Over a decade
after 'The Office' ended Brent is back, in a 'Spinal Tap'-esque tour
mockumentary that feels somewhat tired. I don't think movies are
really Gervais' thing.
Fans of the
series are far more likely to enjoy, as there are plenty of
references and it has very much the same awkwardly depressed tone.
The only original character is Brent though (I would have liked to
see one or two others if they could accomplish it without it feeling
too contrived, maybe Gareth cropping up (I could imagine him keeping
in touch) or something) and it gets a little Brent-heavy at times.
The cast of the film is pretty good though, and the exploration of
Brent's character feels new enough to be satisfying.
The actual
comedy was hit and miss, with a few of Gervais' bits not really
working (the whole nigger thing felt a bit on the nose to me, and the
Chinese person eye thing was creeping towards that too - not because
it was offensive, it just didn't work that well). At other times
though it was spot on, and I kind of want to go back and watch the
series again now. I was glad that the cutesy seriousness wasn't
playing up as much as some other recent stuff ('Derek') and the
conclusion felt sort of like a watered down version of the conclusion
of the series. That's just it though - watered down. This film wasn't
really necessary. One of the things that was so beautiful about 'The
Office' was that it contained itself to two seasons and wrapped
itself up naturally, like many of the best shows (same with 'Extras',
and things like 'Spaced' etc) and didn't stretch itself out into a
tired money maker ('The (US) Office'). Don't ruin that, movie.
David Brent: Life on the Road: 45.7