This movie seems to be misunderstood, just like David Brent himself.

The movie is exactly how I would see his life turning out, after being laid off.

Anything about David Brent should make you cringe, root for him and feel sorry for him, all at the same time. You should also occasionally just not like him (but just occasionally enough to still root for him and still feel sorry for him). This movie did all of those things for me.

I agree that the laugh was grating though. Maybe it was done to show how he changed as a result of his stay in the mental institution.

Too bad they didn't have a last minute shot of him being asked to fill in the for the boss of Lavichem. Could have been some comedy gold in that.