The Office UK: 10 Funniest Quotes | Screen Rant
Ricky Gervais has embarked on a variety of projects in a range of different mediums. Although he has displayed a mastery of evoking emotion, he is perhaps best known for his seemingly unfiltered comedy, portrayed in his stand-up, acting, and even as a host for the Golden Globes.
Gervais may have received deserved critical acclaim for his recent, one-of-a-kind series After Life, but The Office is never far from the memories of his fan base. The mockumentary gave a captivating view of an ostensibly mundane workplace. Realistic characters connected with audiences through their life struggles, relationship issues, and a whole host of exceptionally funny quotes.
For some reason, David is approached by another company to give a motivational speech, even though he's not quite the man for the job. The event rolls around, and it's fair to say he completes the work in true Brent fashion.
He tries to take the 'cool' approach, attempting to fill the room with energy and inspiration, but the opposite ensues. To end the speech, he plays Tina Turner's "Simply The Best" and gives his final quote. It's the epitome of The Office humor, because of how cringe-worthy but well-timed it is. The fact that David thinks a group of adults need to be told they're the best to motivate them is hilarious in itself.
The bickering relationship between desk-sharing colleagues Tim and Gareth is a fixed part of The Office, which can be a light-hearted interception to the quotes of the cringe (but hilarious) David Brent. Tim uses Gareth's lack of a sense of humor against him by constantly pulling harmless pranks, one of which is putting his belongings in jelly.
After Gareth's stapler falls victim to the pranks, Tim jokingly pretends it wasn't him but carries on the prank by using plays on words related to desserts. Admittedly, the puns themselves aren't comedy genius, but that's precisely why it's so funny. The quote shows Tim's enjoyment of playing around with Gareth, and he is even willing to make it obvious it was him, still making others laugh.
Keith is a smaller character in The Office, but nonetheless effective and unbelievably funny. His laid-back presence on the show was echoed in his meeting with David, who gave his appraisal. There's not much known about Keith, but glimpses are given into his personality, and it seems that he isn't always switched on to what's being asked of him.
The appraisal should be a fairly straightforward process, but the comedy comes in when it's made evident that Keith completely misunderstood the question. Not only is the mistake funny in itself, but he doesn't even realize what he's done when David reiterates it. The lack of laughter from the characters only heightens the laughter for viewers.
The day of Wernham Hogg's annual quiz rolls around, and David becomes overly competitive for the supposedly lighthearted, fun evening. As quiz master, Gareth is assigned to write up the questions. Of course, Tim sees this as an opportunity to wind Gareth up whilst he focuses on the quiz, which he evidently takes very seriously.
Tim's intrusion prompts the delivery of one of Gareth's most ridiculous quotes and, consequently, one of the funniest in the series. It's a quick moment, but because Gareth places such severity on the menial task at hand and chooses to give himself the unnecessary, fancy title of "quiz official," it makes for a great laugh.
Whilst there are plenty of quotes that prove Tim and Dawn were meant for each other in The Office, it took a whole two seasons for the pair to find their way to each other. Up until that point, Dawn was left unhappy with her fiancé Lee.
In a talking head, she explains Lee's proposal was written in the valentines section of the newspaper, which she describes as "romantic and thrifty." It's one of the funniest quotes because Dawn says it with sarcasm and disappointment in her voice. Romance doesn't have to be embedded in money and diamonds, but there was little to no romantic gesture involved in Lee's lazy proposal, yet Dawn was still able to make the situation funny.
Deep down, David wants to be good at his job. He just needs constant reassurance that he's a great boss, even when he's missing the mark. One of his main issues is that he doesn't know when to stop speaking, to the extent that he'll catch himself not knowing what he's trying to say.
This quote is a perfect example of it and of the humor it carries. David so wants to be able to rattle off a boss-like, motivational sentence, but he can't even complete it. The phrase doesn't make sense because he doesn't clarify exactly what professionalism is, yet that's still what he wants. Had he actually made sense, it wouldn't have been such a great comedic moment.
Although his heart was always with Dawn, Tim does form a quick connection with Rachel mainly because she is able to keep up with his sense of humor and isn't shy of winding up Gareth.
After Gareth asks Rachel questions about Tim that aren't his business, she goes back at him with a hilarious question full of sarcasm that Gareth doesn't really comprehend. It's always funny when Gareth misreads a joke, and it's even better when people are able to bring out his gullible side.
The skillful writing of The Office allows simple sentences to have a huge comedic impact just as much as the more intricate comedy. Prior to David giving his motivational speech, Ray wants to take a quick photo of him, which David sees as an opportunity to pose in various ways and treat it like a Vogue photoshoot.
Eventually, Ray just gives his straightforward instruction. In the scene's context, the line is so chucklesome because of how deadpan he says it to David, who is literally laying on a table for the photo. Ray's dour persona is a brilliantly funny contrast to David's overly enthusiastic energy.
David can't stay focused on just being a good boss at Wernham Hogg. He wants to be a friend, an entertainer, and an inspiration to everyone, but the opposite always ensues. During a training day, he decides to get out his guitar and perform for his employees, which serves as one of the most embarrassing things David ever did in The Office.
Later on, an intense moment causes him to ask Gareth to go and get the guitar again because he thinks that's the right way to change the mood. Hilariously, it's the absolute wrong thing to do. But the self-belief that he has the talent to calm people down, in a way that really isn't warranted, is comedy brilliance.
Gareth tries his best to put up a fight against Tim's quick wit and pranks, but he never manages to succeed. In an attempt to embarrass him, Gareth asks Tim if he knows what he's thinking, if he's so clever.
Naturally, Tim doesn't bite and is unfazed by Gareth trying to show him up. But he does respond with the kind of absurd thoughts that Gareth could have. It's such a funny quote because Gareth doesn't realize that his plan hasn't worked and in fact, he's been made to look a little silly. What makes it even funnier is that it really is something that Gareth could be thinking.