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Natural Born Killer

Jimmy Carr

Netflix · 2024 · 59 min

A visually styled hour of dark, rapid-fire British one-liners.

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Jimmy Carr takes the director’s chair for the first time in his fourth Netflix special, attempting to inject some visual structure into his standard stand-up setup. Recorded at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre in Buckinghamshire, England, the show uses shifting stage lights to transition between thematic blocks, while tracking shots attempt to match the rhythm of his punchlines. The material itself leans heavily on rapid-fire, dark one-liners designed to test the boundaries of modern speech.

The set covers the expected targets of modern controversy: gun control, religion, consent, and cancel culture. Carr even posted a preemptive, fill-in-the-blank apology note on social media the day before the premiere to mock the anticipated online outrage.

While his trademark deadpan confidence remains intact, the reception was highly divided. British critics widely dismissed the show as a cynical exercise in button-pushing, while audiences were split over a lengthy, late-stage crowd-work segment with an audience member named Rico that dragged down the momentum of his usual rapid-fire delivery.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Consent and sexual education

    Interacts directly with a 19-year-old audience member named Jacob to deliver 'the talk', running through the cardinal rules of consent and administering a pop quiz.

  2. Rape jokes and legal consequences

    Examines the offensive reality of how easily men escape prosecution for sexual violence ('I like my odds') and reveals his 'rape fantasy' is seeing someone actually go to prison for the crime.

  3. The reality of mothers versus fathers

    Argues all mothers are effectively single mothers shouldering the entire burden, while fatherhood is merely a 'lovely hobby' akin to babysitting.

  4. Premature birth of his son

    Recounts fearing he would lose his dark comedic instinct after his first child was born prematurely, only to feel relieved after cracking a joke about clothes hangers while buying tiny clothes.

  5. Gender identity and pronouns

    Jokes about woke culture and announces his pronouns are 'he he he' because he identifies as a comedian.

How it plays

Tone
Provocative, raunchy, and dark, shifting towards sincerity and parental warmth during the latter portions.
On stage
Deadpan, sharp-suited comic delivering dark one-liners with darting eyes, an affected working-class voice, and frequent self-amused laughs, who transforms in the second half into an animated, engaged sex-education authority figure.
Pace
A rapid-fire barrage of short jokes and one-liners in the first half gives way to a more physically bounced, patient, and conversational tempo during extended crowdwork in the second half.
About
gun control, religion, cancel culture, consent, fatherhood and parenting, trans issues

What the critics said

Critical reception was divided to negative, with reviewers criticizing the first half's self-conscious warnings about cancel culture and strained edge as a moral vacuum, but commending the warmer, sincere crowdwork on fatherhood and consent in the second half.

In the room: Viewers and reviewers noted occasional forced or uncomfortable laughter during the more transgressive early jokes, transitioning to high engagement and amusement during the direct audience interactions.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, bucksfreepress.co.uk, bucksherald.co.uk, theguardian.com, decider.com, spectator.com, ottplay.com, jimmycarr.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.

Backstory

Released three years after his 2021 special 'His Dark Material', which sparked widespread controversy over a joke concerning the Holocaust and Roma people; framed around modern discourse regarding cancel culture, free expression, and his personal transition into fatherhood.

Details

Released
Taped
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Runtime
59 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Jimmy Carr, Brian Klein
Topics
Before
His Dark Material (2021)

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