After Life - Netflix

Shelga · 10-03-2019 11:47am #1

Couldn’t see a thread on this- binge watched yesterday. I was a blubbering wreck throughout. I think it will really touch a nerve with anyone who has experienced grief.

It’s also very funny. It’s overly sentimental and ‘lesson-y’, especially towards the end, but I thought overall it was really well put together, funny and touching.

gmisk · 10-03-2019 11:58am

Shelga wrote: »

Couldn’t see a thread on this- binge watched yesterday. I was a blubbering wreck throughout. I think it will really touch a nerve with anyone who has experienced grief.

It’s also very funny. It’s overly sentimental and ‘lesson-y’, especially towards the end, but I thought overall it was really well put together, funny and touching.

I thought this was really excellent, I am not usually mad into Ricky Gervais, but this struck a really tough balance between funny to extremely sad.
The cast are fantastic as well.
It has really stayed with me.
I would highly recommend it too.

Oh I would have liked more Diane Morgan she was hilarious in the little parts she did pop up.

messrs · 10-03-2019 12:08pm

Watched this yesterday, like that I did cry a lot during it but thought it was very good, would recommend watching it

10-03-2019 2:12pm

Just on the third episode. God it’s heartbreaking and hilarious. I’m exhausted

Genuine lols on the bit about James cordon

Mike Litoris · 10-03-2019 2:21pm

Watched it this morning. Fantastic stuff altogether, genius even! Absolutely the best stuff he's done. I laughed and cried throughout. Thankfully after most sad scenes there was some comic relief or else I would have whinged through the whole thing.

Yeah, the last episode was a bit preachy and overly sentimental but it didn't take the shine off it one bit. Every character is brilliantly written and revealed and the cast are fantastic. Roisin Conaty, Paul Kaye, Joe Wilkinson all had really good turns in this. I wonder if Gervais hand picked them for the roles.

I'm going to watch the lot again this evening. Can't recommend this enough.

Basq · 10-03-2019 2:36pm

It was fantastic.. echoing what I said in the Netflix Recommendations thread but great writing, very funny at times, heartbreaking at others. Plus some excellent music picks on that soundtrack.

gmisk wrote: »

Oh I would have liked more Diane Morgan she was hilarious in the little parts she did pop up.

The dinner party guests bit was brilliant!

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Roisin Conaty, Paul Kaye, Joe Wilkinson all had really good turns in this.

Thought Tom Basden (Matt) outshone even Gervais at times myself.

Mike Litoris · 10-03-2019 2:43pm

Basq wrote: »

Plus some excellent music picks on that soundtrack.

Was it the end of ep 4 that played out with You got a Friend by James Taylor. My wife decided to wake up and catch me absolutely bawling.

Mike Litoris · 10-03-2019 2:45pm

gmisk wrote: »

Oh I would have liked more Diane Morgan she was hilarious in the little parts she did pop up.

By the end I think I felt sorry for her character the most. Again, superbly written and acted.

messrs · 10-03-2019 3:10pm

Not a spoiler but just dont want to ruin it for someone who has yet to watch it all

Im glad it didnt end with his father dying as I thought with all his visits to the care home that it was going to go that way

10-03-2019 3:57pm

Just finished it...I’m weeping. So so good

gmisk · 10-03-2019 5:02pm

Mike Litoris wrote: »

By the end I think I felt sorry for her character the most. Again, superbly written and acted.

Totally agree, she was so funny as well though, great delivery.

Snake Plisken · 10-03-2019 6:32pm

Really enjoyed it, just wondering if there is a second season planned? Would you want to see a second season? I think personally I would as I thought the characters are well written.

Basq · 10-03-2019 6:37pm

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Really enjoyed it, just wondering if there is a second season planned? Would you want to see a second season? I think personally I would as I thought the characters are well written.

^ Think it's unnecessary to be honest..

It does appear Gervais wants to do one though:

He told Digital Spy: "I really would like to do a second series, because I fell in love with the characters.

“And the second series is always better, usually because you know the actors."

killbillvol2 · 10-03-2019 11:06pm

I don't particularly like Ricky Gervais but this is really excellent. So many well written characters.

10-03-2019 11:24pm

I keep thinking about it!

JP Liz V1 · 10-03-2019 11:58pm

I have tears from crying and laughing, only with Ricky

siblers · 11-03-2019 12:53am

Wasn't expecting much but I enjoyed it and Gervais was superb in it, as was most of the cast, I went through all 6 episodes today it but I just found

the last episode just to be overly sentimental and it was all so nicely wrapped up when you consider how darker it was in the earlier episodes, just seems a bit par for course with Gervais these days

also, he really needs to let go of the whole not believing in god thing (I don't believe either btw)

Posy · 11-03-2019 1:22am

Started watching it this evening. Really enjoying it.

