Screen Kiss
Watched The Office again. Cos I was bored. It's still great. Time has not aged it one iota.
I saw the episode with Tim and Dawn. It was Red Nose day in the office. Dawn was selling kisses of a pound. Tim pays his money. They kiss. They part, without saying a word.
I've seen it before, but I couldn't escape the power of the kiss. It's a great kiss. A super smooch. A luscious lip lock. It's a better than the kiss at the end of the Christmas special, the one where they finally get together.
Dawn makes the kiss. It's all Dawn. Tim may as well be a model, a plastic mannequin. He doesn't have to do anything though. He's the straight man. Every double act needs one. Every kiss is a double act. At least a double act.
Dawn. She goes for it. She snatches her chance. Every atom in her body wants it. Every drop of blood is pointing in the same direction. It's illicit. It's a tryst. The kiss is one action were she can't hide. It's in her kiss. We all know it. Of course, so does Tim.
The reason this kiss is so perfect isn't the execution of the approach, though it is flawless, it's the break. It's the second after their lips touch and Dawn realises that it's something she shouldn't be doing. She continues kissing but does something with her body. Her body realises before her lips do. Her body breaks away before her lips. Her lips stay, because they can't escape. They are locked in eternity.
Then, at last, they break. They have enjoyed it so much that they can't bear to recognise the thunderbolts and lightning strikes. It's a flash in the sky. They have witnessed the birth of star; critical mass has been reached and over run. Something that can blow away their ordinary lives and scorch the earth; raze the derelict rubble and blast the mouldy ruins. So powerful, it can pull the trees from seeds. Create life; a brand new garden, and fill it with flowers colourful.
8 comments:
But was it funny?
(Sorry. I thought The Office had its good moments and was nicely executed, but it largely left me cold. I think it was mostly just due to the presence of Ricky Gervais; he irritates me.)
What!? Are you insane? Yes, The Office is funny! I think Ricky Gervais is supposed to be irritating...
The Tim and Dawn story provides a perfect counterpoint to the relentless idiocy of the rest of characters. It sharpens the barbs and hightens the emotions.
Watch it again Joe! See if you can be convinced.
I'm with you, Wan. 'The Office' was brilliantly funny and innovative in many ways, but what I love about the Tim / Dawn situation (particularly in this scene, and in the Christmas special) is that it takes the programme into the realm of serious drama. In that sense, it's very like 'The Royle Family'. It'd be interesting to see what Gervais and Merchant could do if they weren't setting out to elicit laughs every minute.
One thing that annoys me about The Office is the whole 'comedy of embarrassment' thing.
At least a million times per episode (I may be exaggerating slightly) there will be a moment where Gervais does something cringeworthy in front of everyone, and the reaction will be a few seconds of knuckle-biting silence.
Which is lazy, predictable, and just wouldn't elicit that kind of reaction in real life. Like on the Christmas special, where he (as a minor celebrity) does a crap Austin Powers impression in front of an audience of students, to be greeted with... deathly silence. What?
Or the repeated-to-death bad dancing scene. In real life, in the kind of environment they've created for the show, he would at least get some laughs for the effort - but everyone just looks on disdainfully. They might as well hold up a neon sign saying 'THIS MAN IS MAKING A FOOL OF HIMSELF. YOU WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS, BECAUSE YOU ARE FAR TOO COOL. BE EMBARRASSED NOW.'
Gervais doesn't irritate me for the reasons he's 'supposed' to... he irritates me for being basically the same person he was a few years previously on The 11 O'Clock Show (which I tortured myself by watching far too often), only wearing a suit and being a bit more family-friendly. Maybe I just can't rid my mind of those awful 11OCS memories, which spoils it for me.
I don't have a problem with the Tim/Dawn storyline. Gervais aside I think there's enough to make it a decent enough show, and I've seen them all more than once... but I just don't understand why it was such a rip-roaring success. I think they just hit it lucky at a time when most other new comedy was appalling.
There's definitely some good talent involved, anyway - a lot of Stephen Merchant's stuff in Extras was extremely funny. (And some of it wasn't.)
But that's just my opinion.
*shrug*
Hey Ben,
never really thought about that, the idea of Gervais and Merchant doing a serious drama. They certainly have a knack for true drawing characters and situations...
That's fair enough Joe, the whole concept of the show was about laughing during embarassing silences; which he did use a lot.
If it ain't funny for you, then it just ain't funny. I, for one, never liked South Park. I don't understand why that has become so big either...
Thank you. The only person I know who also dislikes South Park. Granted I haven't seen loads of episodes, but from the ones I forced myself to watch it seems to me to be just crude humour masquerading as something intelligent. Perhaps some fans who claim they watch it because it is smart are ashamed to admit that there are no levels to the script and characters such as Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo and that what they are watching is simply, well, shite.
South Park does have a few belly laughs within it, but the thing that makes me switch over is the preachiness of it. It tackles big issues (which is good) but there always has to be a laboured point to everything. The moral is smashed home with the subtlety of a flashing pink wreaking ball.
I actually like all things which are peripheral to the main story, like that strange teacher (if the story isn't about the teacher) or chef (if the story isn't about chef). It just gives them licence to be funny.
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