Ricky Gervais Movies

Kenneth Grahame's beloved children's novel The Wind in the Willows gets a stop-motion-animated update from director Ray Griggs and the magicians at Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop. Ricky Gervais stars as a mole who ventures out of his burrow amidst a time of strife between the animal and human population of the Willows. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A mockumentary following the life and work of actor and little person Warwick Davis, whose career isn't what it used to be since the days of Willow and tar Wars. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi

Ricky Gervais, popular British comic and creator of such hit television series' as The Office and Extras, takes the stage for a sold-out performance at the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Gardens. Flirting with political incorrectness as he ponders such pressing social issues as autism, obesity, fund raising, nursery rhymes, and Nazis, Gervais even puts his own manhood in the spotlight by poking fun at his most intimate of areas. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Concert for Diana captures a 2007 tribute to the deceased Diana Spencer, the former Princess of Wales. Among the many performers who appear on the bill are Nelly Furtado, Elton John, Duran Duran, Rod Stewart, and Kanye West. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, creators of the British version of The Office, penned this episode, in which Michael discovers that a new employee is an ex-con. Michael ultimately gets rattled when his staff begins equating the office with prison. Meanwhile, Andy (Ed Helms) receives tips on how to woo Pam from an unlikely source -- Jim. ~ Dean Maurer, Rovi

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, creators of the worldwide BBC hit The Office, return with this dry comedy about a pair of down-on-their-luck movie extras. Gervais stars as Andy Millman, an actor whose ambitions hardly live up to his day-to-day life as a background player. Wry and resigned, Andy attempts to procure higher-profile film gigs by doggedly pursuing his clueless agent (portrayed by Merchant) and befriending the celebrities he meets on set. Ashley Jensen rounds out the cast as Maggie Jacobs, Andy's best friend and fellow extra, whose political incorrectness flies in the face of her good intentions. Each half-hour episode of Extras features at least one big-name actor playing a humorous variation on his or her real self, from Ben Stiller, who bullies his cast and crew while directing a film about armed conflict in the Balkans, to Kate Winslet, who hopes to nab an Oscar by playing a nun on the run from the Nazis. After premiering July 21, 2005, on the BBC, Extras began its American run on the HBO premium cable network. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This episode of Extras, the first aired on HBO, opens on the set of a WWII melodrama. Kate Winslet stars as a saintly nun protecting a group of Jews, among them Maggie (Ashley Jensen), while Andy (Ricky Gervais) plays a Nazi soldier. Suzanne (Charlotte Palmer), another extra, mentions to Andy that he looks "quite dapper" in his uniform, to which he responds, "You should see me with a white sheet over my head setting fire to a cross." In response to Maggie's concerns about "all these people walking around pretending to be nuns," Andy professes his own atheism. Maggie's on-set romance with prop guy Mike (John Kirk), meanwhile, is challenged by his propensity for phone sex, which leaves Maggie at a loss, as she embarrassedly confesses to Andy. Winslet overhears their conversation and interjects, suggesting Maggie start out with something "light" like, "I'd love it if you stuck your Willy Wonka between my Oompa-Loompas." Winslet later tells the startled extras that she's doing this film, not to "keep the message alive about the Holocaust," as Andy suggests, but because doing a film about the Holocaust virtually guarantees her an Oscar. Suzanne's sister, Fran (Francesca Martinez), who has cerebral palsy, visits the set, and when Fran asks Andy, who is smitten with Suzanne, about his religious beliefs, he claims to be a Catholic, which gets him into a spot when Suzanne invites him to a "get-together with some friends" that turns out to be a religious meeting. Andy also has a pointless meeting with his agent (Stephen Merchant), who lets him know that "nothing's come in." ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Andy's (Ricky Gervais) incompetent agent (Stephen Merchant) seems to think the reason Andy's not getting any offers is his shape. "If you insist on remaining a blob, could you at least get a tan?" he helpfully suggests. He does land Andy a role as a gay genie in a doomed stage production of Aladdin, starring down-on-his-luck British television comedian Les Dennis (the former host of Family Fortunes, the British version of Family Feud). Les introduces Andy to his pretty young blonde fiancée, Simone (Nicky Ladanowski). Later, he tells Andy, "It's about time I had a bit of luck," laments having reached the point where he has to share a dressing room with Andy, and confesses that he considered suicide during his recent stint on Celebrity Big Brother. During rehearsals, Andy spies Simone backstage making out with a stagehand, and on opening night, when Les tells Andy he's decided to break up with her, Andy ill-advisedly mentions what he's seen. When Maggie (Ashley Jensen) drops in for a visit, she recognizes an old schoolmate in the production. Lizzie (Rebecca Gethings) turns out to be the daughter of the musical's foppish choreographer/director, Bunny (Gerard Kelly), who proves to be an exacting and overbearing stage parent. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

