James R | On 25, Dec 2019

“Unfortunately, this is a robbery…” That’s the sound of the unlikeliest heist ever put on screen in A Very Scandi Scandal. The series (titled Enkelstöten in Sweden) follows two women in their 60s who decide one day to rob a bank.

Our criminals are Jenny (Lotta Tejle, The Sandhamn Murders) and Cecilia (Sissela Kyle, Miss Friman’s War), a teacher and a doctor. Jenny is going through a messy divorce, only to discover that a 30-year-old prenup agreement is taking all her money. Cecilia is suffering the fallout from an investment gone wrong on the Chinese stock market. So when one of Cecilia’s dying patients reveals his regret at failing to execute his aim of robbing a bank, she takes him up on the offer of pulling it off. After all, as he puts it, a 60-something gastroenterologist? Who would ever suspect her?

What ensues is a fantastically satisfying piece of law-breaking, as the two old friends put aside their ordinary routines to prepare for the Stockholm stick-up. Tired of people underestimating and overlooking them after a lifetime of playing by the rules, the result is like Widows, but a comedy. Tejle and Kyle are fantastic together, bringing a lived-in mundanity to their convincing friendship – and sharp-as-a-tack comic timing.

It’s huge fun just to watch them plotting the big job, as they wrestle with and justify their illegal actions. Is using foundation to darken their skin a little bit racist? If so, why is it fine to use a fake beard to look like a man? When one of them baulks at the idea of drugging an unsuspecting man, the other hits back: how many men have drugged women on dates over the last decade?

Naturally, things aren’t as fool-proof as they seem, and watching things unspool into chaos is the icing on the cake, as the two friends react and counter-act each new obstacle with humour, wit, intelligence and a conviction that they deserve their spoils. The only thing madder than the whole thing? You’ll be cheering them on every step of the way. Don’t be surprised when you find out they’ve stolen several hours of your time.

 

A Very Scandi Scandal is available on Walter Present.

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