I haven’t written an entire post about the genius that is The Office (the British version) – which I really need to. It’s on the list.
Other things on the list:
— The Rookie and what it has to say about marriage. (That one will be similar to this one – only I will focus more on the male side of the marriage equation. That’s gonna be a big post. I need to gear up for it.)
— the book The Pigman – and what it means to me (this was sparked by a conversation I had with my sister Jean this weekend – she’s reading it to her class – so many memories) “The ghost of Aunt Ahra”, The Marshmallow Kid, the exploding Egyptian eyeball, etc.
— the coffee cup I stole from a diner in Ithaca, New York, and why I did it, and how I still have it
— and The Office
Ricky Gervais. I mean. The dude is … I don’t care where he got the idea, who he is, if he’s never acted before, whatever it is … he is absolutely a genius. He created, wrote, directed, blah blah blah The Office with his partner in crime Stephen Merchant. Gervais’ performance as David Brent reminds me so much (except it’s funnier) of William H. Macy in Fargo. The psychological observations he’s making … about this kind of person … are so spot on, so embarrassing, so perfect – and he executes them with such unselfconsciousness – that you often have to look away in embarrassment. But then you always look back.
Add on to that how FUNNY the whole thing is.
I guess you either get it or you don’t. The Office (the Brit version) has become a kind of a litmus test for me. If someone says, “Oh my God, I love The Office and I love Ricky Gervais…” then chances are I’ll be able to hang out with that person. It’s a sense of humor thing. If someone “gets” that kind of humor – then I will probably relate to them. You know those people who don’t find Monty Python funny? Well, call me a snob, whatever, but I do think a wee bit less of such people. Sorry. It’s the truth. Or at least I think: Huh. I wonder if I’ll get along with them then?? I’m not saying the type of humor in The Office is obscure or esoteric – but it certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. You need to be able to tolerate a certain amount of discomfort to get into The Office, because the humor is so relentless, kind of brutal, and there’s no let-up.
For example.
David Brent is the boss in an office. I don’t even know how to begin to describe his personality. He basically just wants to be loved. But this manifests itself in intense narcissism – and … he is constantly embarrassing himself by trying to be too cool, or be something he’s not. He is so so so threatened by anyone who comes in from the outside and seems like they are trying to take his spot. A guy comes in to give a team-building seminar, for example, and David Brent CANNOT let the guy lead the class – because he just needs eveyrone to know that he already knows all the team-building concepts and he could teach the class himself. It’s excruciating to watch, but also so so so so so funny.
Then there is the famed office party. Everyone is in costume. This good-looking guy, who is actually David’s boss (someone who David is very threatened by) comes as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, and does a pretty damn fine imitation of John Travolta for the office. Everyone clapping, cheering, laughing.
David Brent cannot BEAR to be “shown up” like this. He immediately denigrates the dancing … and says somethign like, “Yeah, that was fine … but you rehearsed it … I do a more spontaneous style … mixing in MC Hammer with blah blah blah …” It’s so transparent that you get embarrassed for him. (But somehow, and this is the genius: You don’t despise him. This is not a bad guy. He is not malicious. He just wants to be loved and applauded.)
Anyway – he decides to do an impromptu dance for the office. Immediately following the very successful John Travolta imitation.
Watch how everyone in the office slowly start to get more and more uncomfortable as they realize what is happening …. And the cut-away shots to people looking on …
It is howlingly funny. And awful.
This is my Desktop wallpaper by the way:
I watched the two-hour Office special which closed the series yesterday (thanks, Allison!!) – and cried – all over again – at Tim and Dawn finally getting together. FINALLY.
i do not know why the last 15 minutes of this series moves me so deeply and strikes me as so damn profound – but it does.
Her face as she approaches Tim, the tears, the intense look in her eyes … his start of surprise as he realizes what is happening, that she has come back … their startled body language as they kiss for the first time … the way he stands still for a second, as the kiss begins, then accepts that it is really happening and moves his hand up to her face …
It just fills my heart. Makes me sad and happy all at the same time.
Beautifully played.
Breaks my heart. I want to have a moment like that again.
