Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees

Brilliant and unique. Worth a watch. Definitely didn't laugh out loud but a new twist on stand up. The entire skit is about one topic that you can guess based on the title.

She'll keep you on the edge of your seat in ways that you honestly have no idea what she'll say next.

I've never seen stand up spoken so fast and poetic.

She's a very fast spoken individual but very poetic in her way to weave in and out of storylines for 1.5 hours. It will be interesting to see what she comes out with next.

You can tell she's got much more to share as she's got one of racing minds but she's well thought out.

After having seen quite a lot of female comics like Isla Schleisinger and Amy Schumer bomb miserably on stage in Netflix specials, I was quite reluctant to click on this. However, I did. Maybe because the subject matter appealed to my lizard brain. Anyways...

Jacqueline Novak's attitude and rhythm sure are much different than that of her peers. This is more like a single person theatre than a standup show. I don't even recall how Netflix packaged it but to me it came as a bearable and even entertaining version of that "Why Don't You Like Me?" art house woman rant from an episode of Friends.

She performs well.

I mean the walking, rope jumping, breathlessly talking on stage. But jeez, this is almost 100 minutes and I stopped at the 83rd.

I'm pretty sure the whole thing would be more impactful and even funnier to listen to if only a professional had edited down a third of the source material.

It would have become rock-hard material which the audience could handle without a risk of choking on it.

She's funny but..... When you talk so fast you are gasping for air it's off-putting. There's talking fast and talking so fast people are going to miss your jokes. Taking a pause and giving the jokes a chance to land. Watching her even being funny was just unenjoyable when you aren't given a chance to enjoy it. Theirs great material under all that speed slow down so people can appreciate the joke! And make it an hour or split it into 2 shows if the rush is to get it all in in one go then break it into another show at a reasonable pace. How the director would let this happen is a disservice to Jacqueline.

Its true this may be closer to a one man show than a comedy performance, but this touch of theatre over a comedic styled narration demonstrated a refreshing take on what it means to give a solo performance in the age of streaming. The onslaught of words left no time for appreciating each joke, but it also left no time to feel off-put as she navigates socially awkward topics.

It feels like a natural progression in the feminist narrative of taking control of ones life story and casting oneself as the hero even in the face of failures. As other comedians simply look for us to laugh off our failures we can appreciate that looking for poetic dignity through failure is a useful coping skill that we aren't often presented with in this genre.

I felt like it could have almost fallen apart and felt too desperate in what it was reaching for, but the closing of the show was the cherry on top and solidifies her as a great show writer and an authentic performer.

This style may feel off putting from what we are used to in the comedian genre, but I think Novak's critics will look back and realize they were asking Mozart to play less notes - Bravo!

I don't think I have heard such direct sexual in your face comedy from anyone like this. I defy anyone to actually count the times she says ****, ****, *******, ******. Surprisingly it is not done in a crass way. If the idea of full hour of sexual discussion is not uncomfortable for you. Give this a try. It certainly was different.

I would agree, with others, that it was fast paced and densely packed! So it seems longer than it was, and you may feel exhausted at the end.

Was it funny? Yes and no. At no time did I laugh out loud, but I smiled a lot. It is more of a performance. A highly energetic performance.

Bravo, well done Jacqueline.