RICKY GERVAIS: THE ORIGINAL LITTLE FAT MAN?

from youtube

Ricky Gervais was once just a little fat man that nobody knew. Now he is a little fat man who has appeared on Jonathan Ross’s world famous chat show more often than any other human in the world. That’s how famous Gervais has become. So, how did this transformation happen?

Some of you may remember a TV show called Operation Good Guys (OGG). It was a fly on the wall British mockumentary that ran from 1997 to 2000.The show was created by Ray Burdis, although much of the dialogue was improvised. The show followed the escapades of an elite team of police officers as they tried to bring down a major crime lord whilst variously suffering failure and personal meltdown. The squad was fronted by DI Jim Beach who was a flawed, paranoid egotist; and he was also a “little fat man”. The hallmark of the show was its innovative “naturalistic” style that blurred fact and fiction. It also featured a number of celebrities (including Jude Law, Jonny Lee Miller and Denise van Outen) as themselves.

Before reading on why not click on the above clip from the show. It features the Raging Pig Fight, and I know that you’ll enjoy it.

Now fast forward to 2001, and the first run of Ricky Gervais’s The Office. This was widely promoted as an innovative, fly on the wall British mockumentary in a naturalistic style. Gervais played David Brent who was a flawed, paranoid egotist. Critics have generally indulged Gervais, who notoriously failed to credit OGG’s influence on The Office. That said, The Office produced some incredibly funny moments. Most sensible critics regard it as Gervais’s creative high point, whereas his attempts at stand up and a Hollywood career have been met with critical abuse.

In a conceited move, Gervais refused to make a third series of The Office because that is what you do when you are a comedy genius (see Fawlty Towers etc). Instead, he followed it up with Extras. This time Gervais played Andy Millman. Andy is an extra in TV and film. He is also a flawed, paranoid egotist. The show features celebrities, who appear as themselves. Andy gets his own show (When The Whistle Blows), but feels artistically unfulfilled. It was during the episode featuring David Bowie that Gervais found his form again.

In that episode Andy realises that he has “sold out”, but is enjoying a certain amount of public recognition. He goes to a VIP bar, and settles into the VIP area. But he is depressed. The VIP area is separated from the public by nothing more than a rope. Luckily, David Bowie is close at hand and tells his companion to “Budge up,” so that Andy can join him.

In the presence of greatness, Andy explains that, “I’m an entertainer too…” which beautifully understates Bowie’s status. It is also the classic “I want to impress a legend, I want the legend to like me, I want the legend to befriend me (and I believe that this is possible)”, dialogue that must constantly amuse and annoy the A-listers.

Bowie (who proves that he has a gift for comedy) glazes over as Andy raves about integrity and bad wigs, as though talking to a psychiatrist or holy man; and then Bowie starts to sing, “…little fat man who sold his soul…”

Bowie turns the mirror to Andy Millman as he composes a song ridiculing the jumped up entertainer, with a lovely piano backing. The song writing process is assisted by Andy’s friend (Maggie), as the song develops with “…fatso takes his own life, he blows his bloated face off…” By now Bowie has involved the entire bar, he is rocking the piano, singing “…he’s benign and he’s facile, he’s a fat waste of space,” the bar is working the chorus, they sing about fatso’s pug nose “…pug, pug, pug, pug…” and by now Andy is on the brink of joining in as Bowie, his confidant, is humiliating him in front of his public and his friends.

The humour is cruel, but perfectly developed and an accurately observed comment on celebrity vanity and deluded self worth. Please click on the video below to enjoy this scene from Extras. Believe me, to will love it. Well done Ricky, you scored a bullseye with that one.

from youtube