Image: Netflix
Chris Luckett
When Joss Whedon announced in 2009 he was working on a sequel to his beloved cult hit Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, I didn’t celebrate like so many other fans of the Neil Patrick Harris musical. I always loved how perfectly things ended in the original. Ambiguous and completely debatable, the parting shot was as argued over as the ending to Inception, and the idea of a sequel showing me past the curtain I preferred leaving a mystery bothered me. (Many Blade Runner fans are going through the same torment in the months leading up to Blade Runner 2049.)
David Brent: Life on the Road comes with the same inherent problem. Ricky Gervais’ blisteringly funny and hugely influential UK series The Office ended its run with a two-part special that left Gervais’ obliviously insecure creation with a modicum of growth and the germination of a self-aware maturity — not to mention finding a woman who loved him for who he was.
By revisiting Brent beyond his character’s best ending point, Life on the Road can’t help but ruin the Schrodinger’s Cat that was the unknown future of David Brent. The biggest relief of the picture, though, is that for the most part, it’s just funny enough in its own right to make it worth the peek.
The Apple Box 