Filmed at the arena in Wembley in January, Jack Whitehall\u2018s second solo Netflix stand-up special keeps reminding us that he\u2019s his father\u2019s son. Is\u2026<\/b>
\nFilmed at the arena in Wembley in January, Jack Whitehall\u2018s second solo Netflix stand-up special keeps reminding us that he\u2019s his father\u2019s son. Is that a good thing, though?
The Gist: Whitehall grew up in show business, the son of an actress and a talent manager, who began working in British television and earning his first onscreen role at the age of 4. By 20, he was appearing at comedy festivals and on the telly as a comic presenter or panelist.
In 2017, Whitehall arrived on Netflix with his first stand-up comedy special for the streaming giant, alongside a global travel series, Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father. In the subsequent years, he has popped up on the big screen in Disney\u2019s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, in a supporting role on Amazon Prime Video\u2019s Good Omens, and starred in the British odd-couple caper series Bounty Hunters (now available on Prime Video) which paired Whitehall with Rosie Perez. In the coming year, pandemic pending, you\u2019ll also see Whitehall in two more big movies: A remake of Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Disney\u2019s Jungle Cruise, based on the theme-park attraction.
A pre-show sketch montage finds Whitehall pulling up to his Wembley arena gig backstage in a limo, immediately flinging the car door into a guy on crutches, then causing even more mayhem in his wake, smiling all the way.
\u201cI\u2019ve got a history of cocking up prestigious gigs,\u201d Whitehall jokes once he gets onstage.
Foreshadowing, much?
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Any basic white guy who hasn\u2019t suffered much at all in life, grasping for things to be insufferable about. But because he\u2019s famous, he\u2019s adored. So imagine whichever celebrity does that for you.
Memorable Jokes: His initial joke about bombing a big gig leads into a brief recollection of the time Whitehall performed for Prince Charles at his royal Christmas party, ending with a funny gag that links himself and his plight tot the prince.
But Whitehall\u2019s first and second major applause breaks come at America\u2019s expense. After asking if anyone in the audience is American, Whitehall replies: \u201cPlease, don\u2019t shoot.\u201d Then he suggests Americans do everything bigger and better than everyone else in the world, but by that, he means stupidity. \u201cLike, our village idiot is in a park, shouting at clouds. Yours is president.\u201d
We haven\u2019t forgotten Boris Johnson, mind you.
A later gag about making resolutions has more widespread appeal, perhaps. Whitehall wonders why trends such as \u201cDry January\u201d or \u201cVeganuary\u201d exist for a time that, in the Northern Hemisphere, at least, is cold, dark and dreary. \u201cThat is not the month you should be giving up vices.\u201d Perhaps. Certainly not if you\u2019re in line for airport security in Berlin and have to dispose of a marijuana gummy.
Our Take: When Whitehall begins listing off ridiculous signs and trends, his observations aren\u2019t exactly original or insightful. Who hasn\u2019t seen a swimming pool warning sign about diarrhea and made the same exact jokes Whitehall makes?
Yes, we certainly have developed a lot of milk substitutes, haven\u2019t we. So what?
I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, that Whitehall was merely warming us all up for something truly insightful, and he almost got there. He has a moment of self-realization, that we\u2019re internally jealous of others who seem to be living their best lives. That Greta Thunberg at 17 has put all of us to shame with her activism. That Whitehall himself sees anyone doing positive things and wants to say \u201cOh, good for you,\u201d while muttering profanities with his inside voice.
Son Jack closes the hour with one more story about his father. \u201cThe reality is I love him dearly, and I never take for granted how lucky I am to get to spend that time traveling around the world with him. And I\u2019m so proud of him, as well, for how much he puts himself out of his comfort zone to do the stuff that we do.\u201d Even when Jack\u2019s the one pushing his dad into uncomfortable situations.
Our Call: SKIP IT. Unless you\u2019ve already watched Travels With My Father, this hour likely won\u2019t pull you into it. Maybe you should just try watching an episode of that first, and then decide if you want more Whitehalls in your life.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic\u2019s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic\u2019s Comic Presents Last Things First.
Watch Jack Whitehall: I’m Only Joking on Netflix<\/p>\n