Out of England by Ricky Gervais

Out of England by Ricky Gervais

                Ricky Gervais is the King of British comedy

                At least this is what his standup act proclaims in the introduction.

                There are two ways to look at this:

One: to think that this is presumptuous, arrogant, narcissistic, self-congratulatory and ultimately…Trumpish

Two: is the more appropriate option, for the intention is to use self- deprecatory humor,         while also boasting about some real achievements, like the biggest number of downloads, the extraordinary success obtained by The Office

Take the helicopter ride and his telling of the story, involving the period of the ash clouds coming from Iceland:

What is the point of Iceland? Why don’t they use concrete to cover those volcanoes up? I could not get to the show…

Well, I had to take a helicopter for 12,000 pounds…I could take the ferry, but there are other people on board…

Then there is the usual teasing of the public, with how does it feel to live in a third world country, after highlighting the fact that thousands of dollars are only worth some few hundred pounds- although that is no longer the case.

The comedian then says that he will test some jokes on this audience, the ones they laugh at, he will continue to use along the tour and the bits they are quiet at he will drop, hence they get some exclusive material…

Shitty though that is.

Ricky Gervais admits that he pushes the limits to extremes that are unacceptable or simply incomprehensible for various individuals, or categories of people, like those who are at an age where it is difficult to take pedophile jokes.

Not that this is way for most people, never mind the idea that they might enjoy their absurdity or humor.

For instance, the performer mentions a social occasion where he told the joke with the girl who fell from the swing.

Why? Because she had no arms…

Continuing on this outré path, he tells another one with a six year old who returns home from the playground and tells her father about this man, who came and told the other children to go away so that he can be alone with her, took her to an isolated place, took his thing out…

The parent keeps prompting his daughter to go on and asks “and then” which he uses after that awful moment:

And then?

Nothing…

Oh, come on….make something up.

One of the main points in telling this joke seems to be that there is no subject on which one cannot make jokes.

On a radio show, Ricky Gervais has been attacked for his targeting of fat, which are exactly like gays, in the view of that commentator

Only the comedian offers an objective and funny response- gay people are born with their sexual orientation, whereas the overweight make an option to eat more calories than they burn during the day.

In this humorous scenario, Gervais depicts a sixteen year old that is prompted by his father to…”have oral sex with a man” in spite of his objections that he is not homosexual: “how do you know, if you have not tried it?”

There is another case of borderline humor, which could be rejected by religious, evangelical people, wherein he talks about God giving AIDS to people in Africa and then killing the pet given as a Christmas present to a relative, after being rescued from the Animal shelter, where it had been given a day to live.

In a segment that recalls Bill Maher, Ricky Gervais takes on the Bible and the Noah episode in particular.

A virulent opponent of religion, the artist points out the absurdity of believing that millions of animals have been all placed on a ship, no matter how large, wherein they would necessarily eat each other, given their places on the food chain.

In conclusion, listening to the Ricky Gervais shows is provocative, certainly challenging for many, albeit those fundamentalists would surely avoid participating, but they are ultimately educational as well as funny, often hilarious.