Ricky Gervais Live: Animals (2003 TV Special) User Reviews

More excellence from Mr Gervais!

[The_Void · 9/10 · 31 January 2005]

For a man that says he's neither an actor nor a stand-up comedian, Ricky sure does act and do stand up comedy well! This was the next show that Ricky did after his initial success with the fabulous "The Office", and it's another comedic treasure from the man who is currently Britain's hottest comedy talent. As you might expect, this show has an 'animals' theme. That's not to say Ricky stays on topic, however - he does mostly, but there's still room for threads involving the bible, amongst other off-topic things. The way Ricky goes from talking about animals, to things like the bible is never irritating, and the way he makes the shift is always logical - not to mention hilarious! Ricky Gervais clearly doesn't mind offending people either, which might hinder the show for some people, but makes it ten times better for yours truly. Some of the threads in this show are liable to offend; but as I say, it's not a problem for me. It could be said of Ricky (and probably is said) that he's a lazy comedian as his style tends to incorporate things such as merely taking some facts from the internet and taking the Mickey out of them, and it's true that many people who aren't stand-up comedians could do that - but look at the WAY he does it. I very much doubt anyone could take those facts and come up with quips as funny as the ones Ricky has come up with.

The highlights of the show include a section on gay animals, the aforementioned bible segment and some jokes on sharks and the Nazi's. Saying that, every part with Ricky is a highlight - his facial expressions are hilarious! As mentioned, this style of comedy isn't for everyone, but I say don't think about what he's saying too much and just sit back and enjoy the ride. You'll be glad you did.

the Brits get Ricky Gervais, us Americans get the "Blue Coller Comedians"... HOW is that fair????

[movieman_kev · 9/10 · 3 March 2005]

Finally saw Ricky Gervais first stand-up special and despite a rocky start (not the hilarious video, I'm talking of the stand-up proper), only rocky because as an American, I didn't get all the name-dropping. But after that I've never laughed so hard at a stand-up special. Take that Eddie Izzard! Ricky stays mostly on the animal kingdom, but takes detours into the Bible, bestiality, Nazis, homosexuality, Stephen Hawkings, Anne Frank and the internet with great comic timing. Ever since "The Office" I actively try to seek out each and every thing Mr. Gervais has done, be it skits, stand-up, printed or TV interviews and I have yet to be disappointed. So if you have a chance to see this brilliance, please do.

My Grade: A

Ricky Gervais Live: Animals

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 30 June 2005]

I first became aware of the writer and star of The Office when he appeared in a segment for Comic Relief in 2003, I had never watched the sitcom beforehand, and then I saw he was bringing out his first stand-up comedy performance, so I watched with interest. Ricky Gervais performs to an audience at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London, with a show based on the theme of animals. The majority of the jokes are based on this theme, for example he calls King Kong the scariest animal on the planet, of course he leaves room to delve into other subjects. Gervais started his career playing versions of himself and characters that are perceived as annoying bastards, he does continue this persona on stage, and it works fantastically well, this is a very funny show. It was number 12 on The 100 Greatest Funny Moments, Ricky Gervais was number 49 on The Comedians' Comedian, he was number 18 on Britain's Favourite Comedian, and he was number 11 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Very good!

Ricky Gervais Live

[richard-pullen-1 · 6 October 2004]

This DVD is for fans of Ricky Gervais only! There are many moments where people will just say "He's being David Brent" but it's just the way the guy is and technically he is David Brent!!!

Brilliant opening with Gervais short film on a date which left me laughing and it has to be said the guy offends! He doesn't care, there are NO limits in comedy... This is something I tend to agree with on the whole!

And let's be honest the majority of us will still laugh at jokes where in conversations we find offending!

I loved it!!! hahaha.

Fabulous

[Rainigade · 10/10 · 25 November 2005]

Ricky Gervais is the GOD of comedy! This particular stand up is one of the best I've seen in a long time. He is absolutely irreverent, politically incorrect and says things everyone thinks but obviously don't have the guts to say out loud.

Whats best about Gervais' style is the little under the breath one-liners that pop in from time to time.

IMO, the one of the funniest moments is when he walks casually to the lectern, picks up his beer while saying "I could solve the world's problems....(takes a swig from the beer)... If I cared". FANTASTIC!

OK, so not everyone will like the Anne Frank jokes, but his comic genius is simply undeniable. Fact.

The funniest man and the funniest stand ever!!!!

[mcfcrdfc208 · 10/10 · 6 February 2007]

Ricky Gervais is the greatest stand up ever to come out of england,he is under-rated because people just don't get his humour. Animals is the best stand up DVD i have ever seen the wit the quickness of gervais and the whole hour is world class. gervais's genius is what makes this whole stand up work for me if peter Kay did it it wouldn't work out all,and because of this for me this makes Ricky gervais the greatest and funniest man alive. the bible part of the stand up was the greatest bit of stand up i have ever seen and i strongly recommend this DVD to any Ricky gervais fan

so The funniest man and the funniest stand ever!!!!

