Even those ultra-sharp folks at the NY Observer seem to have succumbed to Ricky Gervais fever. Well, more or less:
Mr. Gervais holds a degree in philosophy from University College London. The only novel he’s ever read start to finish is "The Catcher in the Rye".
Or was he just pulling their leg? (There's no reason a comic should be expected to be an avid book-reader, but I think his admission tells you something.) Watching Gervais interview Gary Shandling [left] the other day was an extremely weird experience. (YouTube has the clips.) Unless my comedy antennae are completely broken, it seemed to me that Shandling made Mr G look very small with the minimum of effort. (Just as The Larry Sanders Show puts The Office in the shade.) But as everyone in the business insists that Gervais is a genius, I'm still obviously missing something important. Sorry to keep banging on about him. I just wish I got the joke. Could it be a case of clever marketing meets mass hypnosis?
Could it simply be that you do not find Gervais funny? Why should that make the rest of us deluded? Sheesh!
Posted by: Mike Power | Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 12:58 PM
You didn't say whether you saw the interview.
No, I don't think he's particularly funny, but there's nothing more futile than arguing about other people's sense of humour. It's the relentless media overkill that really interests me.
Posted by: Clive | Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 02:58 PM