Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

To say Alexei Toliopoulos likes films would be like saying Bonnie Blue ‘might be up for it’, something of an understatement. A respected cinema reviewer as well as a comedian, he owns twice as many movies on DVD as Netflix streams.

The obsession stems from his childhood, when he had aspirations to be an actor. His solo Melbourne comedy festival debut is partially a memoir about his life through film and partly an obsessive sharing a passion. 

The best section exploits his geekiness as he exposes how directors seeking to add emotional heft to a sad scene repeatedly reach for the Max Richter composition On The Nature Of Daylight. This will come as an interesting eye-opener – ear-opener? – for casual movie-goers, although true cinephiles have been aware of the trope for years.

Other parts of the show are less successful, however,  such as the blow-by-blow plot summary of the obscure, syrupy, Christian-coded  2002 coming of age movie A Walk To Remember. Toliopoulos reads the full – long – Wikipedia entry, with the occasional snarky comment, which doesn’t build to anything.

Next he shares with us a recurring nightmare he had while staying in an unfamiliar hotel. Again it’s overlong – and hearing about other people’s dreams is not inherently interesting – although we do come to share the discombobulating feelings he experiences as some crucial revelations flesh out the story.

And finally we hear of a scam he tried to pull off with a cinema chain’s discount codes, told with the drama of an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist movie.

Toliopoulos cuts a likeable presence, and understandably talks with passion and authority about his favourite topic. However VHS also feels very much like a written show – and not just the parts he literally reads out loud – without the affected spontaneity of a stand-up. Nor does the ‘failed actor’ strand hold the disparate sections together as much as he would like, leaving the ending feeling tacked-on.

• Alexei Toliopoulos: VHS is on at Melbourne Town Hall at 9.15pm today and tomorrow, and 8.15pm on Sunday.

Review date: 17 Apr 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival