The Office: Humour In The Day To Day

The Office is a British mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The premise of the show is a film crew recording the day to day activities of an office in Slough, within the office we have larger than life characters such as David Brent (Gervais), as well as a will they won’t they romance centered around Tim (Martin Freeman), and Dawn (Lucy Davis).

For many of you reading this when I say The Office, you would think of the American TV show of the same name, but the Ricky Gervais version of the show was the one that inspired it. Recently I have been re-watching The UK Office, and it got me thinking, there is something special about this show, something that stands the test of time, and I am going to try and find out what it is.

I think the most obvious answer of what makes this show special is it relatability, working in an office is something that is very familiar to a lot of people, but I think it is more than that. The awkward cringe comedy the show is known for is again something a lot of people can relate to, we have all done something cringey in our lives, or we have all seen someone else do something cringey and thought to ourselves ‘please stop’, this again makes this show relatable, as we can see ourselves in the characters.

What’s more, Gervais seems to be very good at hiding emotion and depth behind cringey and unlikable characters. David Brent is not likeable, he wants to be, but he isn’t, that’s the joke. However, despite all the bad things he does across the run of the show you still want him to be happy, in the final episode when he finally seems like he is happy and other laugh at him and try and take it away, you feel for him, you feel connected to him in a way.

The romance of the show works in a similar way, you really root for Tim and Dawn to get together, even when it seems like they won’t. The show teases us the audience with the idea of them getting together many times, but it doesn’t give it to us; this then makes it all the more satisfying when they do.

Overall, I think the reason this is such a special show is because it isn’t outlandish or ridiculous, it is every day and ordinary.

Written by Luke

Sorry To Bother You: What Would You Do To Succeed?

Sorry To Bother You is a dark comedy film directed by Boots Riley. The plot follows Cash (Lakeith Stanfield), a young black telemarketer who adopts a white accent to be successful at his job. Once Cash is a success he must decide where his priorities lie and who his real friends are, as everything is not as it seems, and dangers lurk at every corner.

I love this film satirical take on the world, I think there are parts of it that are genuinely hilarious and parts that make you think, as good satire should. However, I do believe that the absurdity of this film reaches a point where it becomes silly and loses the point. I am of course referring to the horse people that show up in the films final act. I understand that they are acting as a metaphor and are part of the satire, but at that point in the film I had given up trying to understand it as it had ventured into silly territory. I think this film could have been even stronger without the horse people being in it. I do believe the horse people will be polarizing to people watching this, you will either love them and think they’re inspired, or think their inclusion is dumb and confusing.

The main positive of this film is Lakeith Stanfield’s marvellous breakout performance! Stanfield nails the performance on every level, he is warm and likeable, he is funny, and he also evokes real emotion from us the audience during some of the film’s heavier scenes. This was and has proven to be a Star making turn for him and I think it is fully deserved.

However, on the flip side I think all the scenes with Cash’s girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson), drag on and on. I have yet to be impressed by Thompson in a single one of her performances, she is fine but she never blows me away, she was good in Thor Ragnarök, but that was a small part in a larger cast, not one of the main characters as she is in this film. I think many other actresses could have done a better job than Thompson in this role to name but a few off the top of my head, I think both Zazie Beetz and Lupia Nyong’o could have had interesting takes on the character, but ah well.

Overall, this is mostly a great dark comedy, Stanfield is terrific, and this film is worth watching for him alone, however a weak and strange third act and a less than average performance from Tessa Thompson stop this film from being a 5/5.

Pros.

Lakeith Stanfield.

A great dark comedy.

It makes you think and laugh.

Cons.

Tessa Thompson

The horse people.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bad Boys For Life: Is It Time To Retire?

Bad Boys For Life is an action comedy film directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The plot returns us once again to the lives of Miami cops Mike (Will Smith), and Marcus ( Martin Lawrence), who are now on the cusp of retirement, with the two men disagreeing about whether they should or not. However, when a figure from Mike’s past comes back to haunt and hunt him, the Boys have to be Bad one last time.

This film knows what it is, it isn’t trying to be clever it is just dumb popcorn fun, think Fast and The Furious but with less of a focus on cars. The life blood of this film is the chemistry and banter between Smith and Lawrence and I am pleased to report that this chemistry is just as strong as ever, you buy them as two cops who have been partners for years and are more like brothers than friends at this point.

Moreover, the boy’s interactions with Ammo, the new policing group that does things differently to the Boys, is fantastic and had me laughing multiple times in the cinema. I think Alexander Ludwig of Vikings fame is the standout of this younger cast and the joke of him being a big burly guy who prefers to stay in the van never stops being funny. Also, some of the meta jokes in this film are also brilliant, an example of one of these is having Michael Bay announcing things at Marcus’s daughter’s wedding, which made me laugh as he was the director of the other two films.

The action in this film is pretty good the choreography is done well, however, when I was watching I often thought I don’t think Will Smith should do these type of roles anymore as I just don’t believe him as an action star anymore, he is past it and it shows in this film.

I thought the storyline of it being Mike’s son that was trying to kill him, was incredibly obvious from the beginning and is a little too similar to Smith’s other recent film Gemini Man.

Overall, I think that for a belated sequel this is probably as good as you could hope for, there are some laughs, it treats the characters with respect, it is an enjoyable turn your brain off sort of film, however it is still far from perfect and the issues that plague the film are fundamental, so aren’t easily changed. See it if you have nothing better to do!

Pros.

Smith and Lawrence’s chemistry.

The Boy’s interactions with Ammo.

Alexander Ludwig.

The meta jokes.

Cons.

The Boys are pasted their prime and it shows.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sonic The Hedgehog: The Hero We Need!

Sonic The Hedgehog is an action-adventure comedy film based off the beloved 90’s videogame figure. The plot follows Sonic after he flees his home world and takes up residency on Earth, there he meets Donut Lord (James Marsden), who accidentally tranquilisers him causing him to lose his rings, which Sonic needs to travel between worlds. While all of this is happening the US, government calls in a specialist to check out all the strange goings on, Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who them seeks out Sonic to capture him and use him for his own odds and ends.

Can I just say that as someone who grew up playing Sonic in the early 2000’s this film is a triumph they nail Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Robotnik and the world, more over that post credits scene when they introduce Tails had me giddy with excitement. I am actively looking forward to a Sega shared universe and if all of the entries to the universe are as good as this, we might finally have something to rival the MCU.

My only complaint about this film is that occasionally it focused a bit too much on it’s human characters, while Marsden did a good job the same can’t be said for his in-film wife Maddie/ The Pretzel Lady (Tika Sumpter), who added nothing and was incredibly underdeveloped, the scenes that focused on her and her sister Rachel (Natasha Rothwell), dragged on and on and took away from the overall enjoyment of the film. The joke of Rachel not liking Donut Lord/Mike is used for all it is worth and it is never once funny.

However, Carrey’s turn as Robotnik more than makes up for the lack of comedy and he is phenomenal and hilarious. I didn’t realise until I was sat watching this film how much I had missed seeing Jim Carrey on the big screen, as he was a favourite of mine when I was growing up. Carrey brings some real menace to Robotnik, but also makes him super over the top in the best way, he perfectly walks that line between scary and funny.

Sonic himself looks great and reminds me of the Sonic from my youth, Ben Schwartz does a great job voicing him, he brings a lot of energy to the character and also makes him warm and likeable; there are elements of the latest iteration of Paddington mixed in the there I am sure.

Overall, there is a lot to love about this film, it is not only a great videogame movie, but also the perfect start to a wider universe. Loved it! If you’re a fan of Sonic or, a newcomer to the character I guarantee you will have a good time with this film.

Pros.

Setting up the world.

I missed Jim Carrey.

The post credits scene.

Sonic himself.

Cons.

Any scene with Maddie or her sister.

4.5/5

Birds Of Prey: Margot Robbie’s Vanity Project

Birds of Prey is a superhero film based on the DC characters of the same name directed by Cathy Yan. It serves as sequel to Suicide Squad and is set in the DC Universe. The plot of this film is that following her break-up from the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), set out to find out who she is and live her own life, she then gets targeted by a local drug lord and gets mixed up with a wide assortment of characters.

Why did you do this DC? You were on such a streak recently, but then this film came out; which may be the weakest film in the DCEU, but hey I like Batman Vs Superman and Suicide Squad so what do I know.

My issues with this film are on a fundamental level, firstly this isn’t a Birds of Prey film, it’s a Harley Quinn film that is using that name. Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) are in the film for maybe 30 minutes in total and are shockingly underused. This film is all about Harley Quinn and it isn’t afraid to show it. Adding to that Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), a future Bat-girl is also in this film and she may be played by one of the most annoying child actors ever; but that is low hanging fruit, so I won’t rag on it too much.

This film is clearly heavily inspired by the New 52 run on Harley Quinn, which I loved, it has a lot of tonal similarities, but where the comic works the film doesn’t. I don’t know if it is issues in translating it over, but it just seems like it is trying to hard. The random asides, musical and otherwise and the jumping around in time for no real reason, reek to me of them trying too hard to make it edgy and random. Robbie is clearly doing her best Deadpool impression as well. I think the fact that this film doesn’t have Poison Ivy in it, to act as a new love interest for Harley is one hell of a missed opportunity.

The thing I dislike the most about this film is its message which is as aggressive as a punch to the throat. We have two incredibly on the nose scenes in this film, we have on scene where Harley is almost taken advantage of, why include this in your Harley Quinn superhero film as it just sticks out? As well as another scene of Black Canary singing ‘it’s a man’s world’ and it is like I get it film I get your point can you please stop ramming it down my throat it is off putting; showing once again that Hollywood doesn’t understand the meaning of subtly. Moreover, later in the film we have a scene where Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), forces a woman to strip, which once again feels out of place and he hasn’t shown any behaviour before that suggests he would do that kind of evil deed rather than just having her killed. All of these scenes are incredibly jarring and take you out of the experience and make it feel as though you’re being lectured to.

To conclude no wonder this film underperformed it tries too hard, misses a huge character opportunity and has as much subtly as a brick to the face.

Pros.

The Birds of Prey barring Harley are cool, it’s a shame they are barely developed.

Cons.

Robbie is trying to be Deadpool see the police evidence locker cocaine scene to see what I mean, it’s obvious.

Cassandra Cain is ridiculously annoying every time she is on screen.

The constant lectures.

The over the top randomness of it all.

1/5.

Reviewed by Luke

The Big Bang Theory: Life After The Singularity

The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. The plot follows a group of nerdy scientists as they have quirky adventures and misadventures and attempt to find love. The show ran for 12 series with the final series ending last year.

Carrying on from my post about Friends the other day I want to now look at some of that show’s successors one of which is The Big Bang Theory. Whether you love it or, you hate it this show has been around for a long time, longer even than Friends, and it has had an impact on pop culture, even inspiring a spin-off show in Young Sheldon.

I am of the mindset that this show never dipped in quality over it’s run, episodes from season 11 made me laugh just as much as episodes from season 1 or 2, but comedy is subjective. I think the ending of this show, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), winning the Nobel prize and thanking his friends and his wife is the perfect way to end it, the final scene of the show brought more than a few tears to my eyes.

Though some say that the comedy of the show shifted from laughing with the nerds to at them, I don’t agree. I think the characters were done justice to until the end, I think this show as well as some of it’s contemporaries helped in bringing nerd culture to the mainstream; it made being a nerd cool.

I liked how each character was developed over the course of the show and became more rounded, even background characters like Stuart (Kevin Sussman), had arcs and changed; we saw these characters grow as we ourselves did as well. The ending of the show gave all of these characters a sense of closure, except for Raj (Kunal Nayyar), who was left up in the air after his unsuccessful quest for love; I hope we don’t get a Joey esque spin-off for him, and this closure was just what we needed to move past this show.

Overall, I think The Big Bang Theory was less impactful than Friends, but that is not to say it wasn’t influential in its own way, it was. The Big Bang Theory reached out to all the geeks and nerds (myself included) out there who wanted to see a show they could relate to, where the characters aren’t going to parties every night and sleeping with different people near constantly and to them this show was a rallying cry, it made being a nerd cool; something that seemed like an impossibility.

Written by Luke

Peter Rabbit: Stone Cold Killer

Peter Rabbit is a 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Will Gluck. The plot of the film takes inspiration from the Beatrice Potter books of the same name and sees Peter and his family trying to steal from the garden of Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson), whilst also trying to stop the romance developing between him and the rabbits beloved Bea (Rose Byrne).

What can I say about this film? The only positive I will give this film is the fact that there is nothing else quite like it, it is bizarre in both a good way and a bad way. The good way is due to the fact that Beatrice Potter is interacting with the rabbits she created, so that worked for me in a meta way. However, in the bad way we have baffling decisions like having their be a cockerel character, who openly says things to the extent of, ‘he only had kids because he thought the world was going to end tomorrow and that now he is stuck looking after them’ and ‘he hates his life’. Fear not by the end of the film he loves his life as a single father, but my question is why was this put in? The cockerel is not a main character he is incredibly throw away, so who were his ‘jokes’ aimed at, they certainly weren’t child friendly, so maybe the parents? However, I doubt parents very much would like a lot of what he was saying.

Moreover, the film decides to make Peter evil. I get that he is having a fun war of escalation with McGregor, and McGregor tries to kill Peter, but he is the villain, so it is okay for him to do it. However, Peter (James Corden), who is the hero of the tale tries to kill McGregor both by trying to make him die of an allergic reaction as well as by torturing him with bear traps, it’s sounds like I am joking, but I am not. Why is the hero of a kid’s movie doing this, why?

Furthermore, this film is aggressively dumb and teaches kid’s bad lessons. One of peter’s sister constantly throws herself of things, breaking her ribs, but it’s okay because she has more ribs to break her fall the next time she does it. In no way should this be taught to kids because not only is it not true, but it is the sort of things they might see and try and imitate.

This review has already gone long, so I am not going to go on about James Corden and how the world should leave him behind, he isn’t as annoying as usual here, but it is safe to say that still means he is incredibly annoying.

Overall, the only reason to watch this film is out of morbid curiosity, there are some hilarious moments, not a single one of them is intentional. I wouldn’t let kids watch this because it has a lot of harmful messages and because it is just trash.

Pros.

Funny when it is not trying to be.

Freakishly bizarre.

Cons.

Peter Rabbit tries to murder people.

James Corden.

Who is this film for?

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Captain Fantastic: Aragorn after the Return Of The King

Captain Fantastic is a comedy drama film directed by Matt Ross. The plot of the film revolves around a family who live in the woods, they are entirely off the grid and loving it, however after the mother kills herself it is up to the dad Ben (Viggo Mortensen), to protect his kids as he brings them into the big bad 21^st century modern world for their mother’s funeral.

I think this is a beautiful little film, it is quirky and different, and it will make you smile as much as it will make you cry. The film often raises the question is the way Ben and his late wife brought up their kids the right way? We see many other character judge Ben for not letting his kids go to school, though he home schools them, and just for his parenting style in general: the film doesn’t definitely say one way or the other which style of parenting is right, just as long as you love your kids and that they are happy that is all that really matters.

Ever since I was little, I have always had a thing about film narratives where children are taken from their parents, I don’t know why, but they have always been incredibly hard to watch for me and the same is true of this film. When the children’s grandfather (Frank Langella), tries to take the kids away from Ben it is heart breaking: likewise, when the kids all go after their father and choose to live with him it can’t help but make you cheer.

I think the performances from Mortensen and George MacKay (who plays the oldest son) are both fantastic and were deserving of the awards attention they got. Mortensen perfect captures a mixture of cocky and harsh whilst also being very loving and warm. Whereas MacKay illustrates through his performance the feelings of a child who has outgrown their parent and needs to go and find their own place in the world.

