The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Ricky Gervais Live: Animals
Comedy · 2003
Ricky Gervais entertains a live audience in his first stand-up routine.
Movie details
Ricky Gervais Live: Animals
“Life on Earth: the bits David Attenborough left out”
2003 Comedy 1h 13m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
Ricky Gervais entertains a live audience in his first stand-up routine.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Ricky Gervais Live: Animals?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal
Comedy · 2020
In his debut standup special, Good Deal, Jimmy will tell you all about his take on Asian representation, how he learned to speak English from rap videos, dating tall women, and pursuing his dreams only to disappoint his old school Chinese parents. From assimilation to representation, Jimmy O. Yang delivers an absolutely hilarious hour of comedy in Good Deal.
Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain
Comedy · 2011
Experience the show that quickly became a national phenomenon. Get an up-close and personal look at Kevin back in Philly where he began his journey to become one of the funniest comedians of all time.
Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry
Comedy · 2016
Hawaiian-shirt enthusiast Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias finds the laughs in racist gift baskets, Prius-driving cops and all-female taco trucks.
Ricky Gervais: Out of England
Comedy · 2008
Taped live before a sold-out audience at the WaMu Theater at New York Citys Madison Square Garden, Ricky Gervais: Out of England The Stand-Up Special is a high-spirited hour of offbeat observations and understated humor from the actor/comedian/writer/director.
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
Comedy · 2006
The affable, towheaded comic demonstrates his hysterical brand of self-effacing comedy and deadpan delivery at two sold-out shows at Chicago's Vic Theater. It's OK to laugh at this pale white guy...'cause nobody's laughing at Jim Gaffigan harder than Jim Gaffigan!
Jen Kirkman: I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)
Comedy · 2015
Jen Kirkman's Netflix produced stand-up special as performed at the North Door in Austin, Texas.
Jim Jefferies: Freedumb
Comedy · 2016
Returning for a second Netflix comedy special, Jim Jefferies unleashes his famously ferocious black humor to a packed house in Nashville, Tennessee.
Iliza Shlesinger: War Paint
Comedy · 2013
Her innocent appearance is just a cover for Last Comic Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger's acerbic, stream-of-conscious comedy that she unleashes on an unsuspecting audience in her hometown of Dallas in "War Paint," her first stand-up special.
Dave Chappelle: The Bird Revelation
Comedy · 2017
Comedy juggernaut Dave Chappelle's fourth Netflix Special, taped on November 20th, 2017 at Los Angeles' Comedy Store.
The Mouse That Roared
Comedy · 1959
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Dominic Brigstocke
Written by
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Self
Court is in session
Put Ricky Gervais Live: Animals on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.