Summary
The UK’s favorite posh boy is growing up gracefully (sort of). Whitehall is a talented storyteller and captivates his audience through his relatable experiences, expressive face, and questionable accents.
Jack Whitehall is known for being the radical British posh boy, and he’s a genius for always incorporating this in his sets. However, this one takes on a new turn as he’s grown up a lot, and is now on the precipice of being middle-aged — oh, and at the time of filming Settle Down, he had a baby on the way.
In this one-hour Netflix special, Whitehall takes center stage at the huge 02 Arena in London and covers everything from drinking, dining alone, relationships, festivals, animals, diabetes, and settling down and becoming a father.
Settle Down opens with Whitehall walking straight out and wishing London a good evening. Nothing fancy, no pompous circumstances, and he’s looking more refined than ever. He’s also on the water… Which leads to his first joke of the evening.
Whitehall has a strong story-telling style, with some one-liners thrown in to shake up the set. What makes Whitehall so special and funny is his sets are like giant rants — and while he acknowledges his privilege, he still has to rant. These rants can be about customer service in America and how hard online security is becoming.
There’s a fun section about his school days, comparing it to Hogwarts due to its famous former pupils, and how low down he comes in the list on their website. The diabetes section fell a little flat for me. It’s more informative than it is funny.
What I did enjoy is the visual approach (Joe Lycett is famous for this). Whitehall brings up articles on a large screen while he rips into the journalists who wrote them. I love it when comedians do this; it adds another dimension to the set and stage and helps emphasize their story. It makes you feel included and part of the joke, as an audience.
Towards the second half of the show, Jack delves into his girlfriend’s pregnancy, making jokes that her ex Leonardo DiCaprio is the father, and his fears for parenthood. This section is far more relatable due to its raw honesty. Also, childless people love anyone taking the mickey out of parents.
Of course, there has to be a section (or two) about/with Father Whitehall, and it’s brilliant. He’s even in the audience smirking along trying not to laugh.
Like all comedy specials, we have shots of the audience, showing the vast amount of people who’ve paid to see these comedians live. Whitehall interacts with the audience a lot, as we get close-up shots of them laughing and reacting to his set. These make the special far more personal and intimate.
Settle Down is a great special, with mania, manic moments, and plenty of laughs.
Is this Whitehall’s strongest set? In my opinion, no. There were some lulls and the whole special didn’t flow as nicely as previous ones have. However, this is not a reason to avoid his latest.
