A few years ago I wrote an article about how successful British sitcoms invariably struggled to be turned into successful British films. Since then, however, the code seems to have been cracked. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa was a critical and commercial hit and this year Absolutely Fabulous has already thrived at the box office. Let’s not mention the Dad’s Army remake as it might spoil this thesis.
And now here comes Life on the Road which dusts off David Brent and sticks him at the front of a rock band in another fly-on-the-wall mockumentary just like his BBC TV series. Fifteen years since his first BBC appearance the world has changed. It’s a mighty long way from his days running Wernham Hogg in The Office.
He is now a rep for “Lavichem” and while he still tries to play the fool and charm his colleagues he is more of a fish out of water than ever with this new cast. He is not just older, he is also softer than his hardball post-Cameron colleagues. It is not all awful, that would be unbearable to watch. One member of staff does secretly love him, though he is too emotionally stunted to notice.
So instead of sticking to being a salaryman he slightly sticks it to the man by cashing in his pension and following his rock stardom dream, which means hiring musicians and bankrolling a tour. Now just sit back and watch in horror as everything that can go wrong on the road does go wrong.
A lot of the story writes itself. The poorly attended gigs, the groupies who are more interested in the chocolates in the mini-bar the fridge than Brent, the way that he tries to be one of the lads but just can’t fit it. As one would expect, Gervais still plays Brent brilliantly, complete with nervous grin, foot-in-mouth stabs at political correctness and increasingly desperate attempts at making a go of this last throw of the showbiz dice.
And there are plenty of laugh out loud lines. There is a particularly giggle-worthy scene when he gets a tattoo. Most of the funniest moments are of the same comedy-of-embarrassment variety that made Brent such a star the first time round. He is like an overgrown schoolboy. He can’t really relate properly to women however hard he tries. In fact he can’t really relate to men. He is a lonely figure who these days we would say is somewhere on the spectrum.
The film does have its faults. It attempts an emotional story arc similar to the Martin/Dawn dynamic of the TV series, except this time with Brent himself. In 90 minutes rather than over two series and a Christmas special this all seems a little hurried and thinly drawn. Likewise a neat little bit at the end when he becomes friends with the band after all is a little too cosy and cute.
But in terms of comedy it is in decent working order. Good support from Tom Basden and Doc Brown too as reluctant mates of the wannabe star and Jo Hartley as his love interest Pauline. And the songs are both witty and irritatingly catchy. It is certainly successful in laying bare the horrors of the music business ground floor. Life is bleak out there for Brent, and we can still only watch him through our fingers most of the time. If you are looking for a British Spinal Tap for the post-Brexit generation Life on the Road is definitely it.
Released on August 19.