Tony says that his wife died 'earlier this year' and in the episode I'm watching, his brother-in-law is trying to get him to start dating again. I wouldn't even consider saying that to somebody bereaved less than a year!

Watching episode 4 now, so will finish the last two tomorrow after work.

BelovedAunt · 11-03-2019 11:29am

Watched the whole thing last night. The Office is probably my favourite show and Gervais was a hero of mine growing up, so I'm still waiting for a true return to form for him. Sadly, this isn't really it.

It's grand, some good ideas but it's got that awful daytime tv look and feel that all his stuff except The Office has. The documentary style of The Office made his style of shooting and dialogue work but everything he's done since then (except maybe Extras) just feels off to me.

It's strange because his stand up is so acerbic, yet his later shows and films are far too schmaltzy.

Grey Fox · 12-03-2019 2:25pm

I don't know why this is getting such good reviews, I thought it was a very poor effort by Gervais.

splinter65 · 12-03-2019 2:34pm

Grey Fox wrote: »

I don't know why this is getting such good reviews, I thought it was a very poor effort by Gervais.

Ricky is one of the sacred cows.
You can’t critisice him.
The Office and Extras are genius. An Idiot Abroad is great crack, but no more or less then some other comedians.
What’s restraining him in my opinion is that he’s exhausted himself with his obsession with trying to convince himself and everyone else that there’s no God. It’s pointless. There’s no evidence that there’s no god and trying to embarrass those that do believe just makes you look like a bully.
Move on to something else.

hgfj · 12-03-2019 2:41pm

"There’s no evidence that there’s no god and trying to embarrass those that do believe just makes you look like a bully."

And what about the bullies who tell children there is a god and if you dont believe then you suffer in hell for eternity?

gmisk · 12-03-2019 2:42pm

splinter65 wrote: »

Ricky is one of the sacred cows.
You can’t critisice him.
The Office and Extras are genius. An Idiot Abroad is great crack, but no more or less then some other comedians.
What’s restraining him in my opinion is that he’s exhausted himself with his obsession with trying to convince himself and everyone else that there’s no God. It’s pointless. There’s no evidence that there’s no god and trying to embarrass those that do believe just makes you look like a bully.
Move on to something else.

And the evidence that there is a god is what?
He is entitled to his opinions as are you.

He gets plenty of criticism (this show has gotten mixed to positive reviews I would say).
A sacred cow to who exactly?

I am not mad into the office or extras but I loved this, funny and sad in equal measure, with a fantastic cast.

splinter65 · 12-03-2019 3:02pm

gmisk wrote: »

And the evidence that there is a god is what?
He is entitled to his opinions as are you.

He gets plenty of criticism (this show has gotten mixed to positive reviews I would say).
A sacred cow to who exactly?

I am not mad into the office or extras but I loved this, funny and sad in equal measure, with a fantastic cast.

Of course he’s entitled to his opinion. I don’t believe in astrology or reincarnation or Allah or that D Trump is the devil or that the government are trying to poison our children with vaccines. But I don’t spend all my time and energy trying to change people’s minds, or any time and energy at all, until I appear exasperated and frustrated. That’s how Ricky appears, imo. Because I can’t disprove anything and neither can he.

splinter65 · 12-03-2019 3:04pm

hgfj wrote: »

"There’s no evidence that there’s no god and trying to embarrass those that do believe just makes you look like a bully."

And what about the bullies who tell children there is a god and if you dont believe then you suffer in hell for eternity?

What about them? Frightening children was wrong, it doesn’t happen any more but it was wrong. Ridiculing people for their beliefs is wrong too. It’s not funny any more either. What’s your point?

gmisk · 12-03-2019 3:14pm

splinter65 wrote: »

Of course he’s entitled to his opinion. I don’t believe in astrology or reincarnation or Allah or that D Trump is the devil or that the government are trying to poison our children with vaccines. But I don’t spend all my time and energy trying to change people’s minds, or any time and energy at all, until I appear exasperated and frustrated. That’s how Ricky appears, imo. Because I can’t disprove anything and neither can he.

Genuine question have you actually watched the show?

Or are you just criticising him based on his standup or what?

hgfj · 12-03-2019 3:28pm

splinter65 wrote: »

What about them? Frightening children was wrong, it doesn’t happen any more but it was wrong. Ridiculing people for their beliefs is wrong too. It’s not funny any more either. What’s your point?

I think my point is pretty obvious. You make the point that embarrassing someone by telling them there is no god is being a bully. If I believed in god and someone said to me there is no god, why would i be embarrassed? I'd disargee but why would i be embarrassed? On the other hand as a child being told I would suffer in hell for not believing (which is what i was told as a child) is an act of pyschological abuse.

You say that doesn't happen any more. Maybe not in Ireland, I don't know, but it happens the world over in many religous societies.

Grey Fox · 12-03-2019 4:00pm

splinter65 wrote: »

Ricky is one of the sacred cows.
You can’t critisice him.
The Office and Extras are genius. An Idiot Abroad is great crack, but no more or less then some other comedians.
What’s restraining him in my opinion is that he’s exhausted himself with his obsession with trying to convince himself and everyone else that there’s no God. It’s pointless. There’s no evidence that there’s no god and trying to embarrass those that do believe just makes you look like a bully.
Move on to something else.

Oh I love the office, and extras is prob my favourite of all time. Theres no doubting Ricky's talent as a writer, but After Life doesnt come anywhere near those imo. There are lots of laughs, but the emotional bits do not work.

12-03-2019 8:17pm

I enjoyed this. Not perfect, not subtle, but for a relatively quick watch it was worth my while. Some well-written characters too.

It came to the point early on for me though where I wanted to grab Gervais' character (Tony) and shout "Everyone has problems or lost loved ones FFS!"...but I guess that was the point of the

conclusion

The "You're my boy" scene with his Dad completely floored me. I thought I was after getting through the series unscathed, then that scene came and it was just way too familiar.

For me, his character in this was a little too close to Andy Millman in Extras. Brilliant show, but I've already seen a cynical Ricky Gervais in character preach about fame-chasing. He did that brilliantly in the finale of Extras, but I don't think this show needed it.

He's a brilliant writer and has a watchable quality, but he has played Ricky Gervais for every show outside of The Office and Derek now. Even his few leading movie roles and cameos from the 00s, it's all just Ricky Gervais reacting to the world or situations.

Finally, it wasn't a perfectly written show. For example, they were aiming for some kind of redemption for Tony in the final episode, but for me nothing can redeem him after

he gave the junkie the money to kill himself

- Yes, that character got exactly what he wanted and asked for, Tony understood his pain and wanted to help put him out of it, but it was still inexcusable and a step too far for me to be on Tony's side at the end.

yerwanthere123 · 13-03-2019 5:31pm

Have watched the first two episodes so far, really enjoying it. Best moment as of yet:

"What? He is a not a fat, hairy, nosy cocksucker. Bad girl Brandy. Sorry about that!"

:pac::pac::pac:

13-03-2019 5:40pm

Have one episode left. I'm enjoying it. Its quite touching and funny.

I'm finding it tough to suspend my disbelief though. It feels like Ricky Gervais is playing himself. I love Gervais' humour so that's actually a plus for me in some ways. He isn't a dramatic actor by any stretch of the imagination. The world is an alternate reality where nobody interacts with each other like they do in real life. Majority of characters feel like caricatures. That works fine in a straight up comedy, but in a drama, it doesn't feel real at all. Once you can see past that, its still very enjoyable.

completedit · 13-03-2019 5:45pm

I hate the atheist anti Christian stuff, the kid laughing to Gervais calling Jesus an arsehole was so cringeworthy

I also don't like the wife outside of her videos to him. When she's healthy her voice is so annoying

siblers · 13-03-2019 5:51pm

completedit wrote: »

I hate the atheist anti Christian stuff, the kid laughing to Gervais calling Jesus an arsehole was so cringeworthy

I also don't like the wife outside of her videos to him. When she's healthy her voice is so annoying

She's a carbon copy of her character from Derek, as is that Brian guy

Posy · 14-03-2019 12:33am

Deleted User wrote: »

Finally, it wasn't a perfectly written show. For example, they were aiming for some kind of redemption for Tony in the final episode, but for me nothing can redeem him after
he gave the junkie the money to kill himself
- Yes, that character got exactly what he wanted and asked for, Tony understood his pain and wanted to help put him out of it, but it was still inexcusable and a step too far for me to be on Tony's side at the end.

I didn't like the ending- to be honest, it wasn't what you posted above that turned me off, although that was obviously beyond awful, but they were really trying to have a neat little ending, and wrap things up too tidily.
His wife died "earlier this year" and her headstone said she died in February. The show appears to be set in the summer- early or late, because the kids are in school. September maybe?

