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Amazon.co.uk Review
The two-part conclusion to The Office bids farewell to David Brent and his long-suffering co-workers in a surprisingly poignant not to say dignified manner. Supposedly accompanied by the fly-on-the-wall documentary crew three years after his highly undignified exit from Slough-based paper merchants Wernham Hogg, the first part reveals Brent as a travelling salesman by day and D-list "celebrity" by night, enduring humiliating club appearances organised by his clueless manager. But Brent can't keep away from his old stamping-ground in Slough, especially with the imminent prospect of the annual Christmas party. As much to spite suave rival Neil as anything else, Brent is on an agonisingly painful hunt for a date to bring along.
Back at Wernham Hogg, lovelorn Tim has to endure not only the officious behaviour of Gareth, now his manager, but also a cheerless existence bereft of Dawn, who is living in Florida with boorish fiancé Lee. Matters are brought to a head for all concerned--including Lee and Dawn, flown over specially for the occasion--when they finally gather in the office for the party.
As ever the script is full of priceless one-liners (witness big Keith's chat-up spiel, as he promises "at least one orgasm" to any woman), and the show is peppered with those direct appeals to camera (Tim's weary "I don't believe he just said that" look, Brent's desperate self-justificatory "Eh?"), as well as achingly effective silences that simultaneously enhance the fly-on-the-wall conceit and heighten the comic effect. Without descending into the sentimental or the trite, somehow The Office closes for business on a genuinely heartwarming note.
On the DVD: This single disc has good, if unexceptional, bonus features. There's a behind-the-scenes documentary in similar format to those on the previous releases, a commentary from Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais on Episode 2, a funny and deservedly self-congratulatory featurette on the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, the full video of David Brent's single "If You Don't Know Me By Now" plus a recording session for "Freelove Freeway" (with Noel Gallagher on backing vocals). --Mark Walker
Special Features
- "The Office: Closed For Business" documentary - Golden Globe featurette - "If You Don't Know Me By Now" full song and video - "Freelove Freeway" - The Single - "Making Of Freelove Freeway" video - Director's Commentary
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly sensitive conclusion to this class series,
By russell clarke "stipesdoppleganger" (halifax, west yorks) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: The Office - The Christmas Specials [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
Ricky Gervais and Steve Marchants decision to bring The Office to a conclusion after only two series with these two Christmas specials may have felt to many like a hasty one. However watching the episodes its difficult to argue with them for they bring the whole project to a satisfying ,moving and timely conclusion .After two series they clearly felt that a comedy so bound to one location and centring on the same characters so relentlessly would be hard to maintain in terms of quality and freshness. Plus having David Brent made redundant at the end of series two drove them up a comedy cul de sac. The problem was the story arc of some of the shows characters hadn't run its course so this was a nice way of tying up all the loose ends. It was a gamble but it's done with such panache and with a script that pays as much attention to the dramatic as the comedic that it pays off handsomely. These two episodes, particularly the second are superb.David Brent is now a Rep, still spouting inane cod philosophical asides and crass bulls***, except now he does it scooting up and down Motorways. Garth has been promoted sort of and is still about as effective as wellies in quicksand. Dawn is still in America with her sexist plank of a boyfriend and Tim is still Tim. Brent is trying to cash in on the minor fame his TV exposure via The Office has given him, even to the extent of hiring an agent who with an air of weary resignation books him slots in seedy nightclubs so he can appear in excruciating "Blind Date" parodies along with Howard from The "Halifax." He has also joined a dating agency leading to a couple of acutely embarrassing encounters where his penchant for asinine effrontery goes up a notch. As ever these are wincingly funny but still make you take a sharp intake of breath. Obviously to divulge more would be to ruin it, but the Tim and Dawn situation is resolved in a believable and poignant way while Brent finds true love or what ever passes for it in his own warped little universe in a way that isn't quite so realistic given his inherent character traits but if it makes him a better person as is implied then what the hell. This isn't pure comedy in the manner of a "Fawlty Towers " or a "BlackAdder" but it's still very funny at times and as a miniscule peak at the internal dynamics of a work place and the disparate characters involved its terrific and wonderfully observed, aided by some superb performances of which Gervias is fantastic as ever. The acting for the conclusion of the Dawn/Tim thing is absolutely sublime. It would make a bollard weep. As endings of popular comedies go its right up there with the conclusion of" BlackAdder Goes forth" and you can't get better than that. Wonderful stuff.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic comedy and great DVD edition,
By
This review is from: The Office - The Christmas Specials [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
I presume people buying this will already know the episodes and are merely looking for a nice souvenir edition with some helpful, interesting extras. If so, you will not be disappointed. It's a great value DVD with both of the glorious episodes in full (you can watch them separately or run them together). There's a really funny directors' commentary which you can hear over episode 2 if you choose, and Gervais and Merchant use their best, weirdest blend of self-deprecating and arrogant humour to describe the process of writing and filming the specials. Love it. There's also a great interview with them again, and several of the cast, talking about the experience of making "The Office" - quite sentimental but enormously worth the money if you're a true fan of the show. Particularly fascinating are the snippets of the interview with Mackenzie Crook (Gareth) who differs most obviously from his character in the show. Really highly recommended for true fans.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant Comedy,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Office - The Christmas Specials [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
This is British comedy at its best. The follow up to the two series this Christmas is one of the best around, adding more depth to the main characters (including a more sympathetic side of David Brent) and introducing great new ones. Brent is probably the best lead character in recent Sitcom history and his appearence in a club version of Blind Date is hilarious. Also look out for his wince inducing single and its cheesy video. All in all absolute quality, a great script brilliantly acted and with a moving ending. Buy it!!!!
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