Quote: ajp29 @ May 10, 2007, 8:31 PMI used to like Gervais but after you've seen his influences and how unoriginal he is, its difficult to see him in the same light. Also after his Gervais meets Gary Shandling show its hard not to see him as an arrogant prick with boardeline anti-semetci tendancies.
That was a set up. Watch it again and you can see they're friends.
Quote: zooo @ May 10, 2007, 8:33 PMThat was a set up. Watch it again and you can see they're friends.
Were you high when you watched it? There were shots where Gervais was shitting himself and, as hes a crap actor, they could not have been faked.
Well, you've just proven how wonderful his acting is.
Maybe, or it prooves hes an arrogant prick with boardeline anti-semetic tendancies. You decide
I do think Gervais is very clever and it was original (The Office) but maybe he is trying, and getting away with, too much lazy stuff. For instance I've got all the Flanimals books (Christmas presents)which are amusing in places but a bit overdone.
He freely admits he's lazy.
As do I, sometimes. Some of the lines he puts in his stand up are yeeeeeears old. He was doing them right at the beginning in the 11 O' Clock Show.
But the stuff he does with his TV shows, I think are 90% of the time, outstanding.
He's not a genius (I don't think many people are) and there are too many people that kiss his arse (mainly big American actors that probably don't all even get his humour, but they know he's the current 'big thing'). But that's hardly his fault.
I got one of the Flanimals books for Christmas, but someone wanted to borrow it and I've never seen it since.
I did read one bit though, where he says something like; people who believe in God are stupid idiots. Which actually shocked me, for a kids book. Unless I'm more ignorant then I thought, to the hidden messeges I read in my childhood books.
And Adam, I can't think of any of his anti-semetic tendancies, can you give me some examples?
A lot of kids books are filled with religious propaganda (if that's not too extreme a word!) so I suppose it makes a change to see the opposite.
Re anti-semetism, I really don't think so. He seems like one of the most open minded, generally nice people in the world.
Unless you're misunderstanding some of his jokes. I mean, he tells a great one about Anne Frank and a shark...
I agree his seems to be very open minded.
I like The Shindlers List joke, but I didn't think it was anti-semtic. Quite offensive, but it wasn't racist.
I never misunderstand jokes and my favorite comedian is Sarah Silverman so I'm not adverse to comedy on tough subjects (she does Aids, Holocaust and Race jokes).
In the RG meets GS program there was one bit where they are trying to explain Jewish humour. GS said 'Jewish humour is complaing about stuff but in a funny way.' RG goes 'Yeah obviously or it would just be Jewish.' But the best bit was RG's face when GS doesn't react in the way RG wanted him to.
Also, and i'm sorry i'm going on about this, Extras bugs the hell out of me. RG always claims that hes making fun of the situation and not the subject but there would be no situations if the Extras' characters weren't ignorrant prejudice idiots. Also no strong female leads, as per usual (and noone mention Dawn, she was not a strong female lead), and RG always makes the celebrities act like he does in stand up and interviews. Only the good actors like Ian McKellen avoided just doing a Gervais impression.
The term 'genius' gets thrown around a lot these days. And I would have thought that it's not possible for so many people to be geniusseses (sorry - didn't know when to stop spelling that).
I don't try to analyse things too much. What makes me laugh... makes me laugh. I'm fed up with the viewpoint that says I shouldn't be laughing at something I find funny because others' may find it offensive or, yes, (gasp) even racist.
I don't think he's anti-semetic.
He has a go at everything and everybody - blacks, gays, disabled (I'm lumping those together as examples only) - but it's the "characters" and also the cringe factor of the way people try not to be too patronising, condescending etc.
It's really his backlash against political correctness and I don't think any of it is intended - except against Karl Pilkington.
Karl Pilkington really is in a category of his own isn't he?
Quote: Darren Goldsmith @ May 11, 2007, 12:33 PMI don't try to analyse things too much. What makes me laugh... makes me laugh. I'm fed up with the viewpoint that says I shouldn't be laughing at something I find funny because others' may find it offensive or, yes, (gasp) even racist.
I agree Darren, if i find it funny then why shouldn't i laugh, i don't agree with, or see a point, to racism, but if i am told a joke that maybe is racist and i like it, i laugh without thinking, "if i laugh, am i racist?" no i'm not, i just found the joke funny.
Quote: ajp29 @ May 11, 2007, 12:30 PMI never misunderstand jokes
Wow, that is some self-belief you've got there!