Overall, a wonderful film that is bound to leave an impression on you.

Pros.

Mortensen.

MacKay.

The laughs.

The quirky sensibilities.

Cons.

It is a little hard to watch at times.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Emma: Jane Austen In 2020

Emma. Is a comedy drama film directed by Autumn De Wilde, based on the book of the same name by Jane Austen. The plot follows Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman who by her own admission is “handsome, clever and rich”, as she messes with the lives and romances of those around her; whilst also going on a journey of self-discovery, learning things about herself and love.

Austen period dramas aren’t really something that appeal to me greatly, but this one I thought looked promising. From the trailers I was hoping it might turn out to be something like The Favourite a period drama that had an edgy twist and something new to say about the genre; I was badly wrong. This film is by all means just a modern retelling of the same old story, just with a fresh coat of paint and a quirkier sense of humour.

Said quirky sense of humour was for me incredibly hit or miss, some of the jokes in the film had me smiling and chuckling whereas other fell flat; truth be told I found myself laughing quite a few times at things that upon later reflection I’m pretty sure weren’t meant to be funny.

Without that more modern sense of humour, you are just left we a Jane Austen adaptation, which is fine if that is your thing, you will probably love this, but for me I thought it was boring and dull; this is only made worse by the fact that the film goes on for what feels like an eternity, dragging further and further out.

On a more positive note I think Anya Taylor Joy was delightful and did really well in the role, her performance brought something new to the standard leading woman in these kinds of films. Likewise, Bill Nighy as Mr Woodhouse had some great comedic moments and was the standout of any scene, he was in.

Overall, I think I greatly misjudged the tone of this film from the trailers, had I known that it was just yet another modern adaptation of Jane Austen then I probably wouldn’t have gone to see it. Taylor-Joy and Nighy do their best and there are a few laughs to be had throughout, but unless you’re really into Austen I would probably stay well clear of this one.

Pros.

The jokes that do land.

Anya Taylor-Joy is fantastic.

Cons.

It is boring.

It is too long.

The humour doesn’t always land.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Friends: Do We Need A Reunion?

Friends was a sitcom that ran between 1994- 2004 and it had a monumental effect on Pop Culture and influenced countless other shows. The premise of the show revolved around a group of twenty something friends who all live together in New York, each week they get into different funny situations and a few of the more serious plot lines carry throughout the show.

It is near impossible when talking about this show to not mention the cultural phenomenon that it was at the time, whether you love it or you hate it, it shaped network television for a long time. The premise if it was released now would sound uninspired and samey, but at the time it was novel. When you watch shows like The Big Bang Theory or, How I Met Your Mother you can see the lifeblood of Friends still alive, serving in many ways as a perennial force to both modern sitcoms.

Friends was very much a product of it’s time, it was undeniably 90’s in many ways and that is clear to see when you watch an episode of it. I think when Friends was released on Netflix and everyone was upset and saying how offensive it was; that it was a tad ridiculous. By modern standards there are multiple jokes and situations that seems sketchy, but that is true of any shows that weren’t made in the last 5 years, in another 5 years the shows we are watching now will seem widely not up to standard, so you can’t be too harsh on the show in that respect.

The reason why this show was so successful, is because it is nice to watch a group of friends get into silly situations there is something comforting about it, because at the end of the day it is relatable. Most people have at least one friend that they enjoy hanging out with so they can relate. This is helped by all the characters being likeable, there isn’t a character that ruins the ensemble by being a dick, yes there is Ross (David Schwimmer), but even he isn’t out and out hateable.

Overall, I think this is a very important show for better or for worse, I was inspired to write this when I heard that they were doing a reunion show for HBO Max and in regard to that I wanted to say please don’t. Yes, I know it will be seen by millions of people, but do we really truly want to see a 2020 episode of Friends? It has it’s place in the mid to late 90’s and early 2000s, but as sad as it is to say, it doesn’t really have one now, people have moved on; plus other beloved hits that have tried to comeback have a long track record of not being well liked and I would hate to see Friends end a similar way.

Written By Luke