Chris Lilley's new show - "Jonah From Tonga" - is another in his series about fictitious Australian high school students. This limited-run 6-episode show on HBO looks like it was produced solely for Australian audiences, then picked up by HBO for zero production costs.
It's not like I am watching HBO 24/7 but I didn't see any ads for this new series. I stumbled upon it in the listings and recognized Lilley's name from a previous effort ("Ja'mie: Private School Girl", on HBO in 2013).
Lilley's brand of humor is not for everyone and often comes off as either creepy or racist. In "Ja'mie", Lilley - a 38 year-old man - played a high-school girl which came off as very creepy, even off-putting. For me, there weren't enough funny moments to offset the awkward factor. In this new series, a now-39-year-old Lilley plays a young Tongan teenage boy. Sure, Lilley has a slight build that allows him to play young (think John Leguizamo), but my impression is that Lilley is not nearly as talented as Leguizamo. Just dropping F-bombs and displaying generally contemptible behavior is not enough to make this character watchable.
Lilley is building a stable of disenfranchised characters from presumably fictitious Summer Heights High School. So it wouldn't be surprising to see a movie in the works that incorporates all of the characters, including his signature teens Ja'mie and Jonah.
There are some fans of Lilley's here and that's fine. However, I found his humor to be wanting at best. There may be some cultural things that we Americans don't get, or maybe Lilley's humor is intentionally uncomfortable and awkward - not unlike Andy Kaufman (but again, not as talented as Kaufman). I was able to get through 3 of the "Ja'mie" shows before deciding it just wasn't worth it. After watching the first "Jonah", I won't waste my time on the remaining 5 shows in this limited-run series.
I give Chris Lilley credit for coming up with something original. But, like HBO's "Girls", the show is polarizing, off-putting, and quickly becomes derivative of itself. If you like Lilley's previous shows, then you shouldn't be disappointed by this new one. But if you weren't a fan of "Ja'mie", you might not want to put this one in your DVR lineup. Watch at your own discretion.
It's not like I am watching HBO 24/7 but I didn't see any ads for this new series. I stumbled upon it in the listings and recognized Lilley's name from a previous effort ("Ja'mie: Private School Girl", on HBO in 2013).
Lilley's brand of humor is not for everyone and often comes off as either creepy or racist. In "Ja'mie", Lilley - a 38 year-old man - played a high-school girl which came off as very creepy, even off-putting. For me, there weren't enough funny moments to offset the awkward factor. In this new series, a now-39-year-old Lilley plays a young Tongan teenage boy. Sure, Lilley has a slight build that allows him to play young (think John Leguizamo), but my impression is that Lilley is not nearly as talented as Leguizamo. Just dropping F-bombs and displaying generally contemptible behavior is not enough to make this character watchable.
Lilley is building a stable of disenfranchised characters from presumably fictitious Summer Heights High School. So it wouldn't be surprising to see a movie in the works that incorporates all of the characters, including his signature teens Ja'mie and Jonah.
There are some fans of Lilley's here and that's fine. However, I found his humor to be wanting at best. There may be some cultural things that we Americans don't get, or maybe Lilley's humor is intentionally uncomfortable and awkward - not unlike Andy Kaufman (but again, not as talented as Kaufman). I was able to get through 3 of the "Ja'mie" shows before deciding it just wasn't worth it. After watching the first "Jonah", I won't waste my time on the remaining 5 shows in this limited-run series.
I give Chris Lilley credit for coming up with something original. But, like HBO's "Girls", the show is polarizing, off-putting, and quickly becomes derivative of itself. If you like Lilley's previous shows, then you shouldn't be disappointed by this new one. But if you weren't a fan of "Ja'mie", you might not want to put this one in your DVR lineup. Watch at your own discretion.