METALMICKY
Well-known member
- Jan 30, 2004
- 6,057
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
[Film] Ricky Gervais.
- Thread starter Wellesley
- Start date
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 6,578
What are these good comedians scared of? Gervais & Chappelle are very influential men with huge audiences and haven't lost their very lucrative Netflix deals. All they've had to deal with is some people expressing different views about their choices. If the shouty right wing bits of the internet are as keen on free speech as they all endlessly claim to be, that's not scary, its healthy.
The Office was great but Gervais isn't a real stand up. He never had to learn his craft in comedy clubs, he went straight from The Office to arenas full of people who were already massive fans. He never found out what was his good material and what didn't work or was hacky and should be jettisoned, because his audience lapped everything up whatever the quality. I find it ironic that, in Extras he spiked comedians who would sell out their TV shows, settling for poor quality art in exchange for mainstream success and money. He then did exactly that in his stand up career. In contrast, Acaster has served his time, learned his craft and is currently one of the best and most original stand ups on the circuit. That doesn't mean that he'd have a great sitcom in him. They are massively different skills, as I wish someone would tell the excellent stand up, but writer of 'Not Going Out', Lee Mack.
For me, the funniest thing that Gervais has been involved in since The Office was the Cookdandbomd website's hatewatch of 'Derek'.
He obviously got a leg up on the comedy circuit but, in fairness, Gervais does a lot of small, warm up gigs to hone his material.
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 6,578
Yes, but those gigs are still in front of Ricky Gervais fans paying to see Ricky Gervais.
clapham_gull
Legacy Fan
- Aug 20, 2003
- 25,297
Which I'd imagine are mostly "new lad" refugees, the same audience Jimmy Carr caters to.
That is honestly one of the unfunniest things I’ve ever seen. Who would want to spend an evening in his company? Literally all he seems to do is insult the audience and threaten them. No actual comedy?
He actually doesn’t have any material. Just calls members of the audience ***** and “poofs”’and terrorists if they are of colour.
Sort of bloke that puts everyone on edge if he were drinking in the pub.
What a ghastly man.
Last edited:
sydney
tinky ****in winky
he's roasting a heckler and doing a pretty good job , looks to me like some sort of northern working mans club , probably an eon away from what you are accustomed to , i'm pretty sure you'll find he has a fairly large following and does 21sts , weddings etc around the merseyside area.....each to their own wouldn't you say...?
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 17,102
I watched another too and it seems he has a bank of insulting one liners that range from not bad to clichéd as all hell. Then he just trots them out at random people wondering by.
The comments suggest people love and good luck to them. Not my cup of tea though.
Sent from my M2010J19CG using Tapatalk
Yes, I watched the next up clip. Seems to have a very limited repertoire. Clearly there’s people that enjoy it, I can imagine the type. Yeah, terrible “act”.
To random people;
“Gay, gay, gay”
“Penfold”
“Dwarf”
“Show us your tits”
And variations on “I’ll ****ing fill you in, you ****/****/****”
Randy McNob
Now go home and get your f#cking Shinebox
- Jun 13, 2020
- 4,448
The issue here is people don't like the fact we have evolved and what may have been acceptable years ago is not today. I watched the re runs of the Office on BBC2 recently and found lots of it quite offensive which would never be commissioned these days. It's full of mysogony and racist remarks. I still watch it, it doesn't bother me but I understand why other people would be offended. The irony is Brent's character is a man who thinks he's one of the lads, it's all office banter and doesn't realise when he's overstepping the mark
Some of my favourite comedians are Mickey Flanagan, Sean Lock and Tim Vine. Nonr of them use offensive material or target individuals or groups, the majority of comedy acts are clean, it's only a minority. People like Gervais and Jimmy Carr would argue pushing the boundaries of disgust is progession but I don't agree, it's a minority view, they just want the publicity
Some of my favourite comedians are Mickey Flanagan, Sean Lock and Tim Vine. Nonr of them use offensive material or target individuals or groups, the majority of comedy acts are clean, it's only a minority. People like Gervais and Jimmy Carr would argue pushing the boundaries of disgust is progession but I don't agree, it's a minority view, they just want the publicity
Last edited:
sydney
tinky ****in winky
Sean Lock's joke about noshing off his Alsatian is offensive to a lot of people , not to me , i just don't get offended by anything , if you are easily offended just stay indoors with na pillowcase over your head , give everyone else a break and as for "evolved" hmmmm i suppose it's more appropriate than progressed.
