Banana Scoop

Life’s Too Short (2010-Present)

Life’s Too Short revolves around the dramatized life of dwarf actor Warwick Davis (played by Warwick Davis).  In this show, he serves as an agent for other dwarf actors, but subsequently gives all the best roles for himself.  When he finds himself with a large tax debt and a crushing divorce, he must find the means and money to keep his accustomed life style as a ‘movie star’.

The thing about this show is that it’s very similar to extras in the characters and premise.  Davis plays another ‘Gervais-esque’ character, awkward, mean, selfish, and quick-witted.  But as a dwarf, there’s a surprisingly large amount of slapstick comedy that borders insult to the dwarf community.  The supporting characters are marginally funny as compared to Extras, but can definitely hold their own.  The show’s creators and producers, Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, also make an appearance every episode, but the majority of the jokes lie with Davis himself as he tries to get his life together.  My favorite part about Ricky Gervais playing a dramatized version of himself is that all the best Ricky Gervais jokes that target and demean him, are written by him.  It’s hard to make fun of a person truly, when the best material is written by the person you’re trying to make fun of.  And I get so much enjoyment out of that paradox.

A-listers return and are easily my favorite part of this series.  By this I mean, like Extras, celebrities return to play dramatic and absurd interpretations of themselves. Celebrities like Liam Neeson and Johnny Depp were well utilized and kudos to the amazing script or their improvisational skills.  Liam Neeson doing stone-faced comedy or Helene Bonham Carter simply refusing to work with a dwarf provide extremely hilarious dialogue and situations.  Once again kudos to the production team for securing such amazing celebrities.

Beyond the comedy, there is distinct and elicit insight into the life of a dwarf.  Although the lifestyle is used a means for jokes, you can’t help but sympathize for getting a glimpse of life in another’s shoes.  The series is brave for pushing taboo topics and from interviews I’ve seen, Gervais and Merchant were fairly skeptical of how far they should go in what they termed ‘exploitation’.  But reassurance from Davis himself pushed the series to push as many taboos as they did.

All in all, Gervais and Merchant know what they’re doing in terms of comedy.  You might think they’re snooty British people that only slander other celebrities, but in truth, they’re actually comedic geniuses and deserve any respect and awards they get.  And while celebrities like Johnny Depp and Steve Carrell act as though they hate Gervais in interviews and award shows, they’re just being good sports in helping Gervais do what he does best.  Keep your eye out on these two, obviously Gervais is very much a household name with some of his American roles in films like “Invention of Lying” and “Ghosttown”, but given the creative freedom, they can come up with material that will have your sides splitting from laughter.

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