Ja'mie: Private School Girl (2013) User Reviews

She's Back!

[sj1-750-343344 · 8/10 · 28 December 2013]

Ah, the horrible Miss King returns bigger than ever! To clear this up for many of you, yes, it is Chris Lilley dressed as a teenage girl. This in itself isn't meant to be funny, what is hilarious is that he perfectly nails the nasty, self-obsessed, delusional teenage girls that many of us have encountered at one point and time in our lives. So much so, that his mannerisms and affect are flawless.

This series is a masterpiece of observation, is meant to be self-deprecating and like much of Aussie and Brit humour walks the fine line between hilarity and cringe worthiness. The creepy skype scene between Jam'ie and her grandfather is one such example.

My only disappointment with this series are the unnecessary cut scenes that seem like padding. Kind of reminiscent of an old 90210 episode! Other than, supporting cast are terrific and really expand on the small segments of Jam'ie's life that we have seen in other Lilley series such as We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Would highly recommend though not for those who find the run of the mill American sitcoms amusing.

Hilarious!!

[Emma_Marie29 · 8/10 · 5 July 2018]

Binge-watched it three times back-to-back. I don't know how Chris Lilley can manage a straight enough face to carry this off; but he does.

Good but...

[surfs_up_55 · 8/10 · 6 November 2013]

As a huge fan of We Can Be Heroes, SHH, and Angry Boys, I basically knew this was going to be a great show. However I think this one has missed the mark. Don't get me wrong, Lilley does another fantastic job (as always) with Ja'mie. It just feels so repetitive. I went through the first 2 episodes without even laughing really, maybe cracking the odd smile. With the show focused just on Ja'mie it allows us more time to explore her life as opposed to her getting only a third of the screen time. In Lilley's past shows it seemed very fresh to keep changing scenarios with his many other characters waiting in the wings, but now that its all Ja'mie it just seems so blahhh. Very girly humour, very familiar situations, and same old Ja'mie. I would still rate it an 7 or 8/10, but its far inferior to Lilley's other works. But what do I know, Im Canadian.

Its light, its all in jest, and its fun!

[warren-232-934862 · 9/10 · 9 February 2014]

I have seen some ordinary reviews for Ja'mie ( added the apostrophe in year 8 ) - but guess they must be from people who take the whole set-up seriously and can't get their head round a middle aged comedian doing a wonderful job as an over-the-top snobby head girl ! Benny Hill did some similar skits years ago ; that likewise were very funny ; Ja'mie is a combination of slap-stick - Dame Edna, over-the-top great Aussie humour taking a wonderful swipe at many of the US college type shows were the spiteful blonde beauty loses her boyfriend to the plain new girl who turns out to be a glamour. This is a show that aging dad ( me ) and teen daughter both love and has us both cracking up in parts. e.g. The flat chested Ja'mie on being targeted by some more developed 'borders' at the school ; "Why don't you go cook your dinner, I bet your having Lesbianese"

Funniest and most accurate representation of private schools

[chocolatemellowfriend · 10/10 · 12 October 2014]

before I begin, I have to say something. I live on the North Shore of Sydney, right in the heart of the private school culture of where Ja'mie is set. And I have to say, Chris Lilley is 100% spot on in this role.

Everyone I know who lives in this area of Sydney finds Ja'mie hilarious because it is just so accurate. It isn't exaggerating at all. Lilley went to a private school and modeled the character off the girls there. he gets the character so right! The humor is very vulgar in parts and the mockumentary style isn't for everyone, but this show is the best portrayal of a Sydney private school I have ever seen and if you understand the culture, you'll be on the floor with tears of laughter.

I find that generally Americans don't "get" the humour as much, but Aussies will definitely enjoy it.

A bit better than Jonah From Tonga

[briancham1994 · 7/10 · 14 June 2020]

These spinoffs from the Summer Heights High TV show feature one of the characters in depth rather than switching between them. This gives us more focus but at the expense of wearing the material thin. I think I liked the original format more because it kept things fresh. Still, I think that Ja'mie had a better spinoff than Jonah as she is more interesting and there is more that can be done with her character.

Hilarious comedy blends humor and stereotypes perfectly!

[tayloro-24562 · 8/10 · 10 May 2021]

Chris Lilley is very reliable when counting on someone to produce a great comedy. Personally, Ja'mie's character portrays the stereotypes associated with spoilt teenage girls and gives the audience such a good laugh. Well done Chris Lilley!

Series improves as it goes along. 65%

[dfle3 · 6/10 · 22 December 2013]

This is the latest in creator/star Chris Lilley's mockumentaries, which often have crossover characters, like this one (Ja'mie King, who appeared in Lilley's very first such mockumentary and subsequent ones). Where this differs from his earlier efforts is in only having one primary character as the focus. This is the series biggest problem, it seems to me (and having looking at some professional reviews, I see that that is a common theme of criticism too).

