David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)

Touches You

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

David Brent, the (anti)hero of BBC's legendary comedy series „The Office" is back again, with a proper feature-length movie for the first time, distributed in most of the world as Netflix Original. It's written and directed by Ricky Gervais who pulls no punches humiliating his famous character further, who's still on his road to fame as a singer. Gervais has also written and performed a bunch of songs for Brent, and although they are supposed to be horrible (aren't they?), I actually liked all of them. Some are pretty memorable even outside the context of the movie. But man oh man, is this a difficult watch or what, even if you are used to (British) comedies which always try to mete out as much disgrace to their main characters as possible. Of course, Gervais has always been very fond of that but „Life on the Road" feels like new high or something – or new low if you please. Watching it gets as difficult as comedies can be… probably. Brent's life is so painfully awkward that you just gotta feel for the poor guy. At the same time, Gervais has figured out exactly how to make him so untolerable and socially graceless that you wouldn't want to be in the same room with someone like Brent, especially in work environment. I know creating this kind of tension is the whole point here, but it just depressed the hell out of me. In its own right, it is well done but hardly recommendable for anybody outside the Gervais die-hard fans circle. If you would like to know what Brent did after „The Office" and how did he fare as a rock star, then you'll just have to check this out. For others, it may be interesting as (yet another) excursion into the mind of acerbic comedy mastermind Ricky Gervais. Just prepared that you'll feel low afterwards.

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.

As a huge, long-time fan of The Office, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about this spin off movie. Upon watching it, my skepticism was confirmed. Apart from an inexplicably annoying nervous laughter (or whatever it's supposed to be), which will surely make you cringe more every time you hear it, Brent's usual characteristics are intact: his horrible sense of humor, his complete inability to read the room, his ineptitude with understanding how he comes off to other people and his larger than life-view of himself. Still, the movie never impresses. Perhaps it is because in The Office, David Brent wasn't the only developed character. It had other fleshed out characters that gave the viewer some breathing room, ensuring that every second with Brent was complete, brilliantly panic-inducing hilarity. In this movie, Brent is the only person we ever get to know anything about, so without a solid bunch of likable characters, it is easy to tire of him. Unfortunately, the concept of Brent being a musician quickly loses its charm. In The Office, it was enough to hear his band name a single time to burst out in laughter. This movie creates more of a beating the dead horse-situation.I wouldn't deter any fan of The Office from seeing the movie, but I would advise that they do so without expecting too much.

I liked this comedy and i find it sad that many people are bashing it. It has many funny moments throughout and it is also giving a message at the same time. Probably those who didn't like it were comparing it to the Office and there are similarities of course but this is different it is a movie and it is a romantic comedy actually. I do recommend it especially for people who like Ricky and his style it's all there all what you need to get the best of him. Even the songs are nice and catchy.