Brilliant

[Starc73 · 10/10 · 23 August 2007]

Ricky Gervais is absolutely brilliant! I first saw him in The Office, which was one of the most fantastically addicting shows I've ever watched. It was also one of the most uncomfortable shows to watch, much in the vein of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then I saw him in Extras and by that time I was craving more. So I happened to come across this live special and was again floored at the pure comedy brilliance of this man. It's the subtleties in his humor that makes it so great. I am an American so there are a few bits that I didn't have any reference to but even those bits were hilarious just because Ricky Gervais is such a talented comedian. I can't wait to watch more of his stuff!

Best stand-up DVD bar none

[johnblox · 10/10 · 28 January 2005]

I have watched many, many different UK comedians standup routines, both live and on recording. This is far and away the funniest. Ricky Gervais, together with Jimmy Carr and Steve Coogan urinate from great heights on the average comedy of such luminaries as Harry Hill, Peter Kay and Eddie Izzard. I last remember laughing a lot like this at things like Eddie Murphy's raw decades ago. When humour is sanitised by political correctness or tries so hard to be intellectual it simply isn't funny, it self defeats its very existence. Fortunately Gervais suffers from neither. He takes the risk, IS offensive (if your an uptight person who gets offended by comedy that is) and pulls it off. I wish more comedians would ignore P.C and be as offensive as they want. I recently watched a Roy Chubby Brown stand-up routine which was awful. The fact it was overtly racist wasn't the problem, it simply wasn't funny and so got boring, I turned it off after half an hour. Had it been funny it could have been as any-ist as it liked as far as I'm concerned - IT'S COMEDY!!!. There's too many people desperately looking to be offended enabling them to preach their high moral standards for kudos in their sanitised peer group's eyes. We live in an offensive world, deal with it.

I have now watched this about 5 times and am still left with an aching belly. I had to rest 40 mins through on the first watch as it hurt so much from laughing I thought I was going to die. It's the casual don'gi'a'f*** mischievous schoolboy delivery and the excellent material that makes it a classic. If you don't pi55 yourself laughing then wonder 'how come someone hasn't noticed that you're dead?' Well done Ricky - a breath of fresh free air in an era of PC Stagnation - Thx

Well Done Ricky

[KISS_kISS_XOX · 10/10 · 26 December 2005]

I have seen Ricky Gervais- Animals about 3 times now, and not once has it discouraged me to not watch it once again. I often see it re played on television, and i do not miss it.

As an office fan, coming from such a successful series in the UK would perhaps -even for the man who played David Brent- be difficult to follow up.

But, Ricky has not disappointed me. Perhaps, looking at other comments, this is due to my bad taste. But, i do not agree with this.

"Animals" really does contain some incredibly excellent humour. Tapping into lots of different subjects. A favourite line for me was (along the lines of) "Pandas, i mean, they've been shagging for what, like millions of years. It;s not like they're suddenly going to go. 'ah, no. Na, that's dirty. Er, no i don't wanna do that' "

I think he had structured comedy throughout the performance.

And i give him kudos for.. almost, risking bad reputations for his UN P.C repertoire. If it didn't have those sort of jokes anyway, it just wouldn't be Ricky Gervais, which is who we all expected to see? even if with a hint of David Brent throughout.

I thought it was an excellent show, and if other reviews are saying to people that if they did enjoy it it's a matter of bad taste- then i must have the worst.

Bashing religion in a funny way, I applaud it!

[deloudelouvain · 10/10 · 23 June 2018]

What's not to like about Ricky Gervais? He is an atheist, he has a great sense of humor, and he can tell a story like it doesn't really matter but the truth is that he makes people aware of all kinds of things that people take for granted without asking questions because people just assume it is like that. This is Ricky Gervais' first stand-up comedy, and also the first one I saw from him, and it will definitely not be the last one for me. I loved everything about it, the wrong humor, the sarcasm, and his subtle way to bring it like he couldn't care less. As an atheist myself I can only applaud people who mock religion, and in this case in a very funny way. Showing people in a funny way how ridiculous religion is should at least make some believers doubt and maybe make them realize that they have been fooled at young age. Ricky Gervais is one of a kind, one of the funniest guys I know.

Animals is not all fluff and fur-its not much fun either.

[barnthebarn · 1/10 · 8 March 2004]

Ricky 'My only joke is the silly way i talk' Gervais offers an alternative sometimes factual talk on the animal world. Contents: Profanity, wait for applause, profanity, wait for applause, joke(kinda), profanity, wait for applause, pro... If you loved Gervais's The Office or his segments on The Eleven O'Clock Show then you may like this. Its more likely you will feel your sense of humour is just much too sophisticated.

