MovieChat Forums > Extras (2005) Discussion > Are you kidding me...

Are you kidding me...

posted 14 years ago by HubbzZ
28 replies | jump to latest

I like this show and thought it was funny but the characters behavior was just too consistently unbelievable. Andy, Maggie and the agent do the dumbest things that no one would ever do. I just found it irritating that they were just so brain dead. Like when Maggie tells the gay guy hes too gay, or the whole episode about the down syndrome kid at the restaurant. Throughout the show there were too many times when they shouldn't have talked and did, or times when something needed to be said and they don't talk. There were too many times that i was just thinking how ridiculous it was and rolled my eyes at entire scenes. I just think if youre gonna make a semi-serious comedy, make the characters realistic.

Maybe this is just an Americans take on these situations. Call us aggressive or crass but stuff like this would never happen here. Maybe English people are really this passive? Thats what im wondering.

[–] Dead_Dude 14 years ago

the ridiculous happens all the time and everywhere, particularly in the Biz

even the quickest look at the tabloids verifies this

eg i could be wrong on this, but why did Lohan steal from a jewellery store when she is loaded

cause generally the acting world is made of people who look good but are seriously defficient of brain cells

[–] hulkweazel 14 years ago

Are you watching the same shows I am? American shows are full of absolutely absurd situations. Many of the most popular comedies are full of it - Seinfeld, Friends, etc.

[–] markthomas26 14 years ago

you could say the same of Joey in Friends, no one could really be like that.

happens in all kinds of comedies, over the top stupidity, it's funny.
and a COKE....i'm sorted

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 14 years ago

exactly, Joey is the dumbest character of all time, he could never remember to breathe in real life. see the episode where he tries to speak french, its embarrassing, NOBODY is that stupid.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] HubbzZ 14 years ago

Ya but shows like Seinfeld were meant to be over the top and crazy. This show actually tackles somewhat serious things and is obviously supposed to be set in the lives of real, blue collar type people (even if he just recently landed a tv show).

[–] Runie 11 years ago

Not really no.

look at curb..

very similar to extras in the way it shows us real people but follows the same Seinfeld humour with the added reality extras vibe.

Seinfeld started of as a show about a real,comedian and then heightened it..

curb and extras moved that idea forward and added more heightened real characters

[–] Helena727 9 years ago

Ya but shows like Seinfeld were meant to be over the top and crazy. This show actually tackles somewhat serious things and is obviously supposed to be set in the lives of real, blue collar type people (even if he just recently landed a tv show).

1. The casual form of "yes" is spelled "yeah," not "ya."

2. No disrespect intended, but your youth is showing. Nothing in this show suggests that its characters are "blue-collar." Andy, Maggie, and Darren aren't earning heaps of money and they aren't living super-trendy lives, but they're college-educated and they value creativity over conventionality; they're not working in factories or the modern equivalent of factories (mindless call centers, big-box stores).

3. This show is very much in the vein of a non-laughtrack Seinfeld, or of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Better Off Ted, Arrested Development -- all shows that feature characters who are at least somewhat dislikeable, in ostensibly real but ultimately improbable and highly orchestrated situations.
. . . Maybe the cultural differences (life in London) + your relative youth made it harder for you to discern the satire, but satire it was. It was *not* a "semi-serious comedy." It was a satirical jab at celebrity and the quest for celebrity. It also raised questions about serious stuff -- what makes a meaningful life, how do we live with the consequences of compromising OR of maintaining our integrity, to cite just two -- but so does every comedy, whether it's asinine/broad, like Married With Children and Are You Being Served?, or witty and insightful, like Frasier. Everything raises questions.

"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."

[–] Finkle-is-Einhorn 13 years ago

maggi ement to camp, its just her way of sayingit, whichis true of a lot of people i have no problem with gay people but i cant stand those that are too camp. maggie just isnt subtle about letting the guy know it.

andy acted different because fame was going to his head he was that desperate to keep his fame and get more of it it he did things that seemed odd it isnt unbeliveable that someone would act like this and the agent has all been the same hes inept and an idiot.

if you have never seen these characteristic in human behaviour i suggest you get out more.

the characters had to evolve and i think it was done well.

i personally think some of it maybe a british thing as i always think the acting is better in british comedies than american ones. with a few exceptions

[–] dgates64 13 years ago

One thing's for sure. You're a lousy judge of comedy.

Taking a quick look at some of your other posts, and it's just the usual juvenile and sophomoric stuff that teen boys talk about. How hot an actress is, and why you're upset they weren't naked in a movie.

Classy stuff.

[–] HubbzZ 13 years ago

Wha? Your the one who steered the convo towards teen boys.

[–] dgates64 13 years ago

7 months to reply? So you're juvenile AND lazy.

[–] HubbzZ 13 years ago

Yes im a teen boy.

[–] ARNKxx 13 years ago

"Throughout the show there were too many times when they shouldn't have talked and did, or times when something needed to be said and they don't talk."

^ True, never seen a human with these characteristics.

[–] HubbzZ 13 years ago

I just found it to happen way to often you know? I understand that often times people dont do what needs to be done but it just seemed like it was too convenient and unrealistic most times.

[–] whatwhome2 13 years ago

the show works for me but it's ok if you think it's stupid and can't laugh at it. It reminds me of Larry David....so uncomfortable that it can be hard to watch but Ricky makes me laugh more than Larry David but it is still based in situations that have really really really stupid characters that cannot consistently be that stupid all the time. It still makes me laugh.

[–] owenwww 13 years ago

You need to watch a few episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and then come back here and tell us that "would never happen here".

[–] taumpy_tears 13 years ago

one thing I found odd was how darren & maggie either mention or acknowledge how dumb & low-brow the show is, yet they're even more stupid than the content of the show.

"Throughout the show there were too many times when they shouldn't have talked and did"

That's kind of the point though. They shouldn't, but they do. I don't understand how you can complain about a character's stupidity in a comedy series, considering a large majority of comedies, modern & old, have a token braindead character, or more. it's just part of the humour, why does everything have to be hyper-realistic? I think the show's a nice blend of heart-wrenching pathos & plain old silliness.

[–] Skoony 12 years ago

Maggie was really stupid. I suppose the actor behind her is a brilliant one, because I wanted to smack her face in when she tried to apologise for the "he's too gay" thing. I mean, I recently rewatched this episode and thought that she was telling Damon about it because she wanted revenge on Andy (he hurt her a bit just earlier). When she said she didn't mean it it came as a surprise for me...