Simon Amstell: Set Free

Just what i needed. Did not know of Simon before this and.... i love him ! So happy i came upon this on netflix !

Didn't know I was a Simon Amstell fan till watching this. He seems to see the world much like I do. Not the snarky host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks I'd been used to in the past. As irreverent as usual but with a deeper self awareness as he opens up about his life.

There are plenty of well-written lines and strong wordlplay to keep the viewer entertained. The subjects he discusses are sometimes more personal than his previous shows, but where he normally has the ability of making the personal universal, he gets a bit self-indulgent at points and I couldn't relate to some of his material at all.

The segues are a little clunky and he jumps from musings on sex, to the royal family, to LA gurus, without much grace. While interesting, it comes across as a little incoherent and lacking in thematic reinforcement, which was a strong point in his other shows. It is loosely framed by his relationship with his father, but this doesn't really go anywhere interesting.

At least there are jokes - which is not to be underestimated. It sags in the middle where he gets a bit derailed by his own opinions and there are various takes on religion/mysticism which feel undercooked, but just as he starts to get preachy, he resolves the bit with a decent punchline or skit. Then it fizzles out towards the end.

So it's a bit all over the place and he's capable of much more refinement, but it's certainly not terrible or boring. It's a decent show, but I think I was expecting a more mature product from a seasoned comedian.

It's more wholesome than shocking, more therapy than comedy and really more like listening to that one friend we all have that has had two beers too many and is sharing more than you like him to. It wasn't bad, just a tad tame.

I have seen all of Simon Amstells shows live and honestly I went for the comedy to just laugh and enjoy myself for an hour but his stories about just living life as best you can and being in the moment without expectations and anxiety are quite uplifting and thought provoking while his problems and depression made things in his life difficult and complicated at times he kept on trying to experience new things and not be held back by them and while some jokes can come across as dark or depressing they are funny because they are real and something we all feel at some point in our lifes the bad thoughts the good thoughts we all have them and Simon shares his thoughts and stories on stage to make us laugh and think.