One of the funniest people in comedy

[cstu1 · 5 August 2004]

Ricky Gervais has a style of humor that is simply unique. While it doesn't always work, I was laughing a majority of the time. The people that are complaining about the things he talks about should realize you are not the target audience. The way I see it, if you offended by jokes about religion, bestiality, etc. then you really aren't a fan of comedy and should stick with Bill Cosby (still very funny though). No, Ricky's humor is for the warped people out there like me that see the humor in everyday life, no matter how sick or disgusting. Not everything in life is all cute and cuddly and neither is it in comedy. I also enjoyed the fact that he did what he wanted on stage and that it was up to you to decide whether it is funny or not. Humor is a very subjective thing, but if you liked him in the Office you will probably like this DVD.

comedy . . . i dont recognise it

[StayCasual · 1/10 · 10 April 2004]

***SPOILERS***

I am a huge fan of stand up comedy and, indeed, of Britains new comedy scene. I have bought and adored DVDs recently from Peter Kay, Bill Baily, Harry Hill, Lee Evans and Dave Spikey. I also developed an addiction for the local comedy scene and souped up as much as I could of it. Being 18 i watched many of these careers develop. I had high for Gervais after seeing the office. This DVD however is not very good at all.

The main problem is that Ricky Gervais has no respect for the audience. He waffles and seem to tell jokes to satisfy himself rather than his listeners. Case in point - he talks of religion like he's talking of the Easter Bunny. Having spoken to a great deal of the audience, they can confirm that they checked out after this point. What kind of idiot stands on stage and mocks religion knowing that about half (or more) of his audience are believers. Even if a Christian went up on stage and started spouting about his beliefs then he would be seen as a preachy idiot. Ricky Gervais - how could you be so stupid.

Some jokes are funny, however, I laughed at Anne Frank/Shark but the rest was dreadfull. His last joke generates but a murmur from the crowd. What an awful show. Admittedly, however, his commentary has funny elements ie. when he talks of his friend. The rest however, is the work of man who has success with the Office and now is unable to generate success anywhere else. His show is pretentious, self satisfing and a mockery to all those who do not agree with him.

It doesnt take a lot of daring to be "extreme" in stand up comedy - it is just the easy way out of being intelligent. Sorry Gervais.

This is Ricky, or seems to be

[truthseekers · 17 April 2004]

Ricky Gervais is a funny man. **Yes it is true.** Some people don't get the humour that he puts out. However I certainly do. If you dont like Ricky Gervais'isiss's humour then you probably wouldn't want to get to know the man better by paying lots of money to see him perform a short run comedy routine live on stage. However if you see the world as Ricky probably does, then your hard earned money is far better off with him... do want to pay and now this DVD is the only way to savour that moment... No edits, no scripts. Is this the real Ricky Gervais that we hear Stephen Merchant (co-writer for the office) in the extras of the office talking about. I for one think it is.

There are many memorable and unique gags, some jokes which have links to the office and there is a video clip shown to the audience where he gets a very respectable offer from his female ex boss.

With it seems, and ever widening exposure in the media to bestiality jokes, ala Tom Green, we see Ricky take a wholeheartedly different approach to this sorded but funny comedy subject.

I agree with other reviewers that Ricky doesn't totally gel with the audience, but that is his charm. He is doing it his way and exploring a new style of comedy which does not require him to meet Pantomime timing and audience expectations. He does say, "This is a lecture". So really it isn't meant to be comedy. It is just hysterically funny.

The best way i can describe it is very warm and cosy in a very warped kind of way, garnished with lashings of indifference. "onlyyyyyy meeeee." And if you dont like this review, well it is not your fault.

I hate Ricky Gervais!

[small_aubergene · 29 January 2005]

The comparisons between Ricky Gervais and other comedians are endless. Billy Connoly swears a lot because it comes naturally to him whereas Gervais thinks that using a crude word now and again is somehow incredibly clever and funny. Billy Connoly says what he thinks - making fun of absolutely anyone - but Gevrias acts like someone who has just been given power to pick on and bully anyone he dislikes. No one, not even Anne Frank, can escape from his cruel comments that would make most caring people burn with anger. Lovely Bill Bailey muddles along with his observations on religion where Gervais pulls everything apart, despite the fact he doesn't know what he's talking about. He says the Bible is called the Gospel. It's not. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospel - get your facts right before you start criticising everything. Ricky Gervais is an absolute pig of a man, which makes me wonder why on earth he got laughs at this show. He's crude and his sense of humour is appalling.

Typically "non-pc" stuff from Gervais that amuses but is very light on decent laughs

[bob the moo · 8 September 2005]

Although both Ricky and his audience seem to be enjoying themselves, there are surprisingly few laughs in this show. The main reason for this is that the humour isn't that clever even if it is occasionally imaginative. Until The Office, Gervais was best known for his work on things like the 11 O'clock Show where he was non-pc and "shockingly crude" in short segments. The Office and Extras have been more of comedies of embarrassment than crude observational stuff but yet it is the latter that Gervais does in his stand ups, so viewers coming to this off the back of the aforementioned shows will probably not appreciate this type of humour.

Occasionally amusing, mostly it is just observational material that he takes to extremes to draw the laugh by surprising the audience rather than tickling them. I can understand why the audience laughed and why people do like this sort of stuff but all I thought about was how uninspiring the show was generally. By all means watch it if you are a fan of Gervais for time, but those hoping that his golden touch on the sitcoms will spread to the stage will be mostly disappointed.