Have you ever seen the Sesame Street Ricky Gervais Celebrity Lullaby video? It first aired in 2009, and I remember watching it with BotE and SotE when they were little. It is so funny. Over 30 million people have watched the clip on Youtube, so I know I’m not the only one who fell in love with Gervais’ humor then.
Fast forward to the sentimental, painful, hilarious After Life, which is written, produced, and directed by Gervais. Be prepared for heavy subject matter: The story follows a British man whose wife/soulmate has recently died from breast cancer. Gervais’ character is bitter, suicidal, and funny. He works at a podunk free newspaper where he is miserably going through the motions, only to go home and consider harming himself out of grief.
I can see where this might not sound amusing, but some of the lines and scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, and the Gervais character and others are nuanced and compelling. There is a lot of vulgar language, so if that is an issue, this show is not for you. But for the rest of us, After Life is a little bit of heaven.