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Daid Brent - The Movie.
21 Answers
I went to see this last night, and on the whole, it was enjoyable.
I think that Stephen Merchant's presence may have tightened up the writing and the characterisation, but it is still a mainly funny film.
Brent remains the same comedy grotesque, but the pathos is there underneath - but some of the 'awefulness' is a little laboured, especially with the 'Hnnnn...' noise Gervais makes every few seconds, which is irritating.
The most poignant line, as Brent accepts that stardom is not coming his way, is "I can live without success, but I couldn't live with not having tried ..." and that is a powerful reminder that underneath his gauche irritating ignorant persona, utterly without self-awareness, is a man who is chasing his dream, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Thoughts?
I think that Stephen Merchant's presence may have tightened up the writing and the characterisation, but it is still a mainly funny film.
Brent remains the same comedy grotesque, but the pathos is there underneath - but some of the 'awefulness' is a little laboured, especially with the 'Hnnnn...' noise Gervais makes every few seconds, which is irritating.
The most poignant line, as Brent accepts that stardom is not coming his way, is "I can live without success, but I couldn't live with not having tried ..." and that is a powerful reminder that underneath his gauche irritating ignorant persona, utterly without self-awareness, is a man who is chasing his dream, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Thoughts?
Answers
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ummmm - I watched The Office from day one, and adored it.
I watched a couple of episodes with the present Mrs Hughes who has never worked in an office. I have clocked up forty-two years and counting.
It goes to show that the humour is based on empathy, which is why she sat that wondering what was funny, and I fought for breath I was laughing so much.
I have worked for 'David Brent' managers, and worse, and I have attended seminars with external speakers that echo theirs perfectly.
It was and remains a work of comic genius.
I watched a couple of episodes with the present Mrs Hughes who has never worked in an office. I have clocked up forty-two years and counting.
It goes to show that the humour is based on empathy, which is why she sat that wondering what was funny, and I fought for breath I was laughing so much.
I have worked for 'David Brent' managers, and worse, and I have attended seminars with external speakers that echo theirs perfectly.
It was and remains a work of comic genius.
saintpeter48 - //I too was getting fed up with that little whine (Hnnnn...) he gives out but I suppose that is the character. //
It wasn't part of the original persona, looks like RG has grafted it on for the film. I bet Stephen Merchant would have told him to take it out - another example of why his input and direction was missed.
It wasn't part of the original persona, looks like RG has grafted it on for the film. I bet Stephen Merchant would have told him to take it out - another example of why his input and direction was missed.
"I can live without success, but I couldn't live with not having tried ..."
A good line, but perhaps one that should somehow be left for the audience to say?
A bit like the marshmallow man in Ghostbusters and Bill Murray says "There's something you don't see every day!" They should trust the audience to form their own responses without it being spelt out for them.
...an old fogey writes
A good line, but perhaps one that should somehow be left for the audience to say?
A bit like the marshmallow man in Ghostbusters and Bill Murray says "There's something you don't see every day!" They should trust the audience to form their own responses without it being spelt out for them.
...an old fogey writes
jno - //"I can live without success, but I couldn't live with not having tried ..."
A good line, but perhaps one that should somehow be left for the audience to say? //
Personally, I think it was right for Brent to say it.
Genius comedy requires a hint of tragedy, of humanity, of pathos, applied in just the right amount at just the right time.
All the best comedy characters are trapped and kicking against their constraints, and the cue for the audience to see that humanity is what makes really good comedy into genius comedy.
A good line, but perhaps one that should somehow be left for the audience to say? //
Personally, I think it was right for Brent to say it.
Genius comedy requires a hint of tragedy, of humanity, of pathos, applied in just the right amount at just the right time.
All the best comedy characters are trapped and kicking against their constraints, and the cue for the audience to see that humanity is what makes really good comedy into genius comedy.
oh, I don't have a problem with that, andy - but theatrically speaking it's a matter of arranging the film so the audience gets the point without it flashing up in neon lights.
A more extreme example: in Spamalot, when the trojan rabbit appears, King Arthur bellows "WHAT the HELL is THAT?"
No way Monty Python on TV would ever have put in a line like that on TV, except as a spoof. But perhaps they worried that Broadway audiences were audiences unable to think for themselves and had to be shown how to react in BIG LETTERS. (Wasn't there a Woody Allen film where Woody says somethng profound while the words "AUTHOR'S MESSAGE" flash on and off?)
Trust your audience. And trust your own ability to get them to see the point without spelling it out for them.
A more extreme example: in Spamalot, when the trojan rabbit appears, King Arthur bellows "WHAT the HELL is THAT?"
No way Monty Python on TV would ever have put in a line like that on TV, except as a spoof. But perhaps they worried that Broadway audiences were audiences unable to think for themselves and had to be shown how to react in BIG LETTERS. (Wasn't there a Woody Allen film where Woody says somethng profound while the words "AUTHOR'S MESSAGE" flash on and off?)
Trust your audience. And trust your own ability to get them to see the point without spelling it out for them.
auntie-bertie - //Thought the film was excellent; funny, sad and very poignant. The music was quite good too....still humming....//
I know there is a real skill in writing a fundamentally lousy song, but making it catchy enough to work on first hearing.
To spoof something properly, you have to deeply love and understand it, and that is what has been done here.
I know there is a real skill in writing a fundamentally lousy song, but making it catchy enough to work on first hearing.
To spoof something properly, you have to deeply love and understand it, and that is what has been done here.
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