees Sister Ellen watching. Now he'll blame the Fenians!
Scene 9: The Girlfriend helps a drunken Ben home, while upstairs, the other brothers watch. Conservative Arthur makes fun of him for being in love. Decadent Edward wants to know if he has stopped believing in love. "Love comes quickly, but then it's 'the snoring and the pimples and the hair.' To hell with it."
He's sad because tomorrow "everything becomes real." He'll have to take his father's seat in Parliament, "and I am half consumed by the flames of hell." Why, whatever could be the problem, buddy?
"What flames consume you?" Edward asks.
Sister Anne comes in and tries to console him.
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Cut to the cooperage. It's starting to rain, so the fire will be contained. "Maybe the f*kers have God on their side, after all," Rafferty muses. The end.
The closing song is "H.O.O.D.," by Kneecap:
Oíche mhór amach fuinne, at least
Troid eile, he's beating some fella
Tá an R.U.C. anseo anois and it's for saoirse na Cilla
F*ked into the back of the Jeep
He falls asleep -- he does it every week
Beefcake: Lots of sweaty, hairy chests.
Other Sights: Very impressive exterior scenes.
Heterosexism: Ben has a girlfriend, and Anne is having an affair.
Gay Characters: We aren't told what Arthur's secret is, only that it involves one of Bonnie Champion's businesses, his siblings know, and it could ruin his career. We find out later, when he is forced into a "pink marriage" and must meet his boyfriend Patrick (Cúán Hosty-Blaney) on the downlow.
The Offence against the Person Act (1861) changed the penalty for "buggery" from death to life in prison. Same-sex acts were not legalized in Ireland until 1993.
My Grade: A
Bonus: Seamus O'Hara (Fenian leader Patrick), or a random Irishman.
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