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 17,102
I don't see why people should have to stay indoors with a pillowcase over their head (whatever that means). People should be free to call out things they find offensive as this means we can learn more about each other. Denying people this right sounds like cancelling their opinion to me. Same as denying people the right to hear the stuff they enjoy. As I said earlier I think some people enjoy the offensiveness of some comedy. They feel it is edgy and pushing the boundaries. They derive enjoyment from the same thing that others get upset about.
I am similar to you in that most of the offensive stuff neither titalates or upsets me. I see a difference between Rickey Gervais and other comedians who play with the edgy and offensive thing in that I don't think Gervais does it very well and I don't think he is very good at stand-up. This means that all he is left with is the fact that he is pushing the offensive boundaries. Something I don't find that funny in itself.
Sent from my M2010J19CG using Tapatalk
sydney
tinky ****in winky
is Michael McIntyre funny...??
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 17,102
People like him. Some of his bits are okay but I can watch him for long as he irritates.
What do you think?
Sent from my M2010J19CG using Tapatalk
drew
Drew
Of course he's a stand up. You might not like him and he might not have got there by what you have determined is the correct route but he is a stand up. It's a bit like demeaning a pop star because they built up a following on You Tube rather than gigging at pubs and clubs.
Randy McNob
Now go home and get your f#cking Shinebox
- Jun 13, 2020
- 4,448
You're not offended just like i'm not offended by the Office, the problem is, if you want people to respect the fact you are not offended by the same token you should respect other's right to find it unacceptable. You are probably a boomer or, like me, a gen X. Those eras. Millenials and Gen Z's find some of the stuff we like out of date, just like my grandad who still makes jokes about black and asian people. We just cringe and change the subject we don't stand up for his right to continue to say his offensive jokes.
Not sure why the word progressive has been weaponised by the right, shouldn't we evolve and change over time rather than stand still? I saw an old programme from the 70's where wearing a seat belt became compulsory, it was deeply unpopular and people felt their rights were infringed, the "nanny state". Now it's 2nd nature. We evolve.
If deplatforming certain offensive comics and removing statues of slavers is a step towards equality, i'm all for it since otherwise it's always a divisive issue
I find the lack of empathy towards black lives matter and the evolution of the term woke deeply offensive and our generation looks backwards rather than fowards, it's embarrasing and how does it make the world a better place?
Last edited:
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 17,102
His shows always come across more like a ted talk than stand-up to me.
Sent from my M2010J19CG using Tapatalk
sydney
tinky ****in winky
yeah , similar , i find him irritating also.
sydney
tinky ****in winky
i respect your right to be offended , removing statues does absolutely nothing to bring about equality , that horse has bolted as equality is a socio economic issue these days , there are plenty of middle and upper class non white people and there are equally a huge number of white folk living in poverty , unfortunately on a global level and on the whole , equality is further away now than what it was 200 years ago. Social engineering and manipulation as alive and kicking on a global level , the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and more numerous by the hour.
I respect your right to be offended, but I don’t respect your right to be the final arbiter on acceptability.
There are billions of people in this world, all of whom are equally assured that they know where the line should be drawn. And they’re right, for themselves only.
Instead of calling things unacceptable, just say that you find them offensive, and there’s no argument.
The problem is that there’s currently a few billion Mary Whitehouse’s goose-stepping round the earth, all certain that they know the one true place where the line between acceptability and unacceptability should be set.
You get to set that line for yourself, no one else. Nobody should be setting that line for others “own good” until we get into the very darkest abscesses of humanity.
TLDR: Saying “offended” = fine, saying “unacceptable” = dial it down, nobody has made you the spokesperson for humanity.
There are billions of people in this world, all of whom are equally assured that they know where the line should be drawn. And they’re right, for themselves only.
Instead of calling things unacceptable, just say that you find them offensive, and there’s no argument.
The problem is that there’s currently a few billion Mary Whitehouse’s goose-stepping round the earth, all certain that they know the one true place where the line between acceptability and unacceptability should be set.
You get to set that line for yourself, no one else. Nobody should be setting that line for others “own good” until we get into the very darkest abscesses of humanity.
TLDR: Saying “offended” = fine, saying “unacceptable” = dial it down, nobody has made you the spokesperson for humanity.