Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Gervais is a funny one (funny in both senses, I guess, although much more hit-and-miss when it comes to funny-haha). I remember really liking The Office, although I never watched it religiously and I dunno how well it would stand up on being watched again today, especially after getting on for a couple of decades of 'cringe-com' - Peep Show and more recently Fleabag over here, or Curb, Stateside. I liked Extras, too, the times I saw it. He's definitely much more likeable when he's taking the piss out of himself rather than other people.

However, there's something about him I really don't like. I think it's the fact that, as himself rather than as a character, he wants to be the sort of person who laughs at David Brent, but at the same time, and perhaps more than he'd like to admit or even realise, he fundamentally is David Brent. I caught a bit of one of his stand-up shows on TV years ago and he started with a series of potshots at Jim Davidson, who'd played the same venue the night before, and by extension Davidson's [thick, racist, uneducated] audience. Some of which, I admit, was quite funny - but then he's just flattering both himself and his audience, which is pretty cheap. Then he spent the next ten minutes milking the inherent comedic potential of the word "spastic", which felt like a real case of wanting to have his cake and eat it. I've got much the same impression of Frankie Boyle.

And speaking of Curb, he came across as totally unbearable when he was a guest on that show - unbelievably smarmy and sycophantic, both cringing and cringe-inducing. Which may have been the intended effect, I dunno, but it was neither endearing nor particularly funny.
 
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version

Well-known member
He tried his hand at music in the 80s. That's him on the left and he's the one on lead vocals.

 
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Mr. Tea;409851perhaps more than he'd like to admit or even realise said:
is[/I] David Brent.

This is key in terms of why things went rapidly downhill after The Office (and to answer your question on if it's still watchable: yes, massively, an absolute masterpiece and nothing on TV has come anywhere near it since. Many shows have had huge success aping / plain stealing from it eg People Just Do Nothing)

Brent is the most pathetic, narcissistic aspects of Gervais personality amplified in a constrained and hopeless setting, same with Partridge being Coogan's desperate self without a filter. So in terms of life experience and insecurities, you only have so much material to draw from, and most of the best stuff was embodied in Brent/Partidge. There's also the undervalued input of Merchant, his restraint, the lack of gags and delayed gratification. He seems to have tempered Gervais ego and excess.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I caught a bit of one of his stand-up shows on TV years ago and he started with a series of potshots at Jim Davidson, who'd played the same venue the night before, and by extension Davidson's [thick, racist, uneducated] audience. Some of which, I admit, was quite funny - but then he's just flattering both himself and his audience, which is pretty cheap. Then he spent the next ten minutes milking the inherent comedic potential of the word "spastic", which felt like a real case of wanting to have his cake and eating it.

I guess my point here is: so is he actually in any sense "woke" (and his recent outburst suggests he'd at least like us to think he is), or is he just Jim Davidson with a philosophy degree from UCL?
 

version

Well-known member
Brent is the most pathetic, narcissistic aspects of Gervais personality amplified in a constrained and hopeless setting, same with Partridge being Coogan's desperate self without a filter. So in terms of life experience and insecurities, you only have so much material to draw from, and most of the best stuff was embodied in Brent/Partidge.

Coogan's in a different league to Gervais. He's the better comedian, the better actor, the better writer, he can do impressions, he's far less irritating and he's got stuff like The Trip to his name post-Partridge.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
And 24 Hour Party People. Coogan's great, Gervais is that guy in the office (yep) who makes outrageous jokes that are sometimes funny, which barely conceal a yawning void where a soul should be.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
I guess my point here is: so is he actually in any sense "woke" (and his recent outburst suggests he'd at least like us to think he is), or is he just Jim Davidson with a philosophy degree from UCL?

He seems to have tricked everyone into believing he's smart, when he just simply isn't. He's still in his early 20s mentally. Still an angst ridden student walking around campus with a t-shirt that says bollocks on it.

Another fantastically exposing watch is his inside the actors studio interview, which I can't find on YouTube right now, but is such a perfect display of his own self aggrandisement. The show is cringe in itself because the host famously holds nothing back when it comes to indulging Hollywood egos. A total gushfest, but the RG one is next level. He relishes in the admiration. That's his goal in life btw, to be liked. That's why he is Brent. That's why The Office worked so well.

In the actors studio interview he allows the host, James Lipton, to climb inside of his arse and lick it clean, only to follow him in there and start getting to work himself. At one point he's talking about the size of his own dick for 5 minutes at which point Lipton, who is normally only too happy to oblige starts to make eyes at the audience (acting students), who are visibly uncomfortable and laughing nervously. I think this is key to understanding Gervais at this point. He's been told he's wonderful, believes it, and then as soon as he feels comfortable enough that he's won over the audience, he exposes his true nature. All the while totally oblivious to what's going on. And should he sense a hint of hesitation, he pastes over the moment with that giant squawk of a laugh.
 
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version

Well-known member
I've lost count of the number of 'zero fucks' and 'we must protect this man at all costs' comments I've seen in response to the Golden Globes monologue. I really don't like the way the same phrases are repeated over and over and over. You even see people copying and pasting comments under the same YouTube video - makes me feel like I'm going mad.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
I've lost count of the number of 'zero fucks' and 'we must protect this man at all costs' comments I've seen in response to the Golden Globes monologue. I really don't like the way the same phrases are repeated over and over and over. You even see people copying and pasting comments under the same YouTube video - makes me feel like I'm going mad.

Haven't seen the GG vid. I try to steer clear of comments and all that shit now. There's just no point.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Coogan's in a different league to Gervais. He's the better comedian, the better actor, the better writer, he can do impressions, he's far less irritating and he's got stuff like The Trip to his name post-Partridge.

Yeah, I was going to say, I can't really agree with Gervais being put in the same leagues as Coogan. Miles apart.
 
Coogan's in a different league to Gervais. He's the better comedian, the better actor, the better writer, he can do impressions, he's far less irritating and he's got stuff like The Trip to his name post-Partridge.

You impressively channel them both with this post!
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
Imvho, The Office marked a huge shift in the national sense of humour. I felt a change in the air when it was on the telly (was about 18 at the time) and while in some ways, Partridge was there first, the Office seemed to be the show to actively change us on a mass level. The first to forge a new level of meanness into our collective conscious and influence a great deal of media and Internet content that followed it. Of course there was plenty of dark stuff going on in the 90s, all the Chris Morris stuff etc. But it seemed like that was only for a select viewership. Whereas, The Office appealed to almost everyone. The way it was suddenly OK to bully someone such as Keith, the fat loser. We all knew a Keith, but it's my belief that pre the office there was generally more leway allowed for a Keith to be a Keith and not suffer the jibes of a Tim, who we also all knew. Now of course there was bullying going on forever, but I honestly believe the Office either took it to, or at least marked, a new level. Pre Office people would only think those things about Keith and say them once his back was turned, but post Office people were suddenly saying them right to each other's faces. I think the majority of the male public relate with Tim, but I honestly hated him because he was a cunt to everyone he deemed himself superior to and yet was being sold as the good guy and voice of reason. Imo he represents the worst archetype in the office. At least you know where you stand with the rest of the prescribed losers. Tim was the one who hated his life, his job and himself and yet did nothing about it apart from take it out on those around him. This rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning and still does to this day. But its been pretty much normalised now, and I think in many ways Tim's demeanour is the default for a huge number of young to middle aged people in Britain, and perhaps the western world. It's the perspective of a guy like Ricky G or Steve C in real life who hate those who try too hard or or mock the fools for not being as smart as them, yet, they don't really have the balls to do anything themselves*. I think what I'm saying is their idea of dealing with what they hate about their reality is to take the piss. And it's a cheap, lazy, riskless position to take.

*they both made shows to deal with the subject, but in hindsight, I personally dislike the approach because I think the implications were massively negative. So yes they did do something, but idk if it was really a good thing for culture on the whole, because it fed into a severely toxic perspective loop which has us all focusing on those tiny awkward minutiae of daily interactions with those kind of people who were unfortunate to not receive enough guidance in life, which let's face it there are many of, and at times we can all have our moments like that. It's another step away from any form of compassion or understanding. Was Gareth really so unbearable? Wouldn't it have been fun to have such a loon around all day? Tim is the one who would get on my nerves more than anyone else in there tbh. But something tells me a lot of dissensus are going to be more Tim people than anyone else.

Value judgements all over the place I know.

Anyway, never mind that, the real question is this: I wonder if this shift was taking place anyway and The Office just came on at the right time to catch the wave or maybe it had always been this way and I was naive to it, being only 18 and fairly sheltered at the time.

It's exactly this that made me so fascinated with Gervais from way back then. I studied his every move. Even listened to all the podcasts. I realised that underneath, he's a bully. A hate filled, talentless bully. But in some ways he's relatable, just as Tim is. And somehow it feels like it's this dark turn of the tide that I resisted at 18yo, which kept me from becoming a Tim. But does that make me... A Gareth? Or a Keith?! 🔫
 

version

Well-known member
There's a bloke my brother and I found on YouTube years ago who I swear is a Coogan character. He's called Trevor Rooney, he runs ghost walks in York, he was on Come Dine With Me and got beaten up by a bunch of teenagers who recognised him from it and the online reviews of his walks suggest that he just gets people to buy him drinks on the way round and starts heckling other ghost walks and ranting about how everyone's out to get him as he gets progressively more drunk. He even looks and sounds like a Coogan character.

 
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version

Well-known member
Imvho, The Office marked a huge shift in the national sense of humour.

I was too young to be interested when it was airing, but I noticed the influence on a lot of my friends' humour once we all watched it a few years later. Peep Show too. Peep Show seemed to really lock into something we were all subconsciously aware of toward the end of school and only felt more strongly moving into our 20s.
 

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
I’m impressed with and bewildered by patty cakes in equal measure.

It’s a very niche thing to be so knowledgable and impassioned about, but nonetheless a potent polemic.
 
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