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Promotional art for Out of England
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Out of England

Ricky Gervais

HBO · 2008 · 72 min

A British television creator brings a greatest hits stand-up set stateside.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Ricky Gervais introduces his stand-up to America by walking onstage in a royal cape and crown, standing in front of giant light-up letters spelling his own name. He spends the hour leaning into the persona of a wildly out-of-touch, egotistical celebrity who thinks he is doing the colonies a favor. The strongest moments come when he analyzes the logical failures of everyday texts. A standout segment questions the medical reasoning in nursery rhymes, specifically wondering why anyone would ask a group of horses to perform reconstructive surgery on Humpty Dumpty. He also spends seven minutes scrutinizing an outdated 1989 AIDS prevention pamphlet and its bizarre suggestions for safe sex alternatives.

Filmed for HBO at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, the 2008 special arrived when American audiences knew Gervais solely as the creator of The Office and Extras. To catch the United States up on his live act, he built the set as a compilation pulled from his first three UK tours. He tackles taboo subjects with a detached, conversational delivery, covering charity fundraising, sharks, and a childhood friend’s experience with a glory hole. Critics praised his timing, noting that while British fans had heard the material before, it functioned as a highly effective introduction overseas.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Safe-sex pamphlet and AIDS

    Reads verbatim from a well-meaning but ridiculous safe-sex pamphlet detailing alternatives to intercourse.

  2. Hitler and Nietzsche dialogue

    Imagines an absurd exchange where Adolf Hitler explains to Friedrich Nietzsche how he 'read between the lines' of 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' to justify genocide.

  3. Nelson Mandela's imprisonment

    Plays an ignorant persona treating Mandela like a common felon by noting he has been out of prison for 18 years without re-offending.

  4. Nazis searching for Anne Frank

    Mocks Nazi incompetence for taking years to find Anne Frank given that she had enough time to write an entire book.

  5. Charity gig for teenagers with cancer

    Recounts performing at a charity event for children with cancer while navigating taboo and uncomfortable subject matter.

How it plays

Tone
Politically incorrect, smutty, scatological, irreverent, and biting yet playful.
On stage
An intentionally fallible, ignorant everyman and putz who gets things wrong, delivered with self-deprecation and an impish smile.
Pace
Well-paced, high-spirited, energetic, characterized by frequent mid-routine cackling at his own material and physical act-outs.
About
taboo subjects, celebrity and fame, cancer and illness, Nazis and the Holocaust, nursery rhymes, safe sex and AIDS

What the critics said

Praised by critics as fearless, brilliantly delivered, and proof of Gervais' stand-up skills, serving as an effective 'best-of' showcase of his UK tour material tailored for American viewers.

In the room: A sold-out, lively New York theater crowd responding warmly to boundary-pushing material.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: themoviedb.org, ign.com, thetvdb.com, tv.apple.com, nytimes.com, hollywoodreporter.com, nj.com, slantmagazine.com, npr.org, rottentomatoes.com.

Backstory

Filmed during his push into the American market following his successful UK tours ('Animals', 'Politics', 'Fame') to introduce his stand-up to US audiences.

Details

Released
Taped
WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City
Runtime
72 min
Where
HBO
Director
John Moffitt
Topics
Before
Live 2 - Politics (2004)
After
Out of England 2 (2010)

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