Australian funnyman Jim Jefferies has taken a gamble with naming his latest Netflix special. High ‘n’ Dry may be a worry for those in the audience, but Jefferies maintains his Netflix-produced form. He comes out swinging, the man himself back on the stage and proving consistent in the face of a bang-average predecessor set. His introspective moments have been replaced by catching up with the pandemic-ridden world, jumping off that diving board into koala’s, anecdotes and finding his footing now that Jefferies is back on stage. He looks back in anger with that intonation of higher-pitched vocal as he bashes back against climate change with coloured bins and decent collections of nicely tuned writing.
High n’ Dry is as scattershot and broad as it gets, but the effective status of Jefferies’ persistence comes from charming contrasts. Suitcase wheels, bin lids, all those mundanities are the new form Jefferies takes place. They are the new form of his stand-up work, a stark contrast to the drunken ramblings that formed his earlier, greater moments. But it is good to see Jefferies is still storming through with stories, they are now punching with modern political relevancy, and they neither need it nor rely on it. Jefferies is, as ever, a storyteller. He chases hot topics and sometimes comes to decent, entertaining conclusions. Scott Zabielski has directed this trio of stand-up experiences, and his directing is, as ever, serviceable.
Defending the bald and the back-and-forth Jefferies gives to stories and anecdotes here are a little shaky. He hops onto the Academy Awards controversies after fumbling his way through the usually consistent turns of phrase and connections from point to point. Some of it feels wandering. Taking aim at Elton John and the encore experience is quite the treat, though. Those moments see Jefferies shine through with that irreverent style, the usual suspects of his setlist are now a refined change of pace that see him deal with fatherhood. Few comedians have successfully mounted change after change, but Jefferies has done so with honesty for his audience, and although it begins to dwindle, he stands firm against the flickers of a former flame that no longer represents his style.
Not much in the sense of laugh-out-loud, eye-watering moments, but a nice selection of chuckles in the face of natural disasters and a perplexing variety of real-life experiences. Very nice work overall, nothing to write home about and hail the return of a powerhouse stand-up, but a nice hour that, for all its stutters, maintains the work of Jefferies. They are nicely worked moments that catch the passive audience up with what he has been doing, where he finds himself in life and what he hopes to achieve with his new slate of stand-up specials. They do not lack any less because he has stopped drinking, it is just Jefferies attempting to find his footing as he does in life also. Sticking that on the stage is a risk, and it just about pays off for High n’ Dry.
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