Jim Gaffigan Comedy Monster review: A one-hour comedy special that is good, clean fun

3.5/5

Review: If you watch enough international stand-up comedy acts, you will agree that more often than not, a lot of the supposedly funny content is either sexual in nature, or involves bowel movements and genitalia. Expletives are also thrown in for good measure. Writing and delivering clean jokes that the whole family can guffaw at is a whole different ball game and a lot more difficult, because if you don’t land it, that crash is going to hurt.

No worry on that count, though, with six-time Grammy nominated comedian Jim Gaffigan, as he presents his latest Netflix special, Comedy Monster. But for the two pe**s references that are actually harmless in the context of his jokes, the one-hour long show is clean and fun, primarily because Jim’s comedy is observational and mostly about the mess that was 2021.

One of his opening lines was, “The pandemic is like a TV show that you thought was cancelled, and then it got picked up by Netflix. I didn’t really pace myself for another season.” From there on, Jim proceeds to crack jokes on men, women, parenting, bikers, cyclists, religion, billionaire-pretend-astronauts, parades and marching bands, Jim Mulaney, etc., he even throws in a golf-related gay joke. He doesn’t spare himself either, taking potshots at his pale complexion, being compared to pudgy, fair babies, cats and even kneecaps. The good thing about Jim’s humour, though, is that it never comes across as offensive.

Verdict: Jim Gaffigan is fun to watch, even though at most times he just stands in one place and delivers his jokes with deadpan earnestness. The humour is not in the how he presents his jokes but in the what and that is why this special will make a good de-stress watch.