Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Simon Amstell: Set Free’ on Netflix, Which Will Make Us Realize Stand-up and Psychotherapy Can Be One and the Same

The latest entry in Netflix’s ever-growing comedy library is Simon Amstell: Set Free, the British comedian’s first stand-up special for the streaming giant. It’ll likely function to introduce international audiences to Amstell — audiences who, after experiencing his brand of efficient, characteristically dry, often deeply personal comedy, might be surprised to learn that he’s best known in England for being a game-show host. Stand-up was his first love, however — he did his first gig at age 13 — and those watching him for the first time on Set Free will no doubt appreciate his expertly crafted delivery and exquisitely fine-tuned persona.

SIMON AMSTELL: SET FREE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Simon Amstell is a reasonably famous gay man from divorced parents. The material in Set Free is comprised almost exclusively of the fallout from these three biographical facts. He’s boldly confessional, frequently existential and unexpectedly crass. You get the sense that comedy is deeply psychotherapeutic for him — and going to psychotherapy is one of his topics, because if therapy is a place to talk about your problems, the stage is the place to talk about therapy itself. To Amstell, this is a strictly logical progression.

Apologies if this description is too serious. With exquisite wit, Amstell slices through topics ranging from the absurdity of a modern royal family, to the basic questions of the meaning of existence, to his troubled relationship with his religious father to, well, defecation. His mannered delivery makes his occasional slides into crudity seem quite surprising. And sometimes, his slight oversharing becomes the joke itself: “I don’t know if that bit was worth the truth,” he quips.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Amstell’s confessional style is at least peripherally comparable to Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia and Eddie Izzard — all of whose comedy specials we’ve seen, right? Right.

Memorable Dialogue: “Are you desperately filling the time so you don’t feel any pain?” Amstell asks the audience. “Well, you came to the wrong show.”

Sex and Skin: Funny, isn’t it, how my American perspective renders a British man’s comedy more sophisticated even though he jokes about washing semen off his hands in a Parisian fountain.

Our Take: The best comedy is that which finds a sensitive nerve and tickles it. It needn’t be merciless, the tickling — but just enough to make you feel like you’re laughing in spite of yourself. Of his father’s attempt to be a hypnotherapist, Amstell says, “You can’t be the therapist, you’re the trauma!” And we laugh through the cringe. Of the nature of time and existence itself, he says, “I think the problem is, we don’t die quick enough.” And I’m tempted to call it “light” fatalism, because it’s funny, and he says it in a mannered, perfectly British way. But isn’t fatalism just fatalism?

In other words, we’re all going to die, and Simon Amstell is here to remind us of that. Oh, and that we should probably laugh more than occasionally, lest existence be an unbearable trudge through the swamps of misery. He tells lengthy, mildly embarrassing stories about his attempts to get out of his head long enough to be in the moment — experimenting with drugs, attending sex parties, going on spiritual retreats. And in doing so, he gets us to laugh, puts us in the moment, right here and now, because what’s more immediate than laughter?

Our Call: STREAM IT. It may take newcomers a few minutes to acclimate to Amstell’s personality and style. But as Set Free gains momentum, his intent becomes clear, and the laughs deepen. Amstell’s comedy isn’t just funny — it’s psycho-spiritual medicine.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream Simon Amstell: Set Free on Netflix