Must admit to only discovering Lilley's work late in the piece...I only watched his first series ("We can be heroes") in repeat and got enough out of it to continue following his work. Perhaps it would be wise to follow his work chronologically too, just so that you are familiar with where his characters come from.

In any case, the entire six episodes of this series is devoted to the appalling and self-absorbed elite high school girl Ja'mie King. We spend a lot of time with her obsequious clique as well as some boys which catch her interest. Her long suffering parents are occasionally seen too.

If I was to liken this style of comedy to others I have seen, it would be stuff like Ricky Gervais' work as well as a show like "Portandia". The latter comparison is apt, I think...neither show is uproariously funny in my view but it has a mild satirical edge which makes it watchable. Unlike the best of Gervais' work, Lilley struggles in this series with fleshing out characters other than his own...like the Ellen DeGeneres sitcom, it's pretty much a one-man show (erm...woman...erm...)...and that's a bad thing. Things do improve for other characters in the second half of the series. Actually, there are some fringe characters who perhaps deserved more and better material...they did have some interest in and of themselves, but they're pretty much limited to being Ja'mie's punching bags for the time that they are on screen.

Also have to admit to finding watching the series a grind at first...I let recordings pile up and only finished watching the series last night (22/12/2013). If the series had continued in the vein of the first half, I might even have ditched watching the series altogether. Having seen some very low scores for the series in the U.S. reviews (when the series first started...it's still playing now) I can see why...but it seems unfair to judge a series based on one or two episodes. Since the second half of the series improved, I'm bumping up my score to 65%. It would have been lucky to get 50% based on the first half of it. The first half had quite a focus on the neologisms of Ja'mie but this time around they weren't quite as accessible and memorable as in "Summer Heights High". It felt forced, in other words.

From the second half of the series, 'moments' which appealed to me included the character of Kwami having had a little too much of Ja'mie's ways rub off on him (providing a moment of true pathos) as well as her parents in the final episode...that moment on the couch between them. He says something quite mean, but it's funny...on reflection, however, I think that that moment had great irony...he provided his own 'Ja'mie' moment right there, undermining his assertion!

Since this is a series of two halves, it's hard to know how to suggest you proceed with it...if you love the first three episodes, the last three will be different...more or less funny you. Otherwise, if you don't like the first three episodes, perhaps stick it out. The arc of the character/series is like a parabola...there...that's a helpful analogy, right? Or, how about a "U" shape? Better?

Don't be fooled by the subject of this series being a teenage girl...she is really vicious and nasty to her parents...there's a lot swearing in this series and adult themes. A little nudity too.

Just by the by, the music used in this series seems familiar...perhaps Chris uses a motif throughout all his work?

Whilst this series/character initially doesn't sustain interest/entertainment value, it does turn around. Not for everyone, but an acquired taste, especially here, as Chris doesn't spread the comedy workload among multiple main characters.

The end of the final programme also had a promotion for his next series..."Jonah", which was a popular character of his from "Angry boys". Hopefully Lilley will be able to sustain a single character comedy series more successfully next time.

Hahahahha

[jessicanrodriguez · 10/10 · 25 July 2021]

Too funny it's hysterical ! You'll get a good laugh it's all fun guys !!! :) sad how it didn't go on for so long :( much love.

Ja'mie is back bigger and better!

[dgawrych78 · 10/10 · 25 October 2013]

Ja'mie, the character we all loved and quoted many times from Summer Heights High and is back with a spin-off.

"Ja'mie: Private School Girl" Documents Ja'mies life as she finishes her final year of schooling.

I must say I really enjoyed watching the first episode. Ja'mie's comments, critiques, insults, and melt downs are featured throughout the whole episode and I hope the whole series can maintain this. Basically it is exactly like a little "skit" we see from time to time on Summer Heights High except compiled into one whole episode with all attention on her (like it's never been that way)

I base my score on this episode not from a media perspective but more on the character as it is a spin-off. I must say it seems like nothing has changed since the end of Summer Heights High character wise; it's just escalated to another level.

My expectations were met with this episode. The character remains like we got to know her, but with majority of screen time based on Ja'mie, it's a lot better. I hope to see in the future of the series Ja'mie visiting or contacting the friends she made at Summer Heights High and totally slam them off as she does with her old friends, or possibly still be friends? This isn't something that would fit in with Ja'mie's character but seeing her old friends incorporated will be awesome.

