Author Topic: Gervais vs. Shandling  (Read 13478 times)

crumbum

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Gervais vs. Shandling
« on: February 19, 2011, 09:40:44 AM »
Hearing Tom's recent comments regarding the relative merits of The Office vs. The Larry Sanders Show, I was reminded of this (I think it's been brought up on the forum once or twice, but as far as I know that was quite a while back)

Ricky Gervais Meets... Garry Shandling - The Highlights

It's worth watching the entire episode, where the badness of the interview is clearer. Some have stated they thought the awkwardness was 'staged' since that type of humour is something both men often explore, and some just think Shandling had it out for Gervais from the beginning. To me it just looks like two people on completely different wavelengths who both react to that fact by turning passive-aggressive.

Smelodies

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2011, 09:52:10 AM »
Bad?!  No way, dude, this was an awesome interview.  So much better than if they got together and kissed each other's asses.  Also check out Gary's weird boxing workout with Alec Baldwin.

crumbum

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2011, 10:16:42 AM »
It was definitely fun to watch, but I maintain that these two guys don't relate very well at all, given that they'd just met. In the Baldwin interview it seemed clear to me they really understood and empathized with one another.

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2011, 10:28:01 AM »
I also loved this. I even enjoyed how they cut out the couple of parts where Shandling really answered standard interview questions (about fame and about seeing Woody Allen as a kid).
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Pidgeon

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2011, 08:18:17 PM »
Shandling making the comment about Gervais hiring Jews was a little too ridiculous to not be staged.

Smelodies

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2011, 09:21:50 PM »
Staged or not, it's effective comedy as far as I'm concerned.

Mr. Spacely

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2011, 10:40:23 PM »
I love the comedy of both Shandling and Gervais, but my read on the two is that they're generally pretty vile men. Needless to say, I had a hard time getting through this. 
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actwithoutwords

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2011, 11:53:42 AM »
That was really compelling stuff at the time. I think Shandling seemed to be enjoying toying with Gervais for the benefit of the cameras, but didn't particularly like him either. His little "I did my best" interaction with one of the producers/cameramen right the end is indicative I think. Gervais' inability to defend his style of comedy with any level of articulacy was a bit pathetic too.

Awkward, but ten times better than the other ones in that series where Gervais obsequiously cosied up to various comedy legends and tried to put his own work in the same bracket as theirs. He's terrible for that. I think he went around comparing Ghost Town to The Apartment when it came out. Unless he was just being ironic of course. *yawn*
Interestingly, while the other episodes in the series were on at prime times, this got completely buried in the schedules late one night over Christmas.

stepheninchicago

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2011, 04:53:33 PM »
I really like that Shandling calls him out for the angle of "Uncomfortable Humor" by saying "I think we've proven probably doesn't need to be proven anymore, and is indulgent (now)"

You know the thing about Gervais and Larry David, etc. is that "Uncomfortable/Awkward Humor" can only go so far. Diminishing returns...shit like that.

Pidgeon

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2011, 05:02:28 PM »
Curb Your Enthusiasm does it so badly because of how strictly they keep to the formula:

1) Larry runs into a stranger and makes them angry.
2) Larry talks to Cheryl or Jeff about having to do something with a famous person.
3) Larry does the thing with the famous person and it goes bad, awkwardly.
4) Larry meets up with the stranger from the beginning and that makes everything worse.

franks.

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2011, 05:03:00 PM »
I really like that Shandling calls him out for the angle of "Uncomfortable Humor" by saying "I think we've proven probably doesn't need to be proven anymore, and is indulgent (now)"

You know the thing about Gervais and Larry David, etc. is that "Uncomfortable/Awkward Humor" can only go so far. Diminishing returns...shit like that.

All while pouring himself a coffee without offering one for Gervais. That was masterful.

This is a great NYT profile of Shandling also--

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/arts/television/28stei.html?_r=1

Smelodies

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2011, 10:27:24 PM »
I really like that Shandling calls him out for the angle of "Uncomfortable Humor" by saying "I think we've proven probably doesn't need to be proven anymore, and is indulgent (now)"

You know the thing about Gervais and Larry David, etc. is that "Uncomfortable/Awkward Humor" can only go so far. Diminishing returns...shit like that.

See I don't think he was being serious.  He was calling out "uncomfortable humor" as a way of acknowledging the style of the interview. 

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2011, 03:06:00 AM »
As much of a definitive answer as we're ever likely to get (and an excellent read besides):

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201008/comedy-issue/comedy-issue-garry-shandling

Quote
While completing the DVD extras for Sanders, Shandling had been struck by the idea that Gervais would be a great addition. Though he'd never appeared on the show, Gervais had spoken openly about how Sanders inspired him. So Garry called Gervais and asked if he'd do it. The answer was yes, but Gervais also had a request. While he was in Garry's home, could they also shoot his Channel 4 show? Shandling agreed, and all was well until the day of the dueling interviews, when wires got crossed. Garry says he assumed they would shoot the "visit" for the DVD extra first, because "that laid-back, not-on tone is good preparation for saying, 'Let's turn it on'" later, for Gervais's special.

But when Shandling walked into his kitchen, he realized instantly that Gervais thought the Channel 4 special was being shot first. Gervais was on—extremely so—and so were several cameras. Garry could have said something but wanted to see what would happen if he played it out. What if he stayed in the same low-affect head space he was in to do his DVD extras? Could he reach Gervais without explicitly identifying the problem? Could he bring Gervais's energy level down?

"It's fascinating, really," Garry tells me. "We both became locked into the shows we were each doing, and it became a bit of a boxing match. Because he's trying to get me to do the show that he needs, and I'm trying to get him to do nothing. I was trying to pull Ricky into the moment."

Christina

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2011, 09:26:55 AM »
As much of a definitive answer as we're ever likely to get (and an excellent read besides):

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201008/comedy-issue/comedy-issue-garry-shandling

Awesome article - thanks for posting PD ... was it Kevin Smith who told Maron not to bother going after an interview w/Shandling because he'd gotten all woo woo? If this was what he meant, then Kevin Smith is a blockhead. Maron & Shandling would be a pretty awesome match up.

Remember how he couldn't stop his leg?

Smelodies

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Re: Gervais vs. Shandling
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2012, 01:25:26 AM »
Had there ever been a rematch?