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Intolerant

Jim Jefferies

Netflix · 2020 · 66 min

An hour of generational gripes framed by a dairy-induced emergency.

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The backbone of the hour is a self-inflicted medical emergency: Jim Jefferies on a date at a high-end restaurant, knowing he is lactose intolerant, but choosing to eat the cheese plate anyway. The resulting race against his own digestive tract frames the entire set, acting as a narrative anchor that he repeatedly abandons to yell about other subjects.

Filmed at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, the special caught the Australian comic at a career crossroads in 2020. Having recently wrapped his late-night Comedy Central program and looking toward network television deals, he was attempting to reconcile his legacy as a hard-drinking provocateur with the realities of middle age and fatherhood.

The title refers to both his gut health and his patience for the modern world. He directs his irritation toward millennials, elaborate multi-step skincare routines, and the shifting boundaries of contemporary stand-up. While long-time fans noted a tamer, more commercial energy compared to his earlier work, his structural trick of building an entire hour around an impending bowel movement shows a veteran performer’s control over his material.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Eating dairy on a romantic dinner date despite suffering from lactose intolerance.

    Frames a tasting menu date and the desperate journey to find a private toilet as a heroic, suspenseful slapstick race against time.

  2. The shifting boundaries of acceptability in comedy ('moving the line').

    Argues that comedians tell jokes that were socially acceptable when made, and audiences should not get angry retroactively when society moves the line forward later.

  3. Millennials being the worst people who have ever lived.

    Lashes out at millennial censoriousness and their need to broadcast every thought and selfie on social media.

  4. Fat-shaming and the death of his mother.

    Questions why overeating cannot be treated and shamed like other addictions, using his late mother as an example before recounting a redemptive story about her.

  5. His father's late-life progressive awakening.

    Uses his father's evolution in his late 70s to argue that younger generations should let elders become 'woke' on their own schedules.

  6. Criticism of blackface.

    Points out that avoiding blackface is effortless and simply saves time.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, provocative, scatological, and unapologetic.
On stage
Loutish Aussie larrikin with swagger and impish cheek who balances vulgar provocation with self-deprecation, frequently making himself the butt of the joke.
Pace
Sprawling narrative momentum framed around a high-stakes race against time, punctuated by digressive rants, wall-breaking revelations, and comedic asides.
About
lactose intolerance, generational differences and millennials, shifting boundaries and propriety in comedy, fat-shaming, parenting and family, germaphobes and peanut allergies

What the critics said

Decider recommended to 'Stream It', noting the special's imaginative construction and ambition. Chortle noted that despite contentious, button-pushing material, Jefferies is at his funniest when playing the fool and making himself the target.

In the room: An engaged Boston crowd prone to approving hollers, but momentarily stunned into a collective gasp at his aggressive profanity before resuming laughter.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, meaww.com, allmovie.com, chortle.co.uk, decider.com, nzherald.co.nz, thecomicscomic.com, ew.com.

Backstory

Taped in 2019 ahead of the 2020 release amidst cultural conversations around shifting boundaries of comedic acceptability, wokeness, and generational divides.

Details

Released
Taped
2019, The Wilbur, Boston
Runtime
66 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Scott Zabielski
Topics
Before
This Is Me Now (2018)
After
High n' Dry (2023)

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