The Warwick Davis that Davis plays in the series is very different from the person he is in real life, but there are many times when you can forget that he is playing a characterization of himself. The Davis character is not only a jerk, but he also seems to hate his own people. Davis runs a talent agency for dwarves, and while he has clients, he typically hires them out for more menial jobs that he wouldn’t do himself. I don’t mean menial acting jobs - he scoops up pretty much every one of those that walk in the door. No, he sends them to college parties as bowling balls, or even cannonballs. Of course, he doesn’t see this as demeaning. He even serves on a council of little people trying to get rid of such trends, though he feels he is underrated as only the vice-chair and is constantly vying for attention and the top elected position.
Davis is also going through some hard times at home. Not only is he in trouble with the tax collectors, but he is going through a divorce as well. In fact, he is so broke that he is forced to hire the accountant that got him into the financial trouble as his lawyer …he did study pre-law for one semester at the university, after all. Since his wife was also his secretary, Davis is forced to hire someone to help around the office. This is where the slow-witted Cheryl (Rosamund Hanson) comes in.
Cheryl is also much too honest for the scheming Davis. He finds himself constantly annoyed by her, not so much because of her incompetence, but because she doesn’t ever follow his lead when he tries to lie or make excuses. This includes everything from claiming to have a busier schedule than he actually does to house hunting. She really is an interesting balancing force to Davis’ various deeds.
In the constant search for a new part, Davis stops by the offices of his friends Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, whom Davis had worked with on the series Extras. In real life, these two are the other creative forces behind Life’s Too Short, and the scenes with the three of them are often the height of the episode, especially given the long stream of random guest stars that seem to pop up at Gervais’ and Merchant’s office. The list of cameos include everyone from Liam Neeson to Johnny Depp and Steve Carell. Then again, the list of one-off appearances aren’t just limited to these scenes. Given Davis’ semi-stardom and his desire to appear much more well-known than he is, he finds himself rubbing elbows with a wide variety of stars like Helena Bonham Carter, British talk-show host Cat Deeley, and Sting, though none of these events ever turn out as he intends.
Special features include a slew of behind-the-scenes clips and various deleted scenes and outtakes, but to get a true feeling for what it was like on set, you need to watch the show’s Making Of featurette. While I knew that Davis was very different than the character he portrays in the show, just how different is made very obvious in these extras.
From what I understand, Life’s Too Short isn’t going to carry on for a second season, but what few loose ends that are left by the season’s close will be wrapped up in a special. Fans of Gervais’ other works should have no second thoughts about picking up this show. It has a very similar feel to his other productions and the train wreck that is Davis’ life is hard to look away from.
