🇸🇪 A VERY SCANDI SCANDAL S1🇸🇪
A Very Scandi Scandal S1 aka The Simple Heist and Enkelstöten (2017-2019) season 1 is a Swedish comedy-crime series on Walter Presents U.K.; Acorn & AppleTV in USA & Canada. 6 x 45 min episodes in Swedish with subtitles.
Premise:
“Jenny and Cecilia are two women in their 60s who live a regular middle-class life in Kalmar. But when both realize that the future is anything but light for them, they decide to do something drastic, robbing a bank office in Stockholm.” IMDb
Cast:
Lotta Tejle as Jenny
Sissela Kyle as Cecilia Stensson
Tomas von Brömssen as Jan
Ralph Carlsson as Gunnar
Kristin Andersson as Harriet
David Wiberg as Bengt
Jimmy Lindström as Sverker
Björn Gustafson as Sven-Erik
Rasmus Engelholm as Filip
Pontus Edgren as Patrick/Filip’s father
Peter Carlberg as Stellan
Thomas Mattsson as Krimmy
Victor von Schirach as Olle
Samuel Steen as Ville
Pontus Olgrim as Guard
Crew:
Directors: Felix Herngren, Emma Bucht
Writers: Tomas Arvidson (novel), Erik Hultkvist, Lin Gottfriedsson, Rikard Ulvshammar
Composers: Matti Bye, Joel Danell
Cinematographer: Viktor Davidson
Editor: Henrik Källberg
Production Design: Maria Sohlman Wikman
Notes:
Lotta Tejle is also in The Sandhamn Murders, Tomas von Brömssen in Fallet. Ralph Carlsson is in Snow Angels, Alex, Farang, The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared, The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Millenium, The Girl Who Played with Fire. David Wiberg is in the cast of The Unlikely Murderer, Thin Blue Line) Jimmy Lindström in The Unlikely Murderer, Snow Angels, Maria Wern and Roslund & Hellström: Box 21. You can see Peter Carlberg in Young Royals, Snow Angels, The Truth Will Out, Aniara, The Sandhamn Murders, Bonus Family, Greyzone, Spring Tide, Beck and Real Humans. Victor von Schirach is on Maria Wern, The Mallorca Files, Blinded, Videoman, Arne Dahl and The Bridge.
Pontus Edgren is best known as a producer on projects such as this show plus as Blinded, Anxious People, Bonus Family, The Unlikely Murderer, Love & Anarchy, Quicksand, Fallet and Welcome to Sweden.
Review:
This review is specifically for season 1 of A Very Scandi Scandal.
I really fancied watching something light and funny (world situation and all that) so I settled on a rewatch of A Very Scandi Scandal S1 (weird title, not sure why they did not stick with The Simple Heist as used elsewhere…) as I remembered that it did make me laugh last time I watched it.
The strange thing about rewatches is which parts you remember and which you totally forget (I wonder why that is?) The first time I watched I had recently started learning Swedish and weirdly a scene with grandchildren in a car saying “fåglarna” (birds) had stuck in my mind since then. Why I would remember that and not the dangerous situation just after it is a bit baffling.
Parts of A Very Scandi Scandal are very funny indeed. And I can definitely relate to some of the characters (I’ve never been tempted to rob a bank though) and recognise others (albeit playing golf rather than Bridge). There is quite a lot of slapstick in this show and lashings of farce. Sometimes it does get very silly indeed.
The general premise of the show works well and I found the reasons for committing the robbery compelling even if I could disapprove. It’s also interesting that it explores how women of a certain age, class and ethnicity can escape the notice of investigators in a way that others do not (bike gang members for example).
I loved the performances in this by everyone in the cast. The main characters are well-developed and in the main seem like real people. Everyone is flawed with some getting away with this and others not.
The editing of this show is very good and this means most of the “jokes” stick their landing.
There were occasional places that just tipped the balance from being funny to be more irritating.
Overall, if you too fancy watching something that is designed to be light-hearted and to make you smile and chuckle then I can recommend A Very Scandi Scandal.
Awards:
1 Nomination
Nomination:
Kristallen Award (2018) Best Comedy Show
Trailer:
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