9 Movies That Completely Misunderstood Their Own Characters
7. David Brent: Life On The Road
The Character - David Brent
Though he's a figure of fun in The Office and occasionally flirts with monstrously grotesque behaviour, the key to David Brent's success is that he's completely sympathetic.
It's the humanity beneath the cringe-inducing behaviour that makes it so effective. And that's why his moments of profound pathos land so well. He might be bad, but he's not irredeemable and the greatest moment comes at the end of the Christmas Special when he strikes a blow against Finchy for himself.
But In THIS Movie
Without Stephen Merchant's writing, Ricky Gervais messes up his own greatest character, making him utterly unlikeable. He's learned nothing from the experience of The Office (which isn't entirely unprecedented for the character), but he's also nasty, bigoted and a total fool.
He's been reduced to his worst aspects, without the right substance to balance him, and it makes viewing the film an arduous task for anyone who loved The Office.