James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome

I love James Acaster I think he is brilliant. His recalls to his past special on netflix (Repetoir) was brilliant and hit. I thought his jokes were funny and so bizarre which perfectly encapsulates James. The problem I had is that I felt I had to have been there. Whenever crowd work happened it felt like it was a joke I wasn't in on - the perfect analogy is when your friends are laughing about something and tell you that you had to have been there, so you kind of laugh along and kind of get it. Though I say this his crowd work is tremendous and he seems a lot happier and enjoying comedy more than he has. I think he's honest and understands that what he says can influence people - this shows as he uses his voice for good. Personally if you are a fan of James you'll love this.

If you guys are just finding James from this special, you must find more. He has a collection of specials on Netflix, a comedy special on Vimeo (one of the funniest I've ever seen), and is on a complete series of Taskmaster (free on YouTube). This special is a bit disjointed, irregular, and post-modern. This is due to James having done this for a while. His previous routines (in the previous specials) are more "normal," but James is generally far from normal.

In "Hecklers Welcome", James has fully detached himself from his "Repertoire" days and he seems fully liberated (or fully on his way). I could not imagine this being my introduction to James, but, again, if it is, please seek more. Then, after consuming the other content come back here to this special. I don't hope that I'm implying that you must view James's other material first, but this material is enhanced by the viewing of his previous material. Parasocially, I am so proud of where James has ended up in his career and, while I hope selfishly that he continues doing stand-up, I would understand him hanging up the microphone.

James is one of the best comedians to do it, and, like a brilliant comet, may not be around forever. So, we must relish in his brilliance while we can.

I love for comedy specials and try to watch as many as possible. There are plenty or European or international comics who I have watched and loved.

This one was truly awful. I don't think I laughed once. Stunning how bad it is for it to be on Max, which has put out brilliant specials this year like Hannah Einbinder, Alex Edelman and Seth Meyers to name a few. I read a review that compared him to the brilliant Bo Burnham, and I don't see the comparison on any level. Even the crowd at the taping looked like they didn't understand what was going on.

Maybe this is primarily for a European audience that is more familiar with his previous work, but I feel like I went into it with a pretty open mind and I still don't understand the appeal on any level.

Heckler's Welcome provides a glimpse into one of James Acaster's greatest stand up tours, showcasing some of his strongest material and showing that he's grown as a comedian and celebrity.

For any budding comedian, Heckler's welcome is perhaps a masterclass of how to talk about real feelings (some of which aren't innately hilarious) without brining the vibe down.

My main criticism of Hecklers Welcome is the same thing that made the live show great. Hecklers Welcome is a more interactive experience than most stand up shows, the show gave an opportunity to get involved, and literally have a say in how the show plays out, and be part of the joke. Watching the prerecorded show places the viewer on the outside looking in, we're not part of the joke anymore so the thing that was so joyous about the show is now missing. It somewhat reminded me of sleep paralysis, being so eager to speak or be involved but being held down by an invisible barrier.

While this criticism may seem damning, the show is still among the best James Acaster content out there and was a very enjoyable watch.

Easily the worst stand up I've ever seen.

Had to turn it off.

How can someone who's very funny on a panel show be so bad at delivering a stand up show.

Absolute disaster, and ever funnier that he is berating other comedians when this is all he has to deliver, and also gives a nod to Nish Kumar as someone who go he thinks is funny is just comical for all the wrong reasons.

I would spend me time doing anything to else than watching this.

Despite being hilarious on panel shows, seems Acaster is just the comedy version of the chubby bloke from the Kaiser Chiefs. Some middle of the road nonsense man.