Fame...Ricky is not going to last forever (Ricky Gervais Live 3 - Fame (DVD))

Member Name: thedevilinme

Product:	Ricky Gervais Live 3 - Fame (DVD)
Date:	07/04/08 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some funny bits

Disadvantages: Lazy, arrogant humour

So, after brilliant success for The Office sitcom and the follow up plaudits for Extras, Ricky Gervais has decided to cash in between his multi award winning sitcoms with stand-up shows. He's too rich and important to have to do tiring multi-venue tours around the country to make a buck so just cherry picks the capitals grandest theatres for three or four packed houses to make a mint instead. Because Ricky's a world-wide star he can play where he wants and say what he wants, much of it near the knuckle, some of it viciously cruel. Nothing wrong with that in the right context but to me, watching this, though, it feels like a talent getting self-indulgent and too big for his comedy boots and taking things for granted. It's almost like he's become that disruptive kid at the back of the classroom who shouts silly things out all lesson to stay popular and not get regular beatings by the school bully.

His first venture into stand-up, after he had made it big, was 'Animals', three sell out shows at the London Palladium, an edit of the shows made into a DVD of the same name, as you would expect. Where as that show had some sort of research and narrative with clever observational comedy through out, his next one, 'Politics', didn't feel as researched and creative with Ricky resorting to his caustic offensive scatter gun humor to get adoring rather than earned laughs, this time at the Albert Hall. 'Fame' The third in the series-this-goes one step further, feeling like there was zero written preparation and he made it up in the pub the night before, very much in his Eleven O'clock Show style of letting rip on any subject and any person that comes to mind. No one is safe from Ricky in his comedy, here the disabled, autistic kids and fat people getting broadside within the first ten minutes. In many ways he has come full circle from those days when he cammeod on C4 with his less than sophisticated general pi**take comedy.

I think the real problem for Ricky is he has had the misfortune to be a middle-class comic genius in a working class body, his pug faced looks and pot-belly builder stature (you could just see him in the 80s with one of those big gypsy earrings and tattoos doing the plastering) never really going with his razor sharp and pungent observational wit that the same proles struggle with, reason alone for womankind to hate his guts and body of work. Hardly any of the female kind I talk to like The Office. I think Ricky always wanted to be Chris Rock and live that rock n roll lifestyle the top stand - ups get if they are good looking.
He really is the modern day Bernard Manning, but like the Little Britain boys, has managed to offend all the people the blue-collar comics did all too well back in the 70s but in a more subtle and acceptable way to a knowing audience. Ricky really doesn't care and like all ugly comics feels he has the right to offend as many people as possible if he suffers their ills, but justified in doing that because it's supposed to be ironic. He really is telling the same jokes on stage as they always did, but able to push the envelope more because his time is now and he is Ricky Gervais, a thin line between his material and the man himself if you ask me. From what I have seen of him in the behind the scenes stuff he seems not the most likeable bloke.

-The Show-

Filmed at the London Palladium with a Mathew Kelly introduction (the theatre the scene of Kelly's infamous sweets in the dressing room scandal), Gervais is soon making jokes about kids with cancer (not as bad as it sounds) and the fact there's no fat people or ME suffers in Africa-in that why do only middle class people in the west have fatigue syndrome? The starving African that has to trek ten miles to the well everyday can hardly say I'm feeling a bit tired today and so would rather die of thirst. It's that type of controversial crude humor this show is stuffed with and Ricky gets off on. With no real concurrent themes to his diatribe to do with Fame here, he just lets the industry that made him and he sort to be part of have it with both barrels, not the first contradiction of the DVD. Everything from the paparazzi to Dawn French, Ricky rightfully pointing out that it's rather cruel to send French over to look at starving Africans, is cut down in flames.

I did chuckle at his skit about Hitler modeling himself on Chaplin-which is true-and the Abu Hamza comment about Al-Quieda picking a man with no hands to be top of the British branch. He can't be that good with explosives! And Ricky also makes the point, if you lose your hands, why on earth do you chose to have hooks! But in general the material is weak and patchy and you reach for the still pause half-way through to put the kettle on, hoping things will improve in the second half, which they don't. You just end up laughing because it's Ricky and he's getting away with it.

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-Living with Ricky-

Ricky has a friend called Robin Ince, who is a very poor stand-up act. But Ricky takes pity on him to let the nerdy comic do the warm up for his London shows, only helping to make Ricky look even funnier. Robin Ince is not a funny guy, and the reason he gets to tour with Ricky is so Britain's favorite comic can tease and pick on him to a sadistic level. It's quite disturbing to see on the video footage at times and what Ricky wants Ricky gets, including the opportunity to humiliate him at every turn on tour. Gervais seems to be yet another insecure comic that puts people down to elevate his status.

-Fame: I'm going to live for ever-

More behind the scenes stuff from Ricky and Robin.

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Run-Time 67 minutes
£ 3.95 per night at Blockbusters.
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Summary: You need a new sitcom Ricky