‘Lady Gypsy’ released ahead of ‘Life On The Road’

The music video of the song ‘Lady Gypsy’ has been released ahead of Ricky Gervais’s spin-off from the hit sit-com The Office, entitled Life On The Road. The mockumentary will see David Brent (Gervais) embark upon a semi-successful music career with his band Foregone Conclusion and Don Johnson (Ben Bailey Smith) who will travel alongside them as Brent holds back his career as a musician.

Fans of The Office wait with anticipation for the film’s release in August, although Gervais has stressed this isn’t an ‘Office’ film. What’s certain is that the film will need to see a sterling performance from Gervais in order to please fans, as the film does not maintain much of the original cast of the series, and straying so far from the format which worked so well could be a disastrous disappointment or reveal itself to be a great success. Spin-off films from much loved sit-coms are rarely a huge success among the fans that receive them, and it will be interesting as always to see whether Life On The Road will be the exception to the rule.

What we have seen thus far has not let us down. The release of the music video of ‘Lady Gypsy’ worked in the same way many of Brent’s previous successes have; by relying on the small things: a look to camera, a facial expression, and cringe-inducing lyrics and content. To give credit to Gervais, whatever it is he’s been doing is working as he continues to draw huge audiences, and if his previous works are anything to go by, this will be no exception. Perhaps the sad flailing of a middle-aged man is exactly what the public needs in a time of general despair.

Personally, I am keeping my hopes low. As a big fan of The Office and Extras, I respect Gervais for his ability to do whatever it is he does so well, although it’s not particularly high-brow. Then again, who am I to criticise his expert abuse of the lowest common denominator? It makes me laugh, shamefully, and he’s far, far richer than I can ever hope to be. (To borrow and adapt a phrase from Stuart Lee, ‘If Ricky Gervais tells a joke in a forest, and there’s no Americans there to say he’s a genius… who cares?’) But at least with low hopes I can’t be bitterly disappointed as many of those expecting great things no doubt will be.