Stephen Quillen
Writer | Wheaton, IL
Aren’t sure whether to laugh or cry
A few years ago, popular British comedian Ricky Gervais came under a wave of scrutiny for his contentiously gaudy
performance at the Golden Globes, where he managed to offend nearly everyone in the star-packed Los Angeles hotel.
Amid his string of shocking, facetious quips, Gervais squeaked in a laugh about Charlie Sheen’s drug problem, a joke
about Robert Downey Junior’s prison sentence, a sneer at Johnny Depp’s acting career, and, perhaps most gasp-worthy,
a speculative jab at Tom Cruise’s sexuality.
“Aside from the fact that it’s been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones,” said actor Russell Crowe
midway through the act, “I’d say its going pretty well so far.”
Most spectators disagreed. The New York Times described Gervais as “merciless from the start,” while Philip Berk,
the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, called his routine “totally unacceptable.” Shortly after the
performance, another representative for the HFPA declared, almost prophetically, that “(Gervais) will not be invited
back to host the show next year.” (Spoiler alert: He was invited back) And pundits almost universally agreed that Gervais
crossed “the line”: that he pounced over that abstract, end-all boundary which separates humor from insult, comedy from
slander, and good-natured laughter from harrowing mockery.
But for those familiar with the work of Ricky Gervais, this is no surprise. Whether it be through his script in The Office,
Extras, Derek, or his radio broadcast The Ricky Gervais Show, all of which boast a mass of loyal enthusiasts, Gervais finds
himself steeped in controversy, fearlessly edging on the boundaries of appropriate conventions. “There is absolutely
nothing you shouldn’t joke about,” he says. And he means that seriously- Gervais jokes about anything and everything,
often centering his themes on the darkest, most distressing aspects of human experience.
“Why did the little girl fall off the swing,” he asks in one of his favorite jokes. “Because she had no arms.”
At a glance, it is easy to dismiss Ricky Gervais, and many other comedians of his rank, as petty and flippant -- ruthless
villains who eagerly prey on vulnerable people and dreary topics for cheap punch lines. Their discourse, as it goes, is not
only tasteless, but inexcusable; it threatens to disrespect and trivialize issues that are profoundly serious. By what right
do comedians incorporate such heavy topics as disease, war, depression, even death, into one-line party gags? Humor
should not come at the expense of the others, especially those in particularly dire conditions. In a word, there are some
things that comedians should have the decency not to joke about.
These concerns are serious, and certainly worth exploring, but as a whole, I think they reflect a poor understanding of
Ricky Gervais’s work. In my estimation, those who levy such hateful charges against him, such as the man who called
Gervais’s drama Derek, “vile, cynical, and dishonest,” (words that Gervais reflected might be more fitting for someone
like Charles Manson) have a poor understanding of comedy as well.
Like all of us, Ricky Gervais has the adverse tendency to fuse comedy with malice and conceit, e.g. his ill-timed pokes
at Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson. He just happens to be funnier when he does it. All in all, Ricky Gervais’s comedy
is of an entirely different ilk: it is not characterized by ridicule, scorn, or cynicism; it does not devolve into mere shock
value (as is too often the case with modern comedy); and its ultimate goal is not to trounce on the insecurities of others.
No, at root, Ricky Gervais’s comedy is devised to make us think: to examine social and political realities, to reflect on the
absurdity of life, to question our own character, and then, almost inevitably, make us laugh. Even when Gervais grapples
with the darkest, most excruciating aspects of human struggles, he somehow makes us laugh, which is a beautiful and
inspirational gift.