Just a Cheeky Heads Up That ‘I Think You Should Leave’ Is The Funniest Show Of 2019
Are you aware of the demon child Bart Harley Jarvis? Have you stumbled upon the meme of that old fella dabbing in a boardroom? Has anyone tried to sell you fifty Stanzo branded fedoras lately? What about that song about the skeletons coming to life, that one popped up in your mentions anytime? Or has anyone told you you’re not a part of the Turbo Team? Or tried to play you a viral video of Bozo the Clown except somebody’s voiced over the clown and it might have been Bozo but there’s only one view and it was uploaded at 6am this morning? Surely you’re familiar with The Garfield House, right?
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is a Netflix sketch comedy and if none of those references made you cackle aloud then you haven’t seen it yet and you really should. Like, as soon as possible. I mean don’t even bother finishing this article, I’m telling you right now that this is must watch comedy and ignoring this impulse any longer would be a betrayal on levels that nobody has ever seen. I think you should leave and watch it already. Go on. Get.
It’s been a while since there was such a meme-able sketch comedy show on telly, not since ol’ Key and Peele wrapped up have we had such a luxury. ITYSL doesn’t get nearly as big picture social/cultural/political as that one did though, this one’s more about those internal moments. Most sketches take an awkward social interaction and stretch it out with a dose of absurdity. The opening skit is of a fella at a job interview who, having made a good impression, doesn’t want to spoil that by admitting he tried to walk out the in-door so he, at enormous physical exertion, rips the damn door off the handle rather than accepting his mistake and risking looking stupid (it does both, I was here yesterday). It’s cringingly hilarious and it’s followed straight after by a skit so goddamn funny that I had tears balling up the THIRD time I watched it: The Baby of the Year extravaganza.
The beauty of this show is that, being on Netflix, there’s a looser time frame without those dastardly scheduled network ads to squeeze in and so they keep these things to a cheeky sorta 15-20 minutes in length… which as it turns out is the exact ideal length for a skit show. You’re probably dropping two skits per ep to keep it right in the Q-Zone and that’s shredding all the filler that you didn’t really need. Nothing extraneous. Nothing unnecessary. Nothing short of brilliant.
Main fella Tim Robinson is a veteran of the Saturday Night Live writer’s room and is probably most famous as a performer for his previous show Detroiters… which I’m sure is great too but I’ve never seen it so chuck that on the list for next time. With those SNL connections he manages to hook in some supremely talented guests along the way (Andy Samberg, Vanessa Bayer, Will Forte) but it’d be a lie to say that the humour here is SNL-esque. Not even close, to be honest. These yarns are tightly packed, impeccably scripted, sharply edited, and delightfully performed. They don’t succeed because they’re live and unhinged, nor because they’re outrageous and loud (though they can definitely be both of the latter, to be fair)… they succeed thanks to the writers’ ability to find authentic emotion in crazy situations (personal faves: the ends of both the nacho-date guy sketch and the choking at the restaurant one, as well as the sheer devastation with the whoopee cushion… ah bugger it and also the hot dog car crash… and Garfield House as well… you get the point). That and also because, well, they’re just straight up hilarious. Simple as that.
I mean, the success rate of this show is unprecedented. It’s not a lie to say that I’ve laughed at literally every single sketch of this thing. I’ve seen them all at least twice, most of them three times or more, and even the ones that didn’t catch at first turned out to be gut-busting upon repeat viewing (Santa should’ve wrapped it, the skeletons coming to life, stop scamming adults into thinking they’re stars, the inappropriate funeral organist… to name a few of the growers). Plus the songs are sneakily amazing as well, which is always a pleasant surprise with comedy. Nothing can top the skeletons but Fri-Day Niiiight is close and of course who can ignore the Baby of the Year intro. Moon River Rock less so, but that was an aesthetic choice… oh mate and I just remembered the TC Tuggers ad… good lord. Although they’re not a joke – you don’t wear TC Tuggers ironically, you have to realise that. Get to class now.
Oh yeah and the theme tune, Doris Wilson’s 60s soul banger Big Flame, is a finger-clicking foot-stomper too. Always gotta appreciate a fine theme tune.
Humour is subjective so what one person finds funny won’t necessarily translate to the next but honestly I was stunned at how brilliant this thing is and the references have been flying thick and fast between those who’ve caught the bug (they must have used too small a slice?). I mean I haven’t even gotten to the Chunky Game Show skit yet, that was a bawler as well. Shout out to Andy Samberg on the cameo – The Lonely Island are producers of this thing and if SNL isn’t a great comparison then TLI surely is. Their new baseball thing is also hilarious but in a way more wtf kinda way. Narratively flawed… but conceptually outrageous.
The only drama here is that there are only six episodes to peruse through, however that drama’s lifted by the sheer rewatchability of a show that delivers new laughs with each new viewing, so you won’t mind if I eat the receipt. And shout out to Netflix who know a good thing when they see it because it was renewed for a second season a month back, which is a relief because as we know Paul has no good car ideas. Also that chimp just stole my hair.
Basically, I’m just saying you need to watch this thing. Promptly. Because they don’t stay babies forever, idiot.
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