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Ricky Gervais - Live - Animals/Politics/Fame [2003]
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Ricky Gervais and his amazing vanishing talent
Review date: 2008-04-05 Rating: 4 out of 10
On the back of The Office, Ricky Gervais started doing stand up. It started off reasonably well. 'Animals' was intermittently funny and gets the two stars awarded here. It was by no means a 'great piece of stand up' within the context of truly great stand up artists, even from this country (Gervais isn't a patch on Bill Bailey or Lee Evans, for example), but it was acceptable. His subseqeunt shows are nothing short of diabolical. International readers need to understand that there is currently something of a backlash against Gervais at the moment. The British public are starting to realise what many of us spotted a long time ago; that Gervais is a one trick pony who fluked success with The Office and has failed to come close since.
Watching his stand up is like witnessing a very unpleasant car accident. His comedic skills, or lack thereof, are laid bare and his success is revealed for what it is: nasty material that panders to middle class prejudice under the cloaked veil of 'irony'. Gervais is the middle class Bernard Manning, where people who should know better feel justified in laughing at the homeless, the disabled, and ethnic minorities because "they know they shouldn't" which they use as spurious justification in cackling away while Gervais makes yet another crack at gays or some minority group. It's painful to watch and the fact that he's actually achieved a measure of success with it tells you everything you need to know about British society at the moment.
If you're going to buy stand up comedy, do yourself a favour and get George Carlin, Louis C.K. or at least someone who is genuinely funny without resorting to the low brow schlock Gervais churns out. I don't have a problem with stand up being challenging, indeed the best comics actively (and humorously) tackle society's flaws and beefs, but this set of sub-standard routines is lazy, uninspired and actually regressive. By the end of his sets, you feel slightly worse off then when they started, and a little guilty that you laughed so hard at material so mocking of societal groups. If it's Gervais' intention to 'highlight why we laugh at such things' then it's a rubbish way to go about doing it, and it hasn't worked.
Skip this rubbish and buy some good stand up instead.
Similar Products
- Extras : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 Boxset [2005]
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- Jimmy Carr - Comedian (Live) [2007]
- The Office : Complete BBC Box Set - Series 1 & 2 Plus The Christmas Specials (4 Disc Box Set) [2001]
- Extras : Complete BBC Series 2 [2005]
Reviews
The best reason for North Americans to buy an all-region DVD player
Review date: 2008-01-20 Rating: 10 out of 10
The best guess as to why these aren't available in North America is some distributor's misguided idea that North Americans won't "get" the jokes, thanks to references to Syd Little, Dawn French, Chris Tarrant, and the Chuckle Brothers.
If you live in North America, do not be deterred: simply pick up a $40 all-region DVD player (I recommend the Philips one that says, "Plays all DVDs" on the box), order this DVD set from Amazon.co.uk (along with "Zidane," which will never be available here either), and be prepared laugh until you cry. At Gervais, not Zidane.
The order in which to watch these is the order in which they were released: Animals, Politics, and Fame. Animals is funny, Politics is funnier, and Fame is one of the best comedy DVDs I've seen. It truly rivals some of the best, Chris Rock included.
Highlights include Gervais' take (he calls it "a lecture") on:
**Spoiler warning**
- The Richard Gere urban legend, featuring a great act-out of Gere stroking a "nervous" hamster;
- A British anti-rape ad campaign ("What kind of society has to remind people not to rape?");
- His religion teacher, who says that "all the laws of the land are included in the Bible" (Gervais asks: "video piracy?");
- How a conversation between the first man with HIV and the monkey who gave it to him might've played out (given the choice between admitting to having sex with a monkey or eating a monkey, both man and monkey agree: "I ate 'em.").
Arguably, the best bit is Gervais' recounting of a taping of X-Factor, where he witnesses Sharon Osbourne repeatedly insult and humiliate TV presenter Chris Tarrant.
Gervais will be taping an HBO special in New York this July, so a North American DVD can't be far off. Let's hope he doesn't feel the need to Americanize his approach, because as these DVDs prove, he's funniest just being himself.
funny !!!!
Review date: 2008-01-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
all these stand ups are funny very witty cannot wait until his next standup if he does one hopefully
Ricky, we want you!!!
Review date: 2007-09-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
Will these DVDs ever be released in the US???? We love Ricky here, too!!
Product Details/Specifications
Director(s):
Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582505979
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 3
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2007-11-12
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 245 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)