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March 29, 2024, 08:08:21 AM

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Ricky Gervais's After Life series 3 [split topic]

Started by Cursus, July 23, 2020, 09:33:21 PM

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AllisonSays

I think there's a certain strain of maudlin sentimentality in the English national psyche that exists in a kind of inverse relation to people's actual capacity for empathy, so you get laughing emojis under a news story about migrants drowning in the channel and hundreds of comments underneath this drivel about how it reduced them to tears. It's like Dickens and Oliver Twist.

There's also a bit of a Richard Littlejohn thing where despite being objectively not part of the little England imagined community RG seems able to tickle its udders weirdly effectively, from his fuckin million-pound penthouse in LA or whatever. I wonder how calculated it is.

olliebean

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on December 04, 2021, 12:26:45 AMHoly mother of Christ. How can he think that's good? I know we're talking about a man who thinks Derek and After Life are good, but... how?!

I actually think some of the songs he wrote for Brent are pretty good. They're catchy, memorable. That's just a half-arsed sliver of generic, mawkish MOR crap.

It's exactly the sort of thing that some of the Brent songs are taking the piss out of, isn't it?

batwings

This is the worst thing I've ever seen and I discovered my brother's corpse.

MrsWarboysLover

i dont know why, but as I was listening to the song I was thinking "it's not THAT bad" and that people here were overreacting.

for me, the song doesn't hit you over the head with it's awfulness. it's a slow burn, a steady dawning realisation afterwards of everything that's wrong with it, and it just keeps building.
he didn't think any of those lyrics were cringe inducing?
he didn't bother to make the song longer than 2 minutes?
He thought that melody was memorable?
He broke his decades long streak of only ironic songs ... for this?
etc etc

in this sense, this is probably the most subtle thing he's done in decades

frajer

"Oh and never count your money
just count the lines
round the eyes of your woman
that you made from smiles"

Leaving aside the awful beigeness of the sentiment and the laboured sub-99p Clintons card writing, THIS is the best possible thing that Gervais can create these days? Imagine being given a blank cheque from Netflix and doing this. Fucking hell.

Quote from: AllisonSays on December 04, 2021, 09:11:29 AMThere's also a bit of a Richard Littlejohn thing where despite being objectively not part of the little England imagined community RG seems able to tickle its udders weirdly effectively, from his fuckin million-pound penthouse in LA or whatever. I wonder how calculated it is.

I reckon one feeds the other. It's calculated in that he's realised he can milk this audience for all it's worth, but he is also incapable of making anything better.

Cuellar


Ferris

He also makes several references to "your woman" which feels like a very dated and possessive sentiment.

It's nice that the rickster is churning out stuff that's just bad, rather than tedious. A welcome return to form.

frajer

Quote from: Cuellar on December 04, 2021, 12:21:06 PM'Your' woman that you made out of smiles?

Just double checked in case I was being an accidental massive sexist, but yeah it's 'your woman.'

You could not have engineered a more perfect example of the song that Freelove Freeway was ripping the piss out of if you'd tried. Surely he must know this deep down?

Ferris

Quote from: frajer on December 04, 2021, 12:25:54 PMJust double checked in case I was being an accidental massive sexist, but yeah it's 'your woman.'

You could not have engineered a more perfect example of the song that Freelove Freeway was ripping the piss out of if you'd tried. Surely he must know this deep down?

At this point, it's more likely he played Freelove Freeway for the writers and when everyone started laughing he claimed it was ironic all along

QDRPHNC

Quote from: frajer on December 04, 2021, 12:25:54 PMJust double checked in case I was being an accidental massive sexist, but yeah it's 'your woman.'

You could not have engineered a more perfect example of the song that Freelove Freeway was ripping the piss out of if you'd tried. Surely he must know this deep down?

Well no, because he's learned what kindness is. So he's trying to be kind. And you bring all this cynical shit into it, laughing at his lyrics, he's just trying to be kind. When you're being kind, the lyrics and the music and all don't matter, as long they're kind.

Ferris

Quote from: kalowski on December 04, 2021, 08:42:53 AMWhen I was young I asked my dad
Why being poor didn't make him sad

I tried to find the full lyrics because I can't believe they're as bad as I remember (and I'm not going to watch it again to find out) but apart from an interview with the Mail and the Sun (know your audience eh Rick), there's no online footprint for this.

It's a terrific piece of pablum this, one for the ages. If anyone wants to transcribe the lyrics nows your chance because they're literally unavailable otherwise.

