Ricky Gervais thinks ‘David Brent: Life on the Road’ is funnier because the music is actually good.
The 55-year-old comedian has brought back his most famous alter-ego for the new movie, which sees the sales rep trying to launch a music career, but Ricky wanted to ensure that the songs were impressive because the joke is not about the quality of the music but how uncool Brent is.
He explained to The Daily Telegraph: "They are good songs! This is a guy who takes his music very seriously. The joke is the backstory. ‘Ooh La La’ is a song about crossing America and picking up chicks, sung by a 55-year-old rep who sells tampons. The fiction is funny. I didn’t want it to be comedy songs. The joke is not that it’s bad, but that it’s inappropriate and not cool."
And Ricky also revealed he was inspired to make the movie after reprising the character of David for a Comic Relief sketch in 2013.
He explained: "It started me buzzing. It made me think about what Brent would be doing now. He’d still be on the periphery of entertainment. He’d be a sales rep but he’d be managing a band, thinking he’s the local Simon Cowell. And it would be a rapper because he’s trying to be cool. And that rekindles the idea of him wanting to be a pop star. It was all done in six minutes."
Ricky enlisted the help of former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows and his band to play Brent’s musicians and explained: "I thought: well, how could Brent get a band this good? They’re session guys, and he’s paying them, and they hate him. Then I thought: that’s the nub of the movie."
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