So the fact that he's asking somebody else out around 6 months after her death, after being suicidal with grief just didn't sit right with me.

It kind of undermined his heartache a bit for me.

Autecher · 16-03-2019 8:54am

This really should have been called After Wife.

anewme · 16-03-2019 9:04am

Loved loved loved it, funny, dark and a DOG! What’s not to like?

My Dad’s in a home and I found that bit tough but real. I reckon a lot of people could identify with it.

Didn’t look too much into “she died in feb bit this is the Summer type thing”.

Lad in work watched it who lost his Dad a year ago and us only grieving now. He said he was in bits watching it.

Autecher · 16-03-2019 9:44am

Also I thought this was bad, just really bad. It was all over the place. I could fill 3 pages of this thread with all the things I thought were bad about. I won't obviously because that would be a terrible thing to do and read.

ThunbergsAreGo · 16-03-2019 11:43am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Have one episode left. I'm enjoying it. Its quite touching and funny.

I'm finding it tough to suspend my disbelief though. It feels like Ricky Gervais is playing himself. I love Gervais' humour so that's actually a plus for me in some ways. He isn't a dramatic actor by any stretch of the imagination. The world is an alternate reality where nobody interacts with each other like they do in real life. Majority of characters feel like caricatures. That works fine in a straight up comedy, but in a drama, it doesn't feel real at all. Once you can see past that, its still very enjoyable.

Absolutely so many of the set ups and best lines from this are more or less lifted from his previous stand up routines

ziedth · 17-03-2019 1:33am

I wouldn't be a massive fan of his and personally i don't think think the Religon bashing is needed over more than episode (like he said his bit and that could have been that). However, inreally enjoyed this too. At least two or three genuine LOL moments per episode for me. Nothing with the wife really upset or bothered me but for some reason I had a bit of wobble with the "your my boy" scene.

The actor who plays his dad has been around a long time and i had said he was really being wasted a bit but I was floored at that bit.

Good show for me, doesn't need a season 2 IMO. Just tied off fine.

sydthebeat · 17-03-2019 1:45am

Best thing he's ever done, both laugh out loud and heart breaking in equal measure, sometime's even at the same time.

Definitely doesn't need a second series

Brian201888 · 17-03-2019 1:48am

Really surprised by the positive reviews here, it's terrible in my opinion. Really bad.

BelovedAunt · 17-03-2019 3:36pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

Best thing he's ever done

Behave will ya!

Tilikum17 · 17-03-2019 3:41pm

Brian201888 wrote: »

Really surprised by the positive reviews here, it's terrible in my opinion. Really bad.

I didn’t think it was great either. His character - it just feels like he’s playing his friend Carl P.

reni10 · 18-03-2019 1:41am

I really liked it!

Best thing Gervais has done since The Office for me.

The only thing I did not like was the ending it was too neat for my liking...

Acosta · 18-03-2019 5:44pm

Enjoyed it. When it was funny it was VERY funny. I generally don't like drama and sentimentality mixed in when I'm watching comedy, but it didn't bother me too much in this. Other than..

The overdose was a bit off though. Thought he would have felt worse about enabling the guy to kill himself. The show didn't need it.

Road-Hog · 19-03-2019 11:33pm

Brian201888 wrote: »

Really surprised by the positive reviews here, it's terrible in my opinion. Really bad.

Utter ****e in my view also.....watched the first of four and had no desire to go any further. The scene where he walks by the school yard and is taunted about being a paedo and he bites back Calling the young guy a fat ginger cnut is just ridiculous......about as far fetched as you could possibly get.....but I suppose if you are a Gervais fan then you’d lap up this sort of stuff...!

Pawwed Rig · 19-03-2019 11:35pm

Is it bad that I thought the Octopus joke was hilarious?

Road-Hog · 20-03-2019 1:28am

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Is it bad that I thought the Octopus joke was hilarious?

Explain the octopus ðŸ™ joke and I’ll let you know

Pawwed Rig · 20-03-2019 7:11am

It is episode 3 or 4. It probably wouldn't be funny out of context.

Sleepy · 21-03-2019 11:31am

Not normally a Gervais fan (I *hated* The Office) but honestly I loved this. Perfect combination of Pathos and Comedy.

tomwaits48 · 21-03-2019 5:36pm

my only issue with the show, as alluded by another poster, was using the two characters from Derek in pretty much the same roles, otherwise I loved it. The music selection was just spot on too. Think people are also underestimating Ricky's acting skills, particular in the scenes were he is close to tears. Really raw.

After Life - Netflix

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