David Brent: Life On The Road

Thirteen years after The Office bowed out with its masterful Christmas special double-header it still stands as possibly the finest sitcom to ever grace our screens (with only Peep Show standing on the top of the podium with it.) Part of its genius was leaving us wanting more and Ricky Gervais has finally relented; bringing back his most celebrated creation in David Brent: Life On The Road.

It's well known that, incredible as his track record is on the small screen (Extras, Derek, The Ricky Gervais Show and the various Karl Pilkington offshoots) Gervais hasn't really delivered on the big screen (Cemetery Junction is a 5 star masterpiece but everything else has fallen flat.) This is his attempt to bring that hit-rate up a peg using everyone's favourite 'love to hate' boss.

So, straight off, it marks as a hit; easily second behind the aforementioned Cemetery Junction in Gervais' movie oeuvre. Brent is back with his familiar cringe-worthy comedy, tics and mannerisms and you could watch him onscreen forever. I feel there's always been a slightly autobiographical element to the character and his story is so tragic and pitiful. Similar, in a way, to Homer Simpson the man has a heart of gold and, deep down, just wants to be liked by others. However, the way he goes about it has the polarising effect of alienating people.

It's lovely to see Brent in his new office environment (he's still a travelling sales rep') and sparking with new character Nigel and three new female characters who, it transpires, are the first to see through his outward 'chilled-out entertainer' persona to the lonely man he is inside.

This isn't an Office recreation though and the film follows Brent as he takes his 'new/old' band on a tour of the M4 corridor using his allotted holiday and pension. Here's where things let down slightly, we see the same setup over and over: play a show to an empty room, get ignored by his session band before and after and drive to the next gig.

The comedy comes in dribs and drabs some jokes are laugh out loud, others are 'should I be laughing at this?'. If you know Gervais you'll know what to expect but it's certainly not for the easily-offended, you'll spend a lot of time peering through your fingers.

The songs, strangely enough, are actually quite good. Whilst the lyrics are all Brent and, therefore, tinged with either observational humour ("Then to Gloucester, I get a Costa", "It's equidistant between London and Reading: Slough" for example) or 'did-he-really-say-that' cringe (the whole of "Please Don't Make Fun Of The Disableds") the melodies were co-written with Andy Burrows and actually will stick with you come the film's end.

It's lovely to see Brent back but there's a slight feeling that Gervais could have, perhaps, done more here. I, for one, am glad none of the other Office characters are mentioned (the unknown element is better in this instance) but it feels that the success of Derek has influenced Gervais to focus more on the sadness of the character rather than the comedy that others can bring (a lot of the humour in The Office came from the other characters; there aren't many here, with the exception of Doc Brown's rapper, that draw a laugh.)

It's watchable, it's funny, it's sad and it'll make you think; all classic Gervais. However, for a character as worthy and celebrated as this, it feels a little light compared to what's come before.

3 stars ***