The Difference Between The UK Office and the US Office Explained In Two Videos

I finished watching the UK version of the Office recently and I would highly recommend it. Both hilarious and profoundly moving.

I'm not going to get into some silly argument about which one is better but certainly it's not a crime to point out the differences in the two. There have been many comparisons made between the US Office and the UK Office. I for one think that both are totally brilliant, with the UK one emphasizing a dark tone of desperation in the modern workplace, while the US one is more silly and laugh-out-loud funny than it is cringe-worthy.

That being said, I thought that there were two scenes that, when compared, show this contrast rather clearly.

Part 1:

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Gervais is a great performer, but when he does the dance as Brent, combined with the environment and situation, it reeks of desperation. He's trying to prove that he's a better than his supervisor, Neil, for the purposes of a charity donation and he does so with disastrous results. It's pathetic and just a bit sad, even though you're laughing like crazy.

Part 2:

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Meanwhile, Carrell's dance happens on the "Booze Cruise" and instead of trying to prove he's better than someone, he's just trying to get everyone into the mood...again with disastrous results. But unlike Gervais, you can completely tell that Carrell is having a ball while doing it (Gervais is probably having fun too, but the mood is just different). And therein lies the crucial difference: The knowledge of their self-awareness, not perceivable, though probably present, in the British version but there in spades for the American version.