Special Correspondents

If comedy is the result of characters' reactions to ridiculous circumstances with ridiculous actions then this is comedy. Not hysterical, but still comedy.

People have focused on Ricky Gervais with this so that's where I will focus, but seriously every performance turned in was appropriate to the film. And for the most part I enjoyed it.

I think if Ricky Gervais did this movie in his usual comedy style it wouldn't have worked at all. This reminds me of a time in the 90's where movies seemed to ask "How many situations can we make the Odd Couple work in?" and if this came out then I don't think it would be met with the same negativity.

It's just a light movie with a collection of decent punchlines and worked well to help pass the time on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Had it been in theaters I could of taken my grandparents or parents to see it and enjoyed it with them but wouldn't have been pleased to have paid to see it alone.

It's by no means a classic but I'll let it land on the better side of 6.5 stars.

While I like Ricky Gervais, people who talk like he is some sort of comedic cinema great need to look at his works, he certainly tries a lot of different things but as of yet, in my opinion has only been successful in The Invention of Lying, Derek, and Extras... Honestly that's it. He's a writer/ comedian 1st and an actor 3rd.

Yes I know what I said.

In all likelihood it went over many people's heads, considering how inundated we are with pointless comedies that often receive a far higher rating on IMDb or higher ticket sales at the box office.

Great to see Eric Bana killing it again, but this time figuratively in a role as a self-confident, rogue reporter at a local news station. So too is the rest of the hilarious character gallery, along with their quirky foibles, from the manipulative money-grubbing sociopath played by Vera Farmiga to the over-emotional America Ferrera. Not to mention Gervais in the leading actor playing a fumbling doofus technician with low self-esteem, but with the redeemable quality of being kindhearted and well-meaning. Until he snorts coke, that is.. The film has a fair amount of subtle humor baked into the dialogue and contains a broader societal satire e.g. on the superficiality of news media, on the obsession with fame in today's docusoap infested society, and on the callous amorality of the drug gangs of Latin America, etc.

It's also a feelgood movie you leave with a smile, but that nonetheless doesn't suffer from being syrupy and maudlin which is so typical for the genre. The low-budget remake of the original French film feels like a fresh take in a world where Hollywood constantly churns out focus group-tested flavorless rom-coms.

Granted, it's not a movie you got out of your way to see.

But, it is just a nice film to watch. I would regard it as casual, it's one of them movies you go , well i have a couple hours to kill might as well see that.

Great movie to have on in the background.

It's slow paced relatively predictable, i do think it contains more English humor then American, but i don't think it's meant to do real big laugh out loud moments.

Not every movie should have you on the edge of your seat.

Happily watch it again

It astonishes me how people can watch this movie and still after seeing this amazing film feel the need to review it badly. This film is far from a bad comedy, I can think of loads of films that aren't as funny as this one which have alot of hype surrounding them. I really enjoyed watching this film, I got the vibe of a comedy/drama type movie and it was perfect.

Ricky Gervais always makes me laugh and keeps me entertained, a perfect comedian definately in my top 5. Defaibtely an underrated movie that deserves aay more attention, I wish I discovered it sooner.

I dont know what it was about this film but I thought it was an incredible watch, deserves way more than under 6 stars which is why I've given it a 9. I loved it!

Highly recommend!

I wasn't sure what I was expecting to be fair, I love Ricky Gervais and I own everything he has done. A lot of negativity had come from various reviews I'd read and I thought - Well I'll be the judge, jury and executioner!

Admittedly the film has a slow start but does build, as the film continued I got more into it and was eventually gripped even though it was quite predictable the direction it was heading in. For me Ricky's on-screen presence makes it automatically feel-good, especially for me as I'm a fan of his work. Occasionally throwing some funny one-liners in, occasionally sounding like his character of Andy Millman from Extras which for me helped keep the Ricky we know and love current. Eric Bana was a great choice to play the main reporter, at first I thought it would be like sticking Arnie with David Jason kind of combo but they play well off each other and have great chemistry, Eric as we know is Australian so a convincing American accent was spot on.

Overall, ignore the harsh reviews, I know it's opinion but let's face it, they ain't got a clue what a genius Ricky is, it's not always about the comedy, the film isn't hilarious but is quite funny in places, Ricky has tried his hand here at something else and I believe pulled it off well. Highly recommended if you love Ricky's work and want to see him try something different then go for it, 9/10 is a deserved rating!