Ricky Gervais: Out of England - The Stand-Up Special

It's Ricky Gervais' first HBO stand-up special. He's still chubby at the time and there are a good deal of fat jokes. There are even more irreverent takes on an AIDS fund raising flyer, cancer kids, Rosa Parks, and so much more. He's standing in front of a lighted RICKY sign and drinking Foster. It's the Wamu Theater in Madison Square Garden. He's on a tour, sort of. It's NY and LA and missing the middle bits. The jokes are mostly amusing. I still like his joke about pissing into the sink the most. The most annoying thing that Ricky does is that he wanders around on the stage. He has a tendency to move back and forth which is distracting especially with the camera trying to follow him. This is a nice hour-long comedy for the Gervais fans.

There's something...different about the listening experience when a comedian projects with a British accent; somehow, it makes the story, joke or discussion seem more humorous to me. I discovered this oddity when I first heard John Cleese, but I really noticed it with Eddy Izzard. Gervais gets this added bonus to his already hilarious routine and when it's added to his physical delivery, it seems to elevate what would ordinarily be a chuckle into fullblown laughter. If there is any downside, it is that Gervais, like most modern comics, liberally uses curse words. That's a shame, since while they don't bother me at all, they do annoy some, thereby limiting the number of viewers. And frankly he doesn't need them in his show to be hilarious. Give Ricky a shot; you won't regret it.

Ricky Gervais is the creator, writer, director, star and producer of the original BBC British Office and Extras TV series. He's featured in his own HBO stand-up comedy special called Ricky Gervais: Out of England.

I found him to be funny, even hilarious at times. Some of his jokes tend to go on too long when he should really move on to the next topic. I didn't laugh at everything he said. A lot of it was amusing though. I did laugh out loud several times. On stage Ricky Gervais presents himself in a self-effacing manner using a wide range of political, social and personal subjects in his routine. He comes across as being very sharp,intelligent and witty.

It's entertaining to watch him crack jokes in front of a crowd. The HBO stand-up comedy special Ricky Gervais: Out of England will appeal most to people who appreciate Ricky Gervais's dry British sense of humour. Fans of the talented comedian will likely find it worth watching.

I don't know if this was released purely for an American audience, although I suspect so. Actually I would hope so for Gervais' sake otherwise he is still doing the same jokes he was doing 3-5 years ago. When I started watching I thought it was an old show but I note the release date is 2008 so....

Released just in time for Christmas, if I had bought this I would feel ripped off, there is nothing new here,just the same old jokes you've probably heard a million times before.

They don't age well either. This has 'cash in' on his success written all over it.

Disappointing.