David Brent: A Vida na Estrada

Continuing his unique brand of horribly awkward humour that made The Office such a success (with remakes in the USA, France, Germany, Canada, Chile, Sweden, and Israel), Ricky Gervais resurrects the phenomenon that is David Brent, idiosyncrasies and all. Following on from the Christmas specials, the hapless eponymous character is still a sales rep for a cleaning supplies company, yet still harbours dreams of going on tour with his band, a resurrected Foregone Conclusion.

This film feels a little unnecessary, but that certainly doesn't detract from its enjoyment levels. After the perfect ending given to us by the Christmas specials back in 2003, the character was at peace and it felt like he had achieved some sort of catharsis. Nonetheless, this is premium Gervais - it probably helps that I binge watched all of The Office in the week before watching this, so was in a real Office-y mood. The humour is on point, from Brent's tics (the perfectly judged nervous laugh, the shifty grins to the camera) to his own form of inadvertently offending people. There's a good amount of pathos, too, with Brent really sinking to new lows over the course of the film. The plot is well-suited to the character, and another highlight is the songs - the standout being 'Please Don't Make Fun of the Disabled' - which are just hilarious when delivered by Gervais.

Ultimately, though, it won't stick in the memory for long and it didn't need to be made - nor are the side characters as compelling as the likes of Tim Canterbury, Gareth Keenan, Dawn Tinsley, and Keith Bishop. It also feels a little sweetened and watered down at times, especially towards the end. It feels a little too perfect and not bittersweet enough. Still, an enjoyable 90 minute diversion for any Office fan, and good fun. 66/100.

In common with a lot of people in the UK I was a big fan of the office TV series which aired over 10 years ago. The return of David Brent should have been something that was exciting and yet even before seeing the film there seemed to be an inevitable anti climax looming. Firstly it wasn't clear why the format should move from the small screen to the big screen. Secondly the Office worked because of the supporting cast, so could David Brent hold up a movie on his own.

The movie catches up with David Brent still dreaming about a musical career. He's left management behind and is now on the office floor with mixed popularity with the rest of the office. He decides to hire a backing group and go for a tour in his holidays to finally make the big break in music.

People familiar with the Office will not be surprised to find that Brent hasn't changed too much over the years. The humour hasn't really dated very well though, although there are a few very funny scenes mixed with a few cringe worthy moments.

The backing cast are OK, but not as integral to the movie as the cast were to the Office. The running time seems a little long and the 2 concerns prior to the movie came to fruition. This felt like a decent 50 minute TV special rather than a big screen movie. Even fans of the office are probably better off skipping the movie and waiting for it to appear on the small screen. It certainly will not lose anything on the small screen.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, many funny moments.

My wife wasn't as enthusiastic and when i asked her why she said she was cringing because of the awkward moments brought on by Ricky's character...David Brent.

The only thing Ricky Gervais has in common with other British comedians is that they love to laugh at themselves...make a goose of themselves....e.g John Cleese...Apart from that he is definitely one of a kind.

The humour is an extension of his character in "The Office", if you liked this series then you will get the humour and will enjoy this movie.

The plot centre's around David wanting to have a shot at fame and self finances a thrown together band and books a week's worth of venues. Barely anyone turns up and even his own band doesn't like him.

The plot is OK...You can tell that David Brant despite all the 'foot in mouth' moments is a genuine tryer and does garner some sympathy towards the end of the movie. its apparent the humour does disguise an individual seeking acceptance and genuine friends.

I had many good laughs - an easy 8/10 for me...

13 years after the end of the beloved sitcom, The Office, David Brent is still stuck in an office, but a documentary crew is filming him again and he decides to go on tour with a band in a last-ditch attempt to live his dreams of being a rock-star. Like most films connected to TV shows, this is annoying since it doesn't connect to the show enough, with Gareth, Tim and Dawn disappointingly absent. Ricky Gervais was never the most impressive actor in The Office, but he gives a good (If often irritating) tragicomic performance here. This film serves as an interesting exploration of the character and has many good laughs and touching character moments along the way; it humanizes David Brent, though don't worry it also embarrasses him and every opportunity. The trouble is, there's a line between comedy and sadism and after a funny first half, the film just gets extremely uncomfortable and stops being enjoyable. The Office was quite depressing. Extras was incredibly depressing. But this- wow. Be warned: you will cringe. A lot. The original show had enough realism and honesty to pull off the cringe, as it felt so truthful but here the uncomfortable stuff goes too far. I can tell Stephen Merchant was the one who added the nuance that made the sitcom so good. With Gervais on his own, there's no-one to stop him from taking the cringe comedy too far. Even so, while he's clearly not as good as he was, there's no denying that this is a funny and often enjoyable road movie with some nice bits of drama.

6/10

David Brent: Life on the Road is written & directed by Ricky Gervais and stars Ricky Gervais, Jo Hartley, Ben Bailey Smith and Tom Bennett.

A camera crew catches up with 'The Office' star, David Brent, as he pursues his lifelong dream of becoming a rockstar on the road.

Gervais' comedic genius was firmly planted in toe-curlingly awkward situations back in 2001, with two very successful series and specials of The Office. 'Life on the Road' explores Brent's life after the events of the show, and continues to spawn the incredibly hard-to-watch moments that Brent gets himself into. The scenes in the new office are perfectly written and performed, welcoming us back to the situational comedy that was so brilliantly crafted.

Unfortunately, once we leave the office the film slightly degrades into something more average than superior. However, this doesn't mean there aren't more hilarious scenes to follow, it just seems less consistent. I also thought that as the film moved into its final 15 minutes, it seemed like a bit of Derek had made its way into the character of Brent. That said, the heartfelt scenes were satisfying. It's possible that without Merchant's co-writing the screenplay wasn't as great as it could have been, but wishful thinking is something I like to do without.

A lot of the band performances felt a little repetitive after a while, but they did include some funny moments. The music (also written by Gervais) is catchy and fun, adding a new dynamic that we only briefly heard in the original series.

All of the actors involved are extremely convincing and show great chemistry with Brent. I felt that some of the characters were underused, most notably Nigel (played by Tom Bennett), who was surprisingly delightful.

Overall, it was as I expected it to be and I am fairly pleased with how it turned out. It's not as consistently funny or awkward as I'd hoped, but it has a lot of heart. Gervais seems to implement a lot more emotion into his work now that he has gone solo, which is nice to see. Fans of Gervais will like it. Others, not so much.

Verdict; David Brent: Life on the Road is an above-average follow up to the original series and while it does lack at times, it's a pretty enjoyable experience.

David Brent: Life on the Road, 7/10.