Jackson Booth-Millard
The Office made the star/writer/director an international star, and changed the situation comedy genre, but it took me ages to get started on this next popular Mockumentary, with co-writer Stephen Merchant, I was hoping it would be as enjoyable. The series revolves around the career of aspiring actor Andy Millman (BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated Ricky Gervais), who can only find work as an extra for various film and television projects, he refers to himself as "background artist". Andy's well-meaning but ditsy best friend and fellow extra Maggie Jacobs (BAFTA nominated Ashley Jensen) often gets him into highly awkward and embarrassing situations with her choice of conversations with crew members, and Andy's agent Darren Lamb (twice BAFTA nominated Stephen Merchant), who is a part-time employee of Carphone Warehouse, is incompetent and has no real experience in the entertainment field, his assistant is former EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson, who he refers to as his former character name "Barry". Fed up with being an extra, Andy does everything he can to get his face on camera, including shamelessly approaching celebrities and producers in an effort to get screen time or a line of dialogue, but even when successful something happens that prevents his career advancing. But Andy gets his opportunity when his script he has written for a new sitcom, When the Whistle Blows, gains interest from BBC producers, they green-light his project, and Andy is given the lead role, while Maggie has no ambitions and just continues being an extra, and unintentionally offending people with her comments about race, sexuality, disability and much more. But the producers turn Andy's project into a low-rent comedy, relying on catchphrases, stereotypes and stupid costumes, it is commercially successful, gaining millions of viewers, but critics are less than complimentary about it. By Christmas, Andy decides to drop the sitcom and fires Darren as his agent, he gets a professional agency to help him, but he can only get bit parts, and he turns sour towards Maggie, he tries a revival of his career with an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, but in the end Andy and Maggie reconcile and accept a life of anonymity. Guest stars throughout the show include: Ben Stiller, Ross Kemp, Vinnie Jones, Kate Winslet, Les Dennis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sir Patrick Stewart, Orlando Bloom, Keith Chegwin, Liza Tarbuck, David Bowie, Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Diana Rigg, Warwick Davis, Phillip Schofield, Fern Britton, Nick Ferrari, Matthew Wright, Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan, Chris Martin, Richard Briers, Stephen Fry, Ronnie Corbett, Moira Stuart, Davina McCall, Sir Ian McKellen, Germaine Greer, Mark Kermode, Mark Lawson, Jonathan Ross, Robert De Niro, Robert Lindsay, Clive Owen, George Michael, Gordon Ramsay, David Tennant, Gareth Hale & Norman Pace, Lionel Blair, Dean Gaffney, June Sarpong, Lisa Scott-Lee, Chico Slimani, Karl Pilkington and Vernon Kay. Also starring Shaun Pye as Greg Lindley- Jones, Sarah Moyle as Kimberley, Andrew Buckley as Gobbler, Jamie Chapman as Brains, Martin Savage as Damon Beesley, Guy Henry as Iain Morris, Steve Speirs as Dullard, Francesca Martinez as Francesca, Tony Way as Chef, Katherine Parkinson as Woman in Queue, Katy Wix as Girl in Nightclub, Marek Larwood as Autograph Hunter, Steve Brody as Estate Agent, Frog Stone as 1st AD, Stuart McQuarrie as Shop Manager, Kerry Godliman as Floor Manager, Karl Pilkington as Fan and Rob Brydon as Announcer. Gervais is great at being an out-of-luck actor, and Jensen is fantastic with her many cringing moments, and Merchant is amusing as the unhelpful agent, there are plenty of awkward situations and celebrities behaving badly that get you laughing, I don't know if I found it as hilarious as The Office, but it is certainly a funny and watchable comedy. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy and Best Writer for Gervais and Stephen Merchant (twice), and it won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical. Very good!
jc-osms
Over the last few weeks I've been working my way through the two-box DVD set of Series 1 & 2 of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's much anticipated follow-up to "The Office", of which I was a big fan. This inside-exposure of a bit-actor's life in "luvvy-dom" is similar but different and requires a bigger leap of faith from its audience in expecting it to relate to this pretend-world of TV & cinema rather than the everyday familiarity of an office environment. The writing artfully weaves stories around drop-in cameo appearances of big-name UK & US stars, never mind pop-stars of the stature of Gervais' hero David Bowie and new-best-mate Chris Martin of Coldplay (I noticed Gervais in the crowd at Coldplay's free live preview of their new album outside BBC Broadcasting House in the summer) but principally focuses on Gervais' own Andy Millman character and his little band of fellow-nobodies, genuine find (although I'm always biased towards a good natural Scottish accent!) Ashley Jensen as man-mad, but dim "not my girlfriend" Maggie, Merchant himself as the completely inept agent and Shaun Williamson as Merchant's sidekick, down-on-his-luck "Barry from Eastenders". I'd go as far as rating Williamson's acting as "best-in-show", his role requires self-humiliation to the nth. degree and he carries it off with clear-eyed pathos as indeed do almost-has-been UK TV celebrities Les Dennis & Keith Chegwin in their guest spots. Williamson's "Barry" in fact is about the only cast member to elicit any real feelings of sympathy or empathy from the audience even if this veers often to downright pity for his pathetic "how the mighty have fallen" plight. But therein lies the problem for me, as the humour is occasionally spoiled by the sheer unlike-ability and unreality of Gervais and his gang of "house-characters". In addition, at least three episodes demonstrate a crassness towards the sick or the disabled, while another belittles a Polish war-refugee and yet another a slow-witted simpleton. Gays get bashed into stereotypical archetypes too, although I'm sure the writers would say I'm missing the irony somewhere. The star cameos do come off well however for the most part, Kate Winslet giving tips on phone-sex dressed in a nun's habit, Patrick Stewart as an old lech, Ben Stiller as a megalomaniac director and Robert De Niro as, well, Robert De Niro and there are numerous hilarious set-piece moments, including Andy's exposure as a non-Catholic dressed as John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever", the "BAFTA Awards Night" fiasco, David Bowie's "spontaneous" song, while the send-up of old-school British comedy antiquities in "When the Whistle Blows", if a few rungs below Victoria Woods' spot-on "Acorn Antiques" still made me think ruefully of the hours I wasted growing up watching dated, stereotypical Brit-coms like "Love Thy Neighbour" or "Hi-De-Hi" topped with an "Only Fools and Horses" - type theme-tune. Like some of the best TV sitcoms, it plays effectively without a laugh-track (c.f. "M.A.S.H.", "Ripping Yarns", "Larry Sanders") but isn't quite in their class. For me then, a bit of a mixed bag if still streets ahead of most contemporary comedies, a less engaging, but if I was being truthful, scarcely less funny successor to its ground-breaking predecessor. And it got me re-acquainted with my moldering Cat Stevens collection too!
