An Idiot Abroad

The ugly American has nothing on the ugly Englishman. That is one of the lessons viewers can take from this comic travelogue—an improvisational documentary from Ricky Gervais and his partner Stephen Merchant. The pair send Karl Pilkington, producer of their radio show, to a different foreign locale in each of the seven 45-minute episodes here to visit a wondrous sight: the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the stone monuments at Petra in Jordan, the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, the Egyptian pyramids, the mountaintop statue of Christ in Brazil, and the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. Not surprisingly, Gervais's and Merchant's intent is hardly benign. Pilkington is an insular, highly opinionated fellow, and his employers hope that his encounters with foreign cultures will result in lots of laughs. To make that likelier, the pair engineer a stream of potentially humiliating activities for him to endure—kung-fu exercises in China, getting into the ring with masked Mexican wrestlers, undergoing “extreme scenario” training in Israel, taking long (and uncomfortable) camel rides, visiting a nude beach in Brazil, and the like. Some of Pilkington's grouchy observations about his travels are amusing (Gervais certainly finds them hilarious), but just as many are simply rude or repetitive (especially his recurrent complaints about cuisine and toilet facilities), and the overall aim of making him miserable has a cruel edge. A bonus eighth episode is essentially a clips show, with the three men going over highlights. Extras include deleted scenes and a photo gallery. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)