By Nicole Horton
Anthony Jeselnik takes on political correctness and controversial issues. Charles Sykes/AP
The title of Anthony Jeselnik’s Netflix comedy special “Thoughts and Prayers” was inspired by the joke he tweeted soon after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. He tweeted, “There are some lines that should not be crossed today, especially the finish line.”
“I found that people, they wanted just one reaction to a tragedy, and that is they wanted you to say, ‘My thoughts and prayers are with you.’ And I thought it was such an empty sentiment that I thought, let me attack this,” Jeselnik tells “Entertainment Weekly” of that tweet. “My goal for this special is that no one will be able to use that phrase again without feeling like an idiot.”
Jeselnik definitely challenges the notion of political correctness and what is “okay” to laugh about, whether it is death, child molestation, racism, abortion or any other taboo subject. If you do find his dark humor funny, it is still not the laugh-out-loud funny that audiences have come to expect from comedy specials. Unlike other popular comedians like Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart and Amy Schumer, Jeselnik does not use his experiences and the people in his life as inspiration. Regardless of whether you appreciate his humor or not, “Thoughts and Prayers” is very different from other Netflix comedy specials and is worth a look. However, if you want to stop watching early and miss another dead baby or abortion joke, that is up to you.
Jeselnik has a slow swagger and uses misdirection before getting to the punchline. His smirk and intense gaze never waver, and you begin to wonder if he is truly unapologetic.
The formula for the special is best explained by the following: Jeselnik jokes about political correctness and what people are not supposed to say before he, of course, says it. Then he explains why people hate the joke and why they are wrong. However, he seems to give conflicting notions about why he makes those types of jokes. In this special and his overall mentality, it seems that Jeselnik is capitalizing on controversial issues, rather than being a daring comic like he wants people to believe.
