Ricky Gervais: Out Of England

Few comedians have made a bigger impact in the past decade than England's Ricky Gervais. The comedian's two limited-run British TV comedy series, "The Office" and "Extras," were critical and commercial successes, with the former providing the basis for its successful American counterpart starring Steve Carell.

Gervais has won Golden Globes and Emmys, and appeared in films including Night at the Museum, For Your Consideration and Ghost Town. He's a welcome presence at award shows, including the Oscars, which he invariably brightens with his smart and witty repartee.

It's unfortunate then that his HBO stand-up comedy special, just released on DVD, isn't more entertaining.

Surprisingly, for a comic who's made nary a misstep in the past decade, his stand-up act is remarkably dated - relying on topics and targets that have already been done to death.
Cancer, the movie Rain Man, AIDS, Jerry Springer, fat people, the Falkland Islands war, and the oddness of nursery rhymes constitute the bulk of his material and all were covered better by other comics ten or 20 years ago.
During his 70-minute act, which was filmed during a performance at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden, Gervais complains how he's always called "tubby," "rotund" and even "the chubby funster."

Gervais laments how a British tabloid asked "Is Ricky pregnant?" next to a photo of the comedian's spherical belly.

He argues that obesity is not a disease, but results from a lack of self-control. When a large person complains to Gervais that "airplane seats aren't wide enough for people like me," he responds, "Well, if they were, there'd only be 12 seats on the fucking plane."

Gervais also ponders that while there are obese people in England, America certainly gets the gold medal for both the number and size of its large citizens. "When you're watching TV and it announces, 'Jerry Springer saves the world's fattest man!' You've got to watch that, right? The man weighs 1,000 pounds!"

The comic performs in front of five giant lighted letters spelling out RICKY on-stage, wearing a short-sleeved black t-shirt and black pants, and drinking out of one of those giant Fosters beer cans - again, how 80s!

His Stephen Hawking and Holocaust references are all quite dated, and his discussion of AIDS is similarly "been there, done that."

"AIDS even has its own day now, but I don't think it'll ever take off like Christmas." His comments about an old safe sex alternative leaflet from the Terrence Higgins Trust are funny, but he makes it clear the pamphlet is also years old.

In keeping with his insensitive dimwit persona, Gervais' biggest laugh comes when he talks about Nelson Mandela.
"He's a hero of mine.... incarcerated for 25 years. Finally released in 1990, so he's been out about 18 years now. . .and he hasn't re-offended! I think he's going straight, which shows you that prison DOES work."
His schtick on the Boy Who Cried Wolf and Humpty Dumpty could also have been done by George Carlin 40 years ago, and probably were.

The only bonus feature is "A Conversation with Ricky Gervais," a ten-minute interview with the comedian in which he makes the fatal mistake of analyzing his comedy. There's nothing that sucks the funny out of something than discussing why it's funny or how the humor was developed. The piece, in which he discusses his stand-up act, the differences between American and British humor, and his comedy influences, such as Groucho Marx, Bob Hope and Christopher Guest, is best skipped.

Gervais' talent is enormous, so one hopes the next time he takes to the stage it will be with fresher material.
Chris Rock's recent HBO special has more laughs in the first five minutes than Gervais' does in his entire set.