Alternative Magazine Online

By Stewie Sutherland

If there’s one man in our time who could claim to be a Jack of all trades, it would be Britain’s own Ricky Gervais. Actor, comedian, singer, author of children’s books, podcaster, script writer, TV star and creator of Extras, The Office and the theory that supermarkets hide their cakes behind narrow doors to ward off larger-sized people. Gervais himself (I find) is a man for only a select crowd at his un-filtered best; his live tour of America, Out Of England, was a sell out but subject to criticism, poking jokes that he managed to get away with, but could quite easily have backfired on him.

Alternatively, his work on creating and staring in Extras and The Office have each received award nominations and critical success, the former winning a Golden Globe while the latter has been remade for audiences in four different countries. Both ran for only two seasons but have been the subject of their own cult followings and have proven his depth at being able to create different realities from the simplest ideas. Love him or hate him, Ricky Gervais has proven that he knows comedy inside and out, and being a co-writer, co-director and main star of his new movie, I settled in to watch The Invention of Lying with a high grade of expectancy.

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