Mr Farenheit

Quote from: MrsWarboysLover on December 04, 2021, 11:58:47 AMhe didn't bother to make the song longer than 2 minutes?

So it can fit in the soundtrack of the show? I'm hoping for an RG original song at the end of every episode.

Blue Jam

All that money and he can't afford a rhyming dictionary?

Listening to that made me feel like Declan Donnelly during the average game of Wonky Donkey.

This series is going to be mainly montages isn't it?

mjwilson

I'm sure someone told me it was going to end with him
Spoiler alert
fucking the dog
[close]
but I don't remember who and it doesn't seem like it could be right. Could it?

Ferris

Fine, I'll do it.

If anyone is wondering, the first 2 lines are genuinely the only ones that rhyme. "Dad" and "sad" - why not use "bad" or "mad" too, Rick? Go the whole way. Bolded the failed attempts for your convenience.

A dog's breakfast, but perhaps that is what he was going for because the show has a dog in it? Anyway, here you go:

QuoteWhen I was young, I asked my dad
Why being poor didn't make him sad?

He smiled and he said to me, son
We're rich as hell
You'll understand when you
Meet your girl

Chorus
He said I know it's hard
To fulfill your dreams
(Oh) but life comes down
To just three things

You need something to do
And someone to love
(Oh) and something to wish fo-oo-oor

(Oh) and never count your money
Just count the lines
Around the eyes of your woman
That were made from smiles

Middle Eight
If you want to go fast, then go alone
If you want to go fa-aa-ar, go with someone

Chorus (with handclaps)
He said I know it's hard
To fulfill your dreams
(Oh) but life comes down
To just three things

You need something to do
And someone to love
(Oh) and something to wish fo-oo-oor

(Juuuust re-mem-berrrr...)
(Someone to lo-oooo-ooove...)

It's like the "before" sample in a songwriting class and to my ear uses the same F/C/Am/G structure as FreeLove Freeway (with an E7 every so often to mix it up) though I don't care enough to watch it again or get a guitar to check.

Cuellar

Genuinely thought, and wasn't surprised, that 'Middle eight' was actually one of the lyrics.

Cold Meat Platter

I hope he has to do a Tommy Wiseau and start pretending it was supposed to be a comedy song all along.

Jumblegraws

#348
I've said before that I think Gervais's writing process for Derek and After Life is to write a piss-take of something mawkish and then try to kick it into sincere shape. It's just all so shallow, inauthentic and (in the case of Derek) hilariously at odds with its own tone at times.

This song has me absolutely convinced of my hypothesis.

paruses

All his non-film output since Merchant is trolling of the finest order but this is a bit obvious.

Having said that the sympathy look he gives the cancer / bald child (will need to see the series to confirm which) is excellent. Bit like a psychopath learning how to cry.

Ferris

Bollocks, I should have dashed off an extra verse and asked which one it was.

Missed a trick there.

Mr Faineant


Blue Jam


frajer

"Dad what are you smiling about? We're POOR."

"Oh piss off and kiss a girl young Ricky, put some lines on her face through smiles. And don't make a saccharine song about this when I'm dead."

Blue Jam

Are you sure the lines weren't the result of her being subjected to endless hilarious pranks?

BritishHobo

Quote from: paruses on December 04, 2021, 07:52:49 PMAll his non-film output since Merchant is trolling of the finest order but this is a bit obvious.

Having said that the sympathy look he gives the cancer / bald child (will need to see the series to confirm which) is excellent. Bit like a psychopath learning how to cry.

"I see you have cancer. My wife had cancer - she idolised me and the way I used to dip my ballsack in her morning porridge everyday. As she rightly recognised, I'm the greatest kindest most kindest greatest man in the world, and she would weep tears of joy whenever she came home to find I'd thrown all of her books in a pond and put bees in her coat pockets. So in a way I am like a hero of cancer, you're welcome."

BritishHobo

"I, TOMY, HAVE BEEN HUMBLED TO LEARN THAT A CHILD CAN GET CANCER AND MAY NEVER GROW OLD ENOUGH TO LAUGH AS THEIR HUSBAND LOCKS THEM IN A WARDROBE FULL OF STINGING NETTLES AND FUCKS OFF TO THE BEACH WITH HIS SHIT DOG WHO DIES IN THE LAST EPISODE"


Cuellar

"Hi kid with cancer, I'm going to come round your house when you're asleep, because I know where you live right, and I'm going to smash your parents' heads with a hammer"