My favorite line from that show ever is when Dawn and her pig boyfriend buy Tim that blow-up penis for his birthday, explaining that they would have just given him money or something, but they thought that was too impersonal. Tim replies “Oh that’s all right. I probably would have just bought an enormous inflatable cock with it anyway.”
hahahahahahaha
The scene where David Brent goes to that evening event where he has been asked to speak about his management techniques …
and he wears the backwards baseball cap … and does the whole “make yourself laugh” thing …
I watch it and my jaw drops to the floor. I am SO embarrassed and yet I cannot look away
And the outtakes on the DVD are sometimes even funnier than the show. As you can probably imagine – some of these scenes took about 30 takes because everyone kept cracking up. LIke – the CAMERAMAN would burst into laughter sometimes … hahahahaha
His singing in the first season – when he thinks that the songs he’s written are some sort of great comfort to the staff when they’re all worried about losing their jobs…ass.
“Gareth, get the guitar.”
BTW, you have seen Gareth’s home page, haven’t you?
“get the guitar”
hahahaha
And the reaction shots of the whole office listening to him play …
I love his home page!
And how he always tips over the edge into inappropriate behavior. Racist jokes, sexist jokes … then making a big to-do about how he can’t stand pornography “because it is degrading to women” – He just digs that hole deeper and deeper and deeper.
The Office‘s brilliance lies in the fact that it treads that fine line between excruciating and excruciatingly funny. One moment it’s setting your teeth on edge, the next it’s hilarious. Sometimes it does bth at the same time.
I love it when David goes to get his guitar during that seminar and proceeds to sing for all his staff. And I have to admit to never getting tired of seeing Tim ‘hide’ Gareth’s stapler in the jelly :-)
“My life is like Ibiza uncut.”
Uh, yeah. You work in an office at a paper company.
The best one:
“A lot of people think that those in the Territorial Army are not real soldiers. We are. We are well trained, highly disciplined fighting machines ready for war. We’re just not available during the week.”
I always thought that Gareth was even worse than David…he’s not that guy, he’s the ass kiss that wants to be that guy. The one who will never let you forget that he has a thread of authority over you.
I watched this award show in complete hysterics.
The Office was nominated for several awards in the British Comedy Awards 2004. It’s always presented as a live show.. usually accompanied by copious amounts of alcohol – both for the audience and for those actually there.
At the 2004 Awards Stephen Hawking appeared to present a special award to Matt Groening.. which prompted this from Ricky Gervais when The Office won the award for comedy writing [they had nominations in many other categories] –
“When Stephen Hawking came up he [producer Ash Atallah – “leg-mental, but not head-mental”] had his nose out of joint because he usually is the best in the room”.
[Looks at Ash Atallah] – “Don’t worry, you’re just the same as Stephen Hawking”.
[Looks at Hawking, then to the audience] – “He milked it a bit didn’t he”.
Emily – yeah, if you had David brent for a boss – even if he was annoying and too needy – at least you could get away with murder. Gareth was such a tight-wad, so lording it over people …hahahahaha How he wants to have a “private office” for the “investigation” of who sent around the photoshopped pornographic pictures of david. And how he treats it as though he is working for the CIA.
I also think Keith – the big huge deadpan accountant – is so so so funny.
Have you seen his new show Extras yet? I recorded the first two episodes but haven’t watched them yet. The promos alone look hilarious.
oh my god, curly, it is SO funny!! You have to see the first one – Kate Winslet is in it and she is a riot. it’s so good!!
Gervais and Merchant have teamed up again – it makes me so happy.
Good!! I saw Gervais on The Daily Show and the clip he brought was so funny. I can’t wait to watch the whole thing. Ooh, that’s what I’ll do tonight! :)
David Brent: Women should not be punished for having big breasts.
Gareth: If anything they should be rewarded.
David Brent: No, they should be equal. Women are equal.
Gareth: I’ve always said that.
David Brent: Yes … well … I said it first.
The Office is a litmus test for me, too.
I think the problem with most Americans finding it funny is that we want our comedy RIGHTHERE in our faces, like Something About Mary. We don’t want to have to think about whether or not something’s funny; the laugh track TELLS us when it’s funny.
The Office (and most other British comedy) doesn’t work like that — Ricky Gervais wants us to see the jokes in every day life, in all of us. We’re ALL David Brent in some way whether we like it or not, and when we laugh (or cringe) at him, we’re laughing at ourselves.