The New Zealand Herald

Karl Puschmann

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reason for cancelling someone.

“When I told the joke, the line was here, and it was socially acceptable, right? Now you moved the line back to here, so I won’t go there anymore, I won’t,” he says. “But you can’t get angry because you moved the line and then the f***ing joke was over here.”

A valid argument or a disingenuo­us one? Both, really. It’s unfair to judge jokes of the past by the values of the present but that acknowledg­ment is valid.

This section also highlighte­d a depressing comedy trend. There’s a similar bit in Hannah Gadsby’s excellent new special Douglas in which she too feels compelled to remind the audience at her comedy show that they are watching a comedy show. “Don’t be offended. Don’t be!” she implores. “They’re just jokes.”

It’s almost as if comedy fans can’t take a joke these days . . .

But seriously folks. There is power in words.

This is why we don’t say some and why others get starred out. Punch up,

Jefferies is more like a typical Aussie drunk fighter, splaying punches wildly in all directions and occasional­ly landing a king hit.

not down, is comedy’s unofficial rule.

Jefferies is more like a typical Aussie drunk fighter, splaying punches wildly in all directions and occasional­ly landing a king hit, like his breakthrou­gh bit, Gun Control. He’s at his most funny, however, when he’s punching himself.

All his rants here are digressive tangents that spiral off from the main course of Intolerant; a rambling, shaggy dog story about taking his new girlfriend out for a degustatio­n at a fancy restaurant.

Being lactose-intolerant he can’t eat cheese or ice-cream, which sadly for him are his two favourite foods.

Needless to say when the waiter presents both he scoffs them down — a decision that kick-starts a race against time to get to his home toilet without soiling his pants in front of his new paramour.

It’s hugely funny; juvenile, yes, but hilarious, as unaccounte­d-for events draw his dilemma out to bursting point.

Intolerant is sweary and ranty, distributi­ng its offence over as many groups as possible. It’s also very funny and very clever.

If, of course, you can tolerate it.

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