“Brent! Do the dance!”: Ricky Gervais live
Of course, anyone who actually said the above at the Ricky Gervais stand-up gig I saw the other night in Portsmouth would probably have been lynched. Or at least would have got some dirty looks. Because everyone who saw the “Fame” tour knew that there’s far more to the man than a suit, a stupid beard and some moronic boogying.
The show was every bit as good as his previous “Animals” and “Politics” routines, but even more near-the-knuckle, with jokes about topics as inherently hilarious as, erm, autism, teenage cancer sufferers and famine. Really though, who goes to see Ricky Gervais expecting gags about airline food?
One of the greatest things about the evening was how self-mockingly overblown it was; after being introduced by a tape of Stars In Their Eyes host Matthew Kelly reeling off a boastful list of Gervais’s achievements, the man himself answered the inevitable question with “tonight Matthew, I’m going to be Ricky Gervais”. With his name in lights behind him (see mobile-phone photo below), Ricky came onstage wearing a crown and regal cape, to stand at a lectern in the form of a giant Emmy award. How modest.
One of my favourite moments though was when he recounted a conversation with his infamous friend Karl Pilkington:
Gervais: “It’s ridiculous that people look up to Callum Best the way they do. I mean, he’s only famous because of who his dad was.”
Pilkington: “Yeah, but you could say the same about Jesus…”
Shonky photography: a blurry Gervais,
with the Emmy-lectern on his left.
(And yes, shonky is a word. It’s a portmanteau of shoddy and wonky. That I just made up.)
I just can’t like the man. He’s so very slappable… even though I liked The Office.
Dan
July 9, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Nah, it’s the people who do Gervais (or specifically, Brent) impressions that are eminently slappable. ;-)
I must say though, I’ve always thought he was generally perceived as a lovably-cheeky-chappy. Am I wrong? I think it’s this amiableness that allows him to get away with such edgy comedy without, in his words, “turning into Jim Davidson”. Many other comedians would provoke tabloid outrage with such comments, but he can get away with it because everyone wants to hug him really.
If Lee Evans – as talented, entertaining and, I’m sure, friendly as he is – were to make jokes about the Holocaust, many would think he was out of order ‘cos he doesn’t have the same public persona as the sort of bloke you’d go down the pub with.
Jonathan Deamer
July 10, 2007 at 9:58 am
Gervais was at his best when he used to be on the 11 o’clock show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M1Bl74lRzU) now that was some risky comedy!
I’ll be attending the Leeds festival this year where the Smashing Pumpkins are playing and I really couldn’t be more under whelmed by the fact. I’ve never been a fan, I think it’s his voice mainly. But then again the other stage at the same time is the Klaxons and they’re dull live.
So i’ll go with it…
sentric
July 10, 2007 at 11:52 am
No, he IS Jim Davidson these days. With a wink. Which doesn’t make it alright.
Dan
July 10, 2007 at 9:14 pm
It must be said Dan that I don’t think he (Gervais) would get away with half the stuff he does if it weren’t for all the charity gigs he does. Which are quite self-serving anyway, given that he’s always got a product to promote.
Jonathan Deamer
July 11, 2007 at 12:54 pm