My main 2 negative for this episode was the use of the world "Yolo" (which I hope isn't over used throughout the series) and the fact that the principle character straight away reminded me of Doug Peterson. The tone of his voice and the dialogue was very similar. Other than that it was a pretty hilarious episode!

If you liked Summer Heights High then I highly recommend watching this. From someone who hasn't seen it and doesn't know what to expect from this character, they would probably have mixed reviews about it.

I tried... I really did.

[newcastle57 · 2/10 · 5 January 2014]

I wanted to like it. I loved Summer Heights High. I thought Angry Boys struggled a bit, but it definitely achieved a spot on the TIVO. But this... my oh my. To say that Ja'mie is completely devoid of redeeming features doesn't begin to describe the hatefulness, the vitriol, the scheming - and that's just the first episode. There is nothing funny about it. I take no issue with Chris Lilley dressing up as a teenage girl - Glenn Close was fabulous as Albert Nobbs. Cross-dressing has a venerated tradition in theatre. What bothers me is that there will be young people watching who have a Ja'mie in their lives; an over-indulged mean girl (or boy) who targets parents (presented as beyond clueless), classmates (beyond fawning), and teachers (beyond ineffective) with foul-mouthed diatribes and scathing personal attacks. But they are offered no hope that their Ja'mie will ever face any consequences. The message is that the horrible thrive, and there's nothing you can do about it. I understand satire. But this ain't it.

Ja'mazing

[livithenerd · 10/10 · 3 November 2013]

After watching We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High I was thrilled to hear that Chris Lilley decided to make a TV show based around Ja'mie King! So far the show has not disappointed me one bit and I cannot wait to see what Lilley has in store for us later on in the series! We are introduced to Ja'mie's family life as well as her school one. The show battles many of the issues facing current teenagers with humour. Lilley has even invented his own slang terms like "Quiche" which means hotter than hot and "box gap" which is the gap between the top of your thighs. The show already has a large cult audience with teenagers all over the world admiring Ja'mie. The show quickly spread its following due to social media sites like 'Twitter' and 'Tumblr', which Ja'mie has accounts on. I can see this show becoming the new 'Freaks and Geeks' with it's cult audience. 10/10

Reminds me why I was happy to graduate high school

[truthdiva79 · 1/10 · 23 December 2013]

I've given it 5 episodes. It's like Groundhog Day, but in the life of a teenage uber drama queen. It's Mean Girls meets drag queens. I'll give him one thing, he's spot on with how catty, fickle, petty, and entitled teenage girls are. But can't imagine why anyone would want to watch episode after episode of out of control teen girls.

I can see teen girls thinking this show is funny since they relate. But I imagine everyone would, using Ja'mie's own words, think "It's like really annoying." I saw a drag queen blog that ripped the show for putting a trashy spin on drag.

I think I would take Chinese water torture over watching another episode. Sorry, Aussies. If this is how you want to be repped... I'll skill the trip down under.

Not Funny, Just Bizarre

[tawnminator · 1/10 · 29 November 2013]

I don't get why a middle-aged man is playing the role of a teenage girl at a private girl's school and why this is supposed to be so hilarious. I could understand if this was a trans character with a teen boy playing a teen girl, but this old dude??

There's just something inherently not funny about an older man in drag attempting to act like a teen girl. Watching a middle-aged man in drag cutsie up to another middle-aged man playing "her" father and beg for cell phones and clothes is just plain bizarre.

Yuck is a word to describe the concept, the acting, the lines...everything.

I dream of forgetting it

[nizhniktim · 1/10 · 4 November 2023]

This is the dumbest, not funny, poorly directed series I've ever watched in my life. I want to warn everyone who ever wants to watch this series that you won't find anything in it. Waste of time.

Terrible empty dialogues that do not advance the plot in any way, although in this setting mockumentary, especially about school / college life, you can come up with an infinite number of plots.

You can understand that the series was conceived as a satire, but there is not even a single joke in it, just empty chatter with constant repetitions and incredibly protracted scenes.

The idea to put a man on the main female role of a schoolgirl is really not bad, but there is absolutely nothing behind it and it looks like a cringe.

Creepy

[sean-43554 · 1/10 · 17 June 2023]

The fact a middle aged man closely interact with a vast amount of school girls, creeps me out.

This includes physical interactions and performing a lap dance and strip show with / in presence of teenage girls. Very cringe

Mitch, the Rugby Player cannot act, I was a former semi professional rugby league player, and Mitchell cannot pass the ball / position himself correctly in a rugby game . He cannot pass the ball correctly He wore number 1 - in rugby he is a prop forward., which due to his small physique is highly doubtful . He appears to trying to pass the ball as a fly half making number 10 or 9. Either way, he has never handled a football before filming

It's a poorly written , juvenile , over the top , poorly acted series .