David Brent: Life on the Road

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David Brent: Life on the Road

2016

1h 36m

Musical

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

57%

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77 Reviews

47%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

The film catches up with Brent 12 years after the airing of the BBC mockumentary "The Office" to find he is now a traveling salesman. However, he hasn't given up on his dream of rock stardom and is about to embark on a self-financed UK tour with his band, Foregone Conclusion. Assembling a group of session musicians who are just in it for the money, Brent cashes in his pensions and takes unpaid leave in a bid to turn his dream into reality.

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Critics Consensus

David Brent: Life on the Road has its moments, but this further exploration of an established character suffers in comparison to what came before.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

It's missing, entirely, the humanizing elements of the 'Office; series - presumably because Gervias, the sole writer/director/star (and sole performer to cross over from that series) has vastly overestimated the character's appeal.

Feb 17, 2017

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Willa Paskin

Slate

Maudlin and unrealistic, it's also a lot less funny than what came before.

Feb 14, 2017

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Josh Modell

AV Club

Gervais still wears Brent like a tailored suit, but 15 years of age has taken a lot of the bite out of both the performer and the character.

Rated: C-

Feb 13, 2017

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…feels every bit as much of an irredeemable failure as the main character is…

Rated: 2/5

Jul 24, 2022

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Olly Richards

NME (New Musical Express)

The cinematic return of the middle-management moron is the best thing Gervais has done in years.

Rated: 4/5

May 5, 2021

Full Review

PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

Brent's genius was as a clown reflecting back the excruciating banality of work culture; here, it feels like Gervais is trying to bend the material too much to his own whims.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 3, 2018

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Craig H

A decent enjoyable movie with some more funny and cringe Brent shenanigans

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/11/25

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derek c

Wow, what a let down,a truly pitiful,ending to a once great character. Right from the very beginning,he continues with that pathetic weak ,high pitched laugh, if he ever sadisticly watches this back,he will surely cringe at its weak characters,but that laugh is so cringeworthy! It’s going right through me and it’s only been on 20 minutes! The things he does for money!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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Alex F

Gervais plays his iconic character from The Office. Like many characters like this, you either love them or hate them. I personally like this style of comedy and therefore quite enjoyed this film, but I can understand why some people aren't too keen on it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/13/24

Full Review

Ryan O

I like it a lot! Certainly a departure from "the office" original show on BBC, but I'm definitely glad he made this updated glimpse into David Brent's life. I think Ricky Gervais had some built up material for David that he needed to get out. I can understand why some fans would rather have "the office Christmas Special" be the ending but I thought it was a bit too fairy-tale. So I'm cool with this continuation because it made me laugh quite a bit. Kinda seems forced at times which is why I can't give 5 stars like I would for it's predecessors

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/15/24

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Mark S

I don't get all the negative reviews. If you liked/loved the Office you should at least enjoy this a bit. Made me laugh/cringe as expected.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

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GM M

Absolutely awful. I walked out. The tv show is breathtakingly brilliant.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/25/23

Full Review

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Ricky Gervais

Director

Ricky Gervais

David Brent

Ben Bailey Smith

Dom Johnson

Tom Basden

Dan

Nina Sosanya

Brent's therapist

Tom Bennett

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Synopsis

The film catches up with Brent 12 years after the airing of the BBC mockumentary "The Office" to find he is now a traveling salesman. However, he hasn't given up on his dream of rock stardom and is about to embark on a self-financed UK tour with his band, Foregone Conclusion. Assembling a group of session musicians who are just in it for the money, Brent cashes in his pensions and takes unpaid leave in a bid to turn his dream into reality.

Director: Ricky Gervais
Producer: Charlie Hanson
Screenwriter: Ricky Gervais
Production Co: BBC Films, Entertainment One
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m

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