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'Jim Jefferies: Intolerant' Preview: Will the stand-up comic sh** himself, both literally and figuratively?

He tells the ‘Mission Impossible’-esque tale of his lactose intolerance and his love for cheese leading to a meltdown inside his stomach

Jim Jefferies is not well-liked by a lot of comedy critics. And sometimes even his viewers. The Australian-American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer was once attacked by a member of the audience when he was performing at the Manchester Comedy Store in 2007. While this may have been a one-off, when it comes to critics, he’s never let go.

In 2010, Brian Logan of The Guardian called his act “priapic misanthropy”, and noted that his particular brand of crude and misogynist comedy was “unlikely to attract intellectuals”. Almost a decade later, Logan in 2019 wrote about Jefferies’ act ‘The Night Talker’ performed at the O2 Arena in London: “Glimpses of wit float to the surface in this sex-and-excrement bonanza… but are quickly flushed away by tedious misogyny.” 

Logan’s views (by no means shared by all) are important in the context of Jefferies’ new Netflix stand-up comedy special ‘Jim Jefferies: Intolerant’. According to Netflix, this special, filmed at The Wilbur in Boston, will see the Australian comedian toe the “comedy line” with sharp and unapologetic jokes about his intolerance of lactose, germaphobes, and people with peanut allergies.

And by the sound of it, the set more or less presents the same material as the aforementioned ‘The Night Talker’. For the same show, Steve Bennett, writing for Chortle, a UK-based comedy publication, gave him a glowing review. Bennett describes him as an “uncouth, sweary bloke from rural Australia not quite fitting it”, noting, however, that there is “a warm heart behind all the c-bombs and outrageous material, proved when he mulls the behavior of his family with affection — even when that affection is tested by their failings”.

So, what does one then expect from ‘Jim Jefferies: Intolerant’? If the official trailer is anything to go by, it only reveals a part of the act — the ‘Mission Impossible’-esque tale of his lactose intolerance and his love for cheese leading to a meltdown inside his stomach. Jefferies has to achieve two things. One, not sh** his pants, and two, get laid. He was after all, on a date. The trailer ends with a line teasing viewers: “Find out if Jim sh**s himself on July 7.”

That question is deeper than it seems in the context of Jefferies’ comedy. Will his comedy grow up from the boorish acts we have seen (and laughed at) in ‘BARE’, ‘Freedumb’, and ‘This Is Me Now’? Or will it continue to be scatological both literally and figuratively?

‘Jim Jefferies: Intolerant’ premieres globally on July 7, only on Netflix.