Too much of everything

The Age of Commercialism

Memorable, crazy movie

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

If you are a fan of The Office and David Brent then you will probably really enjoy this. The music is fun and at times even good. Jokes are classic cringe-worthy Ricky Gervais.Emotionally we follow the same story arc as The Office Christmas special. David Brent is stepping out into the world. We want him to succeed in his dream but reality quickly steps in.

13 years after the end of the beloved sitcom, The Office, David Brent is still stuck in an office, but a documentary crew is filming him again and he decides to go on tour with a band in a last-ditch attempt to live his dreams of being a rock-star. Like most films connected to TV shows, this is annoying since it doesn't connect to the show enough, with Gareth, Tim and Dawn disappointingly absent. Ricky Gervais was never the most impressive actor in The Office, but he gives a good (If often irritating) tragicomic performance here. This film serves as an interesting exploration of the character and has many good laughs and touching character moments along the way; it humanizes David Brent, though don't worry it also embarrasses him and every opportunity. The trouble is, there's a line between comedy and sadism and after a funny first half, the film just gets extremely uncomfortable and stops being enjoyable. The Office was quite depressing. Extras was incredibly depressing. But this- wow. Be warned: you will cringe. A lot. The original show had enough realism and honesty to pull off the cringe, as it felt so truthful but here the uncomfortable stuff goes too far. I can tell Stephen Merchant was the one who added the nuance that made the sitcom so good. With Gervais on his own, there's no-one to stop him from taking the cringe comedy too far. Even so, while he's clearly not as good as he was, there's no denying that this is a funny and often enjoyable road movie with some nice bits of drama. 6/10

As a fan of the UK office I may be biased; but I thought Life On The Road was a terrifically entertaining film throughout. Has all the elements of cringe and humiliation from the original office - minus the sterling casting and was more of a solo-effort from Gervais.I've gone off Gervais as a person over the years, with his endless bashing of Christianity and bullying of subordinates; but like in his earlier work, this is a reminder of what a remarkable talent he is.The songs are incredible, as is Gervais' singing - The Disabled song had me in guilt-ridden stitches. A very welcome diversion from the restrictive SJW / PC world of entertainment we live in now.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning The insufferable David Brent (Ricky Gervais) has moved on from his days at Warnham Hogg, and is now a sales agent for a cleaning products company. But feeling unappreciated and unsatisfied in his role (though unable to see how he's the cause of his own demise), he decides to reform his band Forgone Conclusion and sets off on a nationwide tour, but playing in small venues to a far from sold out crowd. Brent's support act is aspiring rapper Dom Johnson (Doc Brown), who upstages him at every turn.Huge cultural phenomenon though it was, The Office never really entered into the list of my favourite British comedies. Personally, I preferred Gervais's celebrity satire Extras, which just caught my eye that little bit more. But that's not to say I couldn't remember the glittering moments of comedy gold from it, and Gervais certainly created a culturally iconic comedy creation that has endured. I've caught this belated film adaptation at a time when his name is mud because of his tasteless baby death jokes, and so it's lucky it's not just come out on general release, and this serves to transport you back to a simpler time before he got so carried away with himself.As Steve Coogan proved with his filmic Alan Partridge several years ago, you can resurrect an old character and still win over the critics. Whether Gervais's Brent adaptation was received so favourably, I'm not sure, but like the best of them, the concept is stretched that bit further in a film format than on TV, and there are times when the pace suffers and you wonder whether the material has the strength to last the length. Luckily, after a sluggish start, Gervais brings the character to life and makes him funny all over again, a guy who thinks he's so cool and talented but just comes off like someone's embarrassing uncle. Where it slides is the inconsistent tone between making him an arrogant, insensitive arsehole and lovable buffoon, which is a tricky roll of the dice.It struggles to really keep the pace of the show, but it's faithful to its source, and there are enough belly laughs to make it worth your time. ***