The American TV version of the award-winning British sitcom The Office opens by establishing its faux documentary format, as Michael Scott (Steve Carell), regional manager of a branch office of Dunder-Mifflin Paper, jumps through hoops to convince the filmmakers that he presides over a happy, well-running ship. This is but one of Michael's many pathetic self-delusions: he also thinks he's the epitome of "cool," he's convinced that everything he says is a laugh riot, and even worse, he actually labors under the misapprehension that he is qualified for his job. Meanwhile, Dunder Mifflin's employees inadvertently but efficiently put the lie to Michael's self-serving prevarications: sales rep Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) continually cooks up methods to undermine his hated cube-mate, the obnoxious know-it-all Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson); receptionist Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) continually deals with Michael's insensitivities and flubs; and office temp Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) acts mostly as an observer of the insanity around him. Some of the episodes in The Office's six-episode trial run carried over general plot ideas from the earlier British series, particularly the threat of wholesale downsizing that weaves through the various plots and subplots; however, only the pilot was a direct adaptation of one of the U.K. version's episodes. ~ Rovi

Most of the six episodes in the first season of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's Extras follow a similar plot arc: bitter day player Andy (Gervais) trades barbs with his friend and colleague Maggie (Scottish actress Ashley Jensen), lobbies unsuccessfully for his agent (Merchant) to find him a proper acting gig, ingratiates himself with one of the big-name actors on whose films he's working, and finds himself stymied by either Maggie's verbal diarrhea or his own prickly personality. Within these narrow confines, however, Gervais and Merchant find just as much comic material as they did in the quotidian workplace of their breakout hit, The Office. The two shows definitely share an aesthetic, from their dry comedic sensibility to the laugh-track-free style that underscores their long, uncomfortable silences. Unlike the ensemble-style The Office, however, Extras focuses on just three core characters and a revolving cast of guest stars, including the celebrities who lend their names to the episode titles. Hollywood stars Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson, and Patrick Stewart all spoof their public personae with glee, as do U.K. personalities Ross Kemp and Les Dennis. Written and directed jointly by Gervais and Merchant, Extras is a joint production of the BBC, where it ran in its native England, and HBO, where it appeared in America. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

David (Ricky Gervais) fires the same forklift operator (Neil Fitzmaurice) he hired at the beginning of the first episode, which somehow leads to a discussion of the difference between midgets and dwarves. Malcolm (Robin Hooper) wonders why David has hired an assistant, Karen (Nicola Cotter), when the company is laying people off. David decides to try to make Tim (Martin Freeman) "feel good about himself," so he'll stay on, but Tim's reasoning ends up making Karen question her decision to join the company. Tim and Dawn (Lucy Davis) are still painfully awkward around each other. Dawn tells the documentary crew she secretly hopes she'll get laid off because she feels like she's "treading water." Jennifer (Stirling Gallacher) comes down from the head office with some surprising news for David. She's being promoted to partner, and the board of directors wants David to replace her. If he decides to take the job, his branch will be downsized. After their meeting, the staff, fearful of losing their jobs, demands to know what's going on. David decides to tell them that there's bad news, and good news. After telling them that their office is being downsized, and that those who aren't sacked will be transferred to another branch, he's surprised to find that they aren't especially happy about his promotion. Malcolm has to point out that instead of bad news and good news, he really gave them "bad news and irrelevant news." But at a glum office party that night, David tells them all something that will alter everyone's future plans. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Tim (Martin Freeman) tells Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) that he's leaving the firm to go back to school and study psychology. Gareth tests Tim's skill by asking him, "What am I thinking right now?" Tim makes a couple of good guesses, but it turns out to be, "Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?" David (Ricky Gervais) is upset with Donna (Sally Bretton) when she shows up late for work, especially as she never came home the night before. His consternation grows when Donna makes it clear that she spent the night with a man. David interviews candidates for a new position as his assistant, despite the fact that he's been told to cut staff. David defends this action, saying, "Who's to say that hiring staff won't save us money in the long run?" and complains that "I'm doing my own stapling." He quickly decides to hire Karen (Nicola Cotter), a pretty blond, and asks her where she'll be going to celebrate, because he may turn up there with his friends. Gareth gives Donna a private seminar on "Hidden Dangers in the Workplace." Tim, having spent the day trying to convince people that he was only asking Dawn (Lucy Davis) out as a friend, decides to spend the evening out carousing with David, Gareth, and Chris Finch (Ralph Ineson). They go to a sleazy nightclub called Chasers, which Gareth says is "a fun place, but it's full of loose women." At the club, they run into Karen, who spurns David's feeble advances, and Donna, who publicly displays her newfound affection for Ricky (Oliver Chris), much to David's chagrin. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi