Reviewed by:
InDaily
Review by Kurtis Eichler |
11 March 2022
If you happened to miss any of the press for stand-up stalwart Jimeoinâs new Fringe show, it promises something like this: a âferocious onslaught of gags and a constant stream of laughter⌠unlike anything youâve ever seen.â
Perhaps whoever wrote that saw only the last few minutes of the Irish comedianâs ânewâ hour-long show, Jimeoin LIVE.
Jimeoin is a Fringe veteran. He draws in big crowds, mostly folk who remember his early stand-up from the 1990s and 2000s or at least remember their dad laughing along to it.
But the true success stories of the Fringe, the performers who come back year after year to sold-out tents, reinvent their shows. Jimeoin takes a bet on sticking to a tired formula, and it doesnât pay off.
To the blasting sounds of Survivorâs âEye of the Tigerâ, he bounds on stage and declares: âThereâs a few restrictions in place and Iâve been asked to tell you about them: youâre only allowed to laugh at every other joke.â He also tells audience members they donât have to listen to all the show; they can âtune in and tune outâ. They appear to take this literally.
Laughs are scattered as Jimeoin phones it in, trotting out the predictable COVID-19 gags alongside stories about his marriage, masturbation, Mick Jaggerâs dancing and Prince Andrew. Thereâs one recycled joke I swear my grandfather told me 15 years ago.
Jimeoin knows when some jokes donât soar. A gag about the Queenâs wave doesnât fly, and he admits, âsome of these jokes arenât great, but youâve got to go with it, otherwise it will be a long nightâ.
He too often strays into areas that are hackneyed. Gags about lepers, transgender people, homosexuality, religion and the Vikings are pretty dated. âThe Vikings did well â they raped and pillaged everywhere they went, which was acceptable behaviour back then. Of course you couldnât do it now â the worldâs gone mad.â
Jimeoin pulls out his guitar for what is his best work of the night â some tongue-in-cheek songs that deliver the laughs, finally, when the curtain is about to fall.
At various other points, his trademark Jim Carrey-esque facial expressions get the jokes across the line. But it canât save them all.
âIâve got these jokes, Iâve written them down and if they donât work I just give them a little tick,â he tells the audience after one falls flat. âThatâs definitely in the âneeds work sectionâ, which every night seems to be getting longer.â