SuperNature on Netflix, starring Ricky Gervais: Smile, we’re kidding you

Asking Ricky Gervais not to provoke is as if we had asked Enrique Pinti not to swear: impossible. And that’s what it’s all about SuperNaturathe new Netflix special, from provokes and more than running the limits, jump them to get as far as possible.

This is the second special he does for the network in the stand up format, a genre that probably has the best of its time.

As Ricky Gervais explains at the outset, the show’s name is why he does not believe in the supernatural and justifies it by making fun of ghost hunters or groups that get together to talk about their past lives. Instead, he assumes a nature lover, talks about his “anti-stress” cats and the joy that dogs give to humans.

Talk about what nobody talks about

However, that false anchor is a pretext lasting a few minutes within an hour, the rest revolves around all those issues that – presumably – no one should face in public, much less in front of an audience of millions of people: disease, gender, sexual choice, obesity, Hitlerand so on.

There is no doubt that Gervais knows perfectly well what he is generating, and he also takes the time to clarify it, explaining something like “the rules of comedy” and he jokes about the parts of the show he will cut – of course not – so that no one feels offended (“there will be nothing more for the special”).

No one who has the slightest idea who Ricky Gervais is can be surprised by the subject matter of his play, just tell him “Ricky don’t do this” for Ricky to go do it.

That’s why it’s no coincidence that after Will Smith’s boxing incident at the Oscars, came out in defense of Chris Rock – another member of the Club of provocateurs -. Did he do it with a speech on freedom of expression and the rules of humor? No, she did it by singing “it’s worth four” with a snippet of officein which he himself made fun of alopecia.

But who is Ricky Gervais?

For many, Ricky Gervais is that Briton on the run who says what no one dares at awards ceremonies -the Golden Globes for example-, where it annoys all those stars who measure even the smallest grimace in front of the camera. But it is much more.

Just on a reductionist whim, we could mention two major milestones in his career: office Y after life.

The former was created, written and directed by Stephen Merchant, for just 14 episodes in the UK and was revoked for lack of hearing. Two years later, the series had its revenge with the North American version starring Steve Carell: it aired for 9 seasons with more than 200 episodes and is considered a classic.

the closest in time it was after life, which had its final season this year. She also wrote, directed and performed it. A perfect series where, in addition to its classic humor, explored existence, love, loneliness and deathwith a moving sensitivity, capable of moving one’s detractors.

In SuperNaturaGervais gets along again: he reflects and provokes to give us a collection of the best jokes of these times of excessive correction.

As expected, there have already been all sorts of complaints about the special. “People get offended when they confuse the subject of a joke with the real goal.”Gervais told Stephen Colbert a few days ago. After all, believing that humor generates hate is like keeping it breaking Bad promote drug trafficking Romeo and Juliet suicide.

While many comedians balance what they want to say and what it’s okay to say, SuperNatura he doesn’t even seem to know what self-censorship is, who speaks well of Ricky Gervais for writing it and saying it aloud, and of Netflix for putting it on the air, even knowing the questions they will receive. And that, in times of “cancellation” with a pinch of censorship, is already good news.

wd