‘Ricky Gervais: Humanity’ On Netflix Gleefully Leans Into Controversy

When Ricky Gervais became a big star in Britain, and then globally, he was the butt of the joke. First on The Office, and then on Extras. We were laughing at him. Even he laughed at himself.

Now, not so much. The Gervais of 2018 has a big smile on his face while mocking all of us. Calling himself an observational comedian, then wondering: “How could he relate to ordinary scum?”

Or, on titling his newest hour of stand-up comedy Humanity, acknowledging: “I don’t know why I called it that. I’m not a big fan.”

It’s all right there in the actual trailer for Ricky Gervais: Humanity on Netflix.

Gervais reveals brief moments of humility, but not much love for his fellow men and women, in Humanity.

In the opening minute, he compares himself to Jesus, “only better.” Why? “I’ve actually turned up.” Nothing quite like a self-righteous atheist, but Gervais, who explored the man-made notion of religion in his 2009 movie, The Invention of Lying, will never not engage in Twitter feuds with strangers who want to debate him over it.

Gervais does have compassion toward canines, saying “dogs are better people than people,” and holds them in higher regard in life and onstage than he does the celebrities he used to trash when hosting the Golden Globes. If you think the jokes he told then were in poor taste, then just imagine the material he chose not to say on live TV, saving them instead to brace his girlfriend for the worst and now for us as Netflix viewers. Gervais gleefully leaned into controversy then, and again now, rehashing the backlash he received for mocking Caitlyn Jenner.

Gervais wants us to believe that our offense is misplaced. How could he be transphobic? he asked. “People get offended when they mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target. And they’re not necessarily the same.” And yet, if his Jenner joke could stand on its own, he wouldn’t have felt the need to explain it at length here. Moreover, his purpose for doing so seems itself misguided. He wants to remind us that Caitlyn had lived as Bruce for decades, and doubles down by deciding to self-identify as a chimp to imagine his own surgical procedures. “If I say I’m a chimp, I am a chimp, right?” Gervais is goading the LGTBQ community for further social media fights.

Which he obviously enjoys, as he re-hashes multiple Twitter arguments for us onstage.

Having 13 million more Twitter followers than his online debaters, and exponentially more in the bank than them, Gervais enjoys showing off his fame and privilege. He may pause briefly to remember he wasn’t always so spoiled, only finding fame and fortune in his 40s, and reminiscing on how he felt the need to shape up after hitting his fattest at 48, only to lose the battle against time and aging, as we all do.

Gervais shows the brightest signs of his own humaneness when talking about his closest relatives, whether it’s his uncle who wore a wig in his later years, or his older brother Bob, who taught him about the power of jokes to bring light when there’s darkness. Ricky’s biggest lesson from his brother was the importance of knowing we can laugh at bad things without being bad people.

Their rule: “If you think of something funny, you’ve got to say it. Win, lose or draw.”

You have to hear Gervais out in full if he hopes to win you over, though.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Ricky Gervais: Humanity on Netflix