Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Culture, Empathy, England, Entertainment, Relevance
So yesterday I wrote about The Office and how David Brent may – or may not – have been influenced by 80’s cricketer Ian Botham.
I love that show so, so, so much so I cannot tell you how disappointed I was when I watched the movie Life On The Road.
Now to be fair, Ricky Gervais said this was not meant to be an extension of The Office, but it did feature the character David Brent so it’s pretty obvious I’m going to make comparisons.
When I first heard of the film, it was like hearing an old friend was coming into town and the trailer definitely raised my expectations but when I sat down and watched the final film, I was left underwhelmed.
I should point out this was not purely because it wasn’t anywhere near as funny as The Office, it was because Ricky Gervais had fundamentally changed the character of David Brent.
As I wrote yesterday, the genius of David Brent’s character was that while he was a delusional, terrible manager … his heart was in the right place which is why the people around him, put up with him.
However in Life On The Road, Brent became a bit of a dick – highlighted by the fact the people around him openly hated him – which resulted in you having little sympathy for the character because his cringe-worthiness was driven by arrogance rather than misguidedness.
This slight shift in character changed everything … and while Ricky Gervais may argue that the desperation to become a Rock Star would result in you becoming a more aggressive character than trying to be a manager of a paper-merchants [in Slough], I can’t help but feel it’s because Gervais has become disconnected to normal life, that made The Office so amazing.
Of course, that is to be expected given he is a multi-multi-millionaire and has the lifestyle that is about as opposite to the one he had when he wrote The Office, which should serve as a great reminder that one of the greatest skills anyone can have is to know when to walk away.
Though when I wrote about the guys at ATTIK, they said it better when they said …
“It’s like retiring from football and ten years later expecting to play against younger guys, it wasn’t the way to go.”
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you and gervais have a fuckload in common.
Comment by andy@cynic August 25, 2017 @ 6:24 amim surprised because i thought you only resembled brent. the new dick version
Not forgetting his big dollop of Gareth idiocy and Finchy wanker.
Comment by DH August 25, 2017 @ 6:32 amThere’s worse people to be compared to …
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:23 amyoure fucking right campbell. you could be compared to you.
Comment by andy@cynic August 25, 2017 @ 7:27 amYou walked into that Rob. Nice play Andy.
Comment by Bazza August 25, 2017 @ 7:34 amyoure right about the film. the trailer was made up of the only fucking funny bits in the whole movie ego piece.
Comment by andy@cynic August 25, 2017 @ 6:25 amI haven’t seen it. I knew it would be bad and don’t want my memory of one of my favorite ever shows being killed. Why did he do it?
Comment by DH August 25, 2017 @ 6:33 amDon’t Dave, it’s so sad in so many ways.
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:24 amActually, on second thoughts, watch it then I’m not the only one who had their memories screwed with. Ha.
is that why you dress like youre in 1978, to feel like youre still one of the young guys? hate to break this to you campbell, its not fucking working.
Comment by andy@cynic August 25, 2017 @ 6:26 amAs i pointed out yesterday, The Office was many good things but it wasn’t funny, so it’s no surprise that the various spin-offs haven’t been funny either.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 6:38 amYou are a hard man to please John.
Comment by George August 25, 2017 @ 6:43 amI laughed more when I read the scripts, but the brilliant way they performed it meant there was only one set-piece (the evaluation interview) that made me laugh – the rest was just too cringeworthily close to the truth.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 6:48 amIsn’t that what was funny though John. The fact we could all relate to bits of it and now, from a safe distance, we were able to laugh at the stupidity that was once our reality?
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:26 amIf I don’t laugh, I don’t think it counts a s funny.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 7:33 amI guess it suggests that deep down I find stupidity unforgiveable and that I’m not a nice person.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 7:35 amI think it just says you shouldn’t come to this blog.
Comment by Bazza August 25, 2017 @ 7:36 amNobody should.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 7:44 amThank you Robert. When I watched the movie I felt there was an unpleasant difference in the Brent character and you helped me understand what it was. It should have been a triumph but in the end it should have been shelved. Another in a very long line of television shows that have failed to make the cut as a film.
Comment by George August 25, 2017 @ 6:46 amCoulda. Shoulda. Didn’t.
Comment by Lee Hill August 25, 2017 @ 7:15 amYou’re right. Has there been a single film that has worked as well as it did as a TV show? Some have been good but I don’t think any has ever been “as good” and certainly never better.
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:29 amYou won’t say that if they make a movie length episode of the real housewives.
Comment by Bazza August 25, 2017 @ 7:35 amMy dreams would all come true if that happened.
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:37 amMonty Python? Mission Impossible? Are You Being Served?
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 7:43 amNot sure if any of those count. Either a different storyline to the show a different cast. Though I’d definitely pay to watch ‘Are You Being Served’ as a movie, if only for the car crash it would be.
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:58 amI bet the latter exists. Oh look it does – “The staff of Grace Bros. take a trip to Costa Plonka while the department is being remodeled”. That’s your weekend viewing sorted for you.
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 8:09 amYou’re enabling him.
Comment by DH August 25, 2017 @ 9:28 amSurely etter he ingests some harmless recreational stuff than he goes off searching for some adulterated street docos to meet his needs?
Comment by John August 25, 2017 @ 1:46 pm‘Porridge’ the movie wasn’t bad.
Comment by Ian Gee August 25, 2017 @ 5:35 pmPorridge wins because Kate Beckinsale’s Dad was in it which automatically means it’s epic. Plus he was from Nottingham.
Comment by Rob August 25, 2017 @ 7:42 pm