Review — "Jessica Kirson: I’m the Man" is Heavy on the Sex But Light on Big Laughs
This week, the latest entry into Hulu’s Hularious stand-up special series arrived in the form of Jessica Kirson’s I’m the Man. To be honest, of all the specials in the Hularious line-up so far, this is the first time where I wasn’t at least somewhat familiar with the comedian featured. But, it turns out that, in addition to being Zach Braff’s stepsister, this also isn’t her first time on Hulu, having previously appeared in The Binge. In any case, I was excited to check out the new special and find out what her comedy was all about.
Watching I’m the Man, I actually would have pegged Kirson as a voice-over actor as the cartoon-esque voices she puts on during certain bits during the special were among my favorites. In particular, her closer had me laughing out loud. Unfortunately, that was one of the very few instances of this.
Since I wasn’t too aware of Kirson, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her. Yet, within about five seconds of her taking the stage, it was clear that this special would be just a bit blue. Okay, maybe more than a bit.
When I attempt to do these stand-up special reviews, I try to make notes about some of the topics covered in the material. In the case of this one, I gave up for the first half as the only note I kept making was “sex." That’s certainly not uncommon for comics, but that’s also why this material just didn’t feel that fresh or exciting.
However, after about the midway point, there was a bit more variance, with one of my favorite segments being about her children and, in particular, how mean they can be at times. Again, the topic of raising kids is also well worn but, in this case, Kirson’s had a unique angle that I thought was really funny.
Maybe now that I know more about Kirson’s style and what I’m in for, I’d enjoy I’m the Man more the second time around. That doesn’t make a lot of sense since you can only hear a joke for the first time once — but I’m still going to hold out hope. After all, while I didn’t despise the special by any means (although I think I did roll my eyes once as an obvious punchline arrived), it also didn’t hit for me. So, while I’m sure Kirson has many fans who will be excited to enjoy the 45-minute stand up special, I’m less confident that those like me who weren’t previously aware of her work will take much from it. Having said that, can someone please hire her to headline an animated series?!
Jessica Kirson: I’m the Man is now streaming on Hulu.