Movie spin-offs to beloved British sitcoms have been released frequently over the years and the results have, on the whole, been atrocious. The mistake that the writers make time and again is to make the movie version 'bigger' or, specifically, more 'cinematic'. To achieve this they transplant the TV characters into situations they are not normally situated in. Pretty ironic and misguided for a sitcom movie if you ask me! A recent example was Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) where the central character was removed from his mundane existence (which made the character hilarious) and transported him into a high-profile hostage situation (which didn't feel true and made him somewhat less hilarious). The Partridge movie is the closest equivalent to this David Brent film in that both characters, while having a lot of similarities, were also two of the finest comic creations to grace TV over the last twenty years. It has to be said that with the Brent movie we have that rare beast, a film whose plot-line actually feels true to the TV character. In it Brent has managed to get another film crew to follow him as he tries to break into the music business with his band Foregone Conclusion; in doing so he goes on a UK tour of the Slough area.
It's good that creator and star Ricky Gervais has managed to concoct a plot-line for a movie spin-off that feels genuinely connected to the series 'The Office' in terms of content. I guess a problem inherent in this is that 'The Office' was easily one of the finest TV comedies ever made and the Brent character was played to perfection by Gervais. The film just can't help but pale in comparison. It's not bad, in fact it's a pretty good comedy, but when the bar has been set so high its deficiencies do stand out more. The story-line invites us to witness and hear Brent's song craft and this is surprisingly one of the highlights of the movie. Comedy songs are usually completely trite in that they always feel so forced, yet the songs here do sound like the kinds of things Brent could conceivably have written. They are just professional enough to be believable which is important; yet the lyrics are often hilarious – his ode to life on the road has the moderately hard-living Brent putting his 'foot down to the floor, at 70 miles per hour but no more', his heartfelt celebration of the Native American describes them as 'soaring like an eagle, sitting like a pelican' and as for his good intentioned song about the handicapped, well, that has to be seen to be understood.
The comedy otherwise is a bit hit and miss, there are a few funny Brent moments but unlike 'The Office' he is the only one with any funny lines here and he could maybe have done with some support. Most characters just tolerate him in a similar disdainful way. For this reason the ending does come across unrealistically schmaltzy. Gervais finished off both 'The Office' and 'Extras' on upbeat endings which partially worked so well because they were kind of unexpected given what had gone before but it seems to be a formula now and so here once again we watch a character squirm their way through the film only for things to end on a happy note. Only here if feels tacked on, after all even his band-mates required to be paid £25 pounds an hour to even socialise with him a few days previously yet by the end think he is a good guy and the relentlessly humiliating tour experience was now considered to have been good fun; while there is a poorly executed final scene in his office where everything works out great, including the 'bad guy' getting a glass of water in the face. So the movie ends in quite a naff fashion if I am being totally honest. But, on the whole, there are actual laughs here which is more than you can say for most comedy films and Gervais is still pretty good as Brent. It's certainly a pretty good attempt at a TV movie spin-off even if it pales against the series that it evolved from.
It's good that creator and star Ricky Gervais has managed to concoct a plot-line for a movie spin-off that feels genuinely connected to the series 'The Office' in terms of content. I guess a problem inherent in this is that 'The Office' was easily one of the finest TV comedies ever made and the Brent character was played to perfection by Gervais. The film just can't help but pale in comparison. It's not bad, in fact it's a pretty good comedy, but when the bar has been set so high its deficiencies do stand out more. The story-line invites us to witness and hear Brent's song craft and this is surprisingly one of the highlights of the movie. Comedy songs are usually completely trite in that they always feel so forced, yet the songs here do sound like the kinds of things Brent could conceivably have written. They are just professional enough to be believable which is important; yet the lyrics are often hilarious – his ode to life on the road has the moderately hard-living Brent putting his 'foot down to the floor, at 70 miles per hour but no more', his heartfelt celebration of the Native American describes them as 'soaring like an eagle, sitting like a pelican' and as for his good intentioned song about the handicapped, well, that has to be seen to be understood.
The comedy otherwise is a bit hit and miss, there are a few funny Brent moments but unlike 'The Office' he is the only one with any funny lines here and he could maybe have done with some support. Most characters just tolerate him in a similar disdainful way. For this reason the ending does come across unrealistically schmaltzy. Gervais finished off both 'The Office' and 'Extras' on upbeat endings which partially worked so well because they were kind of unexpected given what had gone before but it seems to be a formula now and so here once again we watch a character squirm their way through the film only for things to end on a happy note. Only here if feels tacked on, after all even his band-mates required to be paid £25 pounds an hour to even socialise with him a few days previously yet by the end think he is a good guy and the relentlessly humiliating tour experience was now considered to have been good fun; while there is a poorly executed final scene in his office where everything works out great, including the 'bad guy' getting a glass of water in the face. So the movie ends in quite a naff fashion if I am being totally honest. But, on the whole, there are actual laughs here which is more than you can say for most comedy films and Gervais is still pretty good as Brent. It's certainly a pretty good attempt at a TV movie spin-off even if it pales against the series that it evolved from.