Quasi-Irish Accent by Australian Not as Bad as Cockney Accent by American

So the other day, when I said that D.V.D. was not mentioned when Russell Crowe's accent in Robin Hood was said to sound a wee bit Irish... I take it back. Only took a day for someone to jump on it.


The Independent, May 17, 2010, "Don't Mention the Accent" by Philip Hensher

Mr Crowe's attempt on a Northern accent in Robin Hood is not of a Dick van Dyke order of badness, but the Irish undertow is unmistakable. It is curious that he thought himself better placed to judge the accuracy of the impersonation than a native Englishman, but there it is.

CGI DVD

I was wondering if I'd ever see this footage!

Time Out mentions MODVDA

This is what happens when you don't moderate your comments on your blog for a year -- you find out you were mentioned in Time Out!

London Through A Moving Lens: bad cockney accents,
Time Out, Jan 8 2009, by Peter Watts

Settle down for some of You Tube's finest inept renditions of the cockney accent, inspired by the Ministry of Dick Van Dyke's Accent, which boldly attempts to catalogue every occasion the media refers to Dick's vocally challenged chimney sweep in 'Mary Poppins'. [This is the sort of thing the internet was invented for - as their manifesto points out, 'As far as inaccuracies go, the film is full of others. Greenwich does not set its time by the cannon fire of Admiral Boom; Nannies can't fly; small children do not compose help wanted advertisements in verse; and (I know this from experience) the wait staff at most English cafes consists of entirely of Polish immigrants, not dancing penguins.']

Russell Crow: 'You've got dead ears if you think that's an Irish accent'

To their credit, they don't mention D.V.D.

Repetition

On this week's episode of Just a Minute (available for streaming for one week), Paul Merton took a shot at himself for doing a horrible Cockney accent by saying, "Am I the only one now who's thinking of Dick Van Dyke?"

The biggest word you ever heard and this is how it goes...

Sleep Talking Man takes on Mary Poppins.

Yeah, Baby! YEAH!

I haven't written a lot about Dick Van Dyke recently, seeing as his longtime girlfriend Michelle Triola died this year, and it didn't feel right. I'm certainly not making fun of him with this blog -- I'm making fun of hack writers who fall back on the cliché of complaining about his bad cockney accent. And lately, he's been dealing with his grief in typical Dick Van Dyke fashion; he's getting out there and doing things, and just generally being the kind of optimistic guy I hope to be when I'm in my mid-80s.

So... after a suitable respectful period, it's time re-open the ministry's doors.

The Telegraph, December , 2009, Yeah, baby, yeah. It's international talk with a fake British accent day by Derek Nisbet

Dick van Dyke and Austin Powers have a lot to answer for. Two New York expats have designated December 17 International talk with a fake British accent day....

Everyone (even the Brits) is invited to adopt a fake accent for the event and may find themselves tested on the day by fiendish tongue twisters. You could mimic other famous "fakers", such as Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins or Austin Powers. “Fakers” will be recorded for posterity and members will get a chance to listen, vote, comment and discuss their efforts online.