Ricky Gervais’ sweet and sour look at depression.
Ricky Gervais brings his trademark wit and dark comedy to his new show, After Life, coasting at a leisurely pace through its six episodes with a certain sense of flippancy. Jokes about addiction, death and depression come thick and fast. It is this flippancy, however, that lends itself to some of the show’s funniest moments.
The plot, although entirely basic and predictable, drives home a not-so-subtle underlying message to be kind to everybody. Set against a backdrop of suicide and cancer – which is reinforced every episode with a heartwarming but sombre opening scene from Tony’s (Gervais’) dead wife – the show’s humour sometimes conflicts with its serious themes. I was often left feeling melancholy one scene only to be laughing at a fat kid the next. And I think that is entirely the point. Gervais sets out make us laugh even at those things we perhaps shouldn’t be laughing at, and without consequence. We are almost guilty to laugh, but Gervais tries to find humour in even the darkest of subjects. Sure, we’ve seen the premise a hundred times before, but by the end of it, I felt a genuine connection to what he was trying to say: be good to those around you, because you don’t know what they’re going through.
The supporting cast, ranging from Roisin Connarty’s prostitute (sorry, “sex worker”) to Tim Plester’s junkie, seem to float in and out of each episode with their sole purpose being, at first glance at least, to be targets for Gervais’ jokes. However, as the season progresses we learn alongside our protagonist that not everybody is as they appear. Everybody has a story.
Verdict.
There is genuine fun to be had with this series. Gervais owns the screen with his miserable but often hilarious look at some of life’s most controversial issues, oftentimes to a shocking extent. But did we really expect anything less? Sure, the jokes don’t always land and its sombre topics do sometimes strike jarringly with its laissez faire attitude, but these are few and far between. Regardless of whether you enjoy Gervais’ deadpan sense of humour, its charming message redeems its easier potshots at life. Another enjoyable series added to Gervais’ long list of successes.
7/10
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