Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was...

Jamie Foxx is a natural storyteller, and this shines through in his retelling of his health scare. Though he recounts a frightening and emotional experience, he skillfully lightens the mood with humor, cracking jokes about his time in the hospital and his interactions with the medical staff.

This balance between comedy and vulnerability creates an uneven but engaging experience. One moment, Foxx is on the verge of tears, and the next, he's delivering expletive-filled jokes that leave the audience laughing.

At its core, this is a testament to his gratitude-for life, for a second chance, and for the people who supported him through the ordeal. While it's not a traditional stand-up special, it's an entertaining and heartfelt reflection on survival, resilience, and appreciation.

What Had Happened Was... is a slightly erratic and highly emotional special that addresses the biggest question straight away from the only perspective that really matters. It's Jamie Foxx setting the record straight in his own words in a deeply open fashion whilst still finding the time to get a few big laughs from what he's been through. His uncannily accurate impressions get time to shine and he spends so much of this special on the verge of tears which keeps it highly investing.

The atmosphere of the special is pretty strong thanks to a really responsive crowd who are always on board with what Jamie does and there's some great reactions from them. The musical interludes are equal parts funny and emotional and they elicit big reactions from the crowd as does his sermon-like storytelling, culminating in a well deserved standing ovation to ensure this ends on a pretty big high to counterbalance most of the issues beforehand.

What happened was I had no idea what happened to Jamie Foxx so I thought to myself I didn't know Jamie Foxx did stand-up, and everybody was talking about this so I should check it out. Imagine expecting jokes and you get a confessional / testimonial of this guy's stroke journey, complete with gratitude and praising god. So I did not really resonate with this cause I don't really resonate all that much with Jamie Foxx and this discourse is clearly tailored to his black audience, and there are some funny bits here and there, I won't deny it, but not enough to keep me invested. I actually paused it straight in the middle weeks ago and finished it just now just for the sake of finishing it. This second part did have some funny stuff like the Denzel, Chappelle and the Trump impersonations (the last one was totally unexpected, but so, so good) and he ended it on a high with singing, so that was good. But not really worth my time if I'm honest. Not my thing.

Jamie Fox is indisputably one talented man. But he is just a human man. He seems to be floored that he should suffer a normal human ailment. He is so arrogant he doesn't seem to understand that people with far less resources go through exactly what he went through every day and they also recover. And they also get through it whether they believe or "find" god or not. Yes, he's talented. But he is also incredibly self indulgent. So if you want to spend an hour worshipping Jamie Foxx, this is the perfect vehicle. But if you have ever been or loved a person who has worked through a similar personal tragedy, you will likely find this "comedy special" tedious, over the top self congratulatory, and definitely lacking in any depth or self reflection.

I appreciated that it wasn't a traditional stand-up comedy show-he blended impersonations, music, and footage from past projects, which I found refreshing and creative. I also understand and respect his gratitude for a second chance at life. However, I didn't care for the frequent use of the N-word, excessive profanity, and how talk about God was mixed in with it. I believe he could express the same messages without the profanity and the N-word. That said, I loved seeing his daughters as part of the show, and it was clear how genuinely thankful he is for his journey and the opportunity to live For Life.