There's a reason Nate Jackson's debut Netflix special arrives during barbecue season. Sitting on a stool under the spotlight during his shows, the comedian spends most of the night inflicting hospital-worthy third-degree burns on audiences who want a smoke. If you stare at him in the first five rows, you probably even paid extra to be his next victim by sitting in "the barbecue area."
Director: Marcus Russell Price
Star: Nate Jackson
This journey of unexpected twists and turns receives the same attention in his special as his pre-written jokes, maintaining a captivating pace and making his audience the stars of the show. This makes his debut, "Nate Jackson: Super Funny," a testament to the style and brand of comedy he's developed, from a weekly comedy night to a traditional comedy club and now a Netflix special of the same name.
Speaking of names… no, he didn't interview himself for this story. But having a journalist and the comedian swap professions for a couple of days could be fun. Jackson knows he's a big guy, but please don't call him "fat dog," because he might devour them like a Crumbl cookie.
Not only does he try to get his 10,000 steps a day, but he also goes to the gym. However, at his gym, he has a couple of issues with the "judgment-free zone" policy, especially when they want to set an alarm for him for correcting a guy misusing the machines. He goes on to argue about the gym's policies, which sound more like those of a library. "Do they want you to lift weights and be quiet?" he asks, before adding, "The gym is supposed to be loud and wild." Which is a perfect turn for Jackson to describe what he sounds like during sex, and then determine whether he would still have sex with someone without legs. And yes, he will be using the stage stool in a performance during this hour.
Jackson goes into audience-taunt mode at the 27-minute mark. There's a giant screen on the stage behind him to show everyone who he's joking with, and sometimes, we viewers at home get a split screen to watch Jackson mock these audience members while gauging their reactions in real time.
There's also an audience-mocking extra that plays during the end credits.
Our take: Before he starts mocking the audience, Jackson lays out some ground rules. First, "you have to know it started with the cross-eyed looks" with him. Second, once he sees you looking at him and starts joking, "looking away won't save you." That's what happens when you're "in the mockery zone." And it's one thing not to like what he's joking about you. But Jackson pleads, "Don't be sensitive for the sake of others" in the audience.
Jackson claims that, at a show in Ontario, California, a paraplegic man sat near the front and begged the comedian to make fun of him. At first, Jackson feared him, but then he got the man in the wheelchair to laugh with jokes so good they made him laugh, which, according to the comedian, gave everyone in the audience permission to laugh with him instead of at him. Jackson called it "the golden moment of comedy." Not even the protests of a white woman in the back of the room could ruin this moment. Although he tried, he said, "Laughter heals. Don't block anyone's blessings."
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