In the buffet line of comedy, the masses seem to visit the same old dishes over and over. Dishes such as slapstick, deadpan, observational and political are brilliant, but I would like to turn the spotlight on a deliciously bitter dish I refer to as “awkward comedy.”
In a nutshell, awkward comedy consists of a viewer witnessing an event (usually everyday life) that is made so awkward that the audience has no other option than to laugh. This off-beat brand of comedy is impossible to recreate as a stand-up routine and may not work well on the big screen, but on the television it flourishes. This revolutionary brand of comedy is the result of two comedic visionaries, Larry David and Ricky Gervais.
David’s comedic accomplishments may be more prevalent here in the states than Gervais’, since David is responsible for the creation of the pop culture cornerstone that is “Seinfeld” and current HBO series “Curb your Enthusiasm,” which David writes and stars in.
When I first began watching “Curb,” I used it as a cure for my “Seinfeld” blues, but then it turned into something different, almost an addiction.
I found myself craving the awkward moments that Larry David calls his life. Trips to the doctor, grocery store, movies, church, a friend’s house, birthday parties, and these normal mundane activities that we do everyday, for Larry are filled with awkward encounters with strangers, old friends, or bitter rivals that leave my abs hurting from excessive of laughter.
David is the king of wiggling his way into the most awkward of circumstances. Take for instance the episode when he stars in the Broadway play, “The Producers,” and on opening night holds up an entire scene because he cannot remember the line.
At this point, you feel like you are in the audience of “The Producers,” feeling so bad for David as he fumbles for the line – that you yourself begin to feel his pressure – which begins to make you crack with unsettling laughter. David struggles to think of the next line as people moan, whisper and walk out of the theater. Then he gives up. Too much time has passed. The show is ruined – maybe.
Next David begins doing a stand-up routine in the middle of the show, recapturing the audience’s attention as he slips back into position and delivers the lost line. A work of pure comedic brilliance.
Gervais is no Robin to David’s Batman. He is actually British comedic royalty. He is the creative, starring, and directing force behind the ground-breaking British comedy, “The Office,” and the HBO series “Extras.” Gervais was also named at the top of GQ’s “200 most powerful men in Britian.”
Like David, Gervais’ comedy orbits around the most awkward circumstances that are humanly possible in day-to-day life. In the final episode of “The Office,” Gervais uses a dating service to find a date for the company Christmas party. In the first minutes at dinner with one of the dates, he comments on her lovely necklace. Then, to show off his intelligence, tells her why women “really” wear necklaces: to draw attention to their breasts.
The woman informs him she is doing nothing of the sort and that it was her dead mother’s necklace. He responds by telling his date that her dead mother wanted to draw attention to her breasts. It is clearly a work a true comedic genius to be able to sit to dinner with a perspective love interest and discuss her dead mother’s breasts within a minute and half.
Gervais’ brilliance does not stop with humor. Within both series, “The Office” and “Extras,” Gervais creates a real emotional attachment between the characters and the TV audience. You begin to feel for his characters. You root for them as if they were real, you feel their pain when they fail and you begin to detest the things they say and do exactly as we do in our own lives.
This ability is evident in Gervais’ portrayal of David Brent, the office manger that you love to hate, and by the final episode you end up hoping he finds love. Gervais brings your feelings full circle for Brent in two seasons.
What makes the awkward comedy of David’s “Curb your Enthusiasm” and Gervais’ “Extras” so unbelievable is that it’s really not funny. It’s as if the energy on the show flows out of the television and crawls underneath your skin and creates this extraordinarily awkward feeling on the inside. Once under your skin, the awkwardness grows to the point where you can do nothing but laugh.
Next time you are looking for something different to fill your plate in the buffet line of comedy, choose David’s and Gervais’ awkwardly looking, bitterly delicious slice of comedic brilliance.
Adam Jackson is a strategic communication major and can be reached at [email protected].
