Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees

I was told this was hilarious and I needed to see it so I had a watch. There were a few moments that I thought were pretty funny, but then it went on, and on (and on and on and on) delivered at a manic pace that reminded me of a person that is high on speed blasting me in the face with a fire hose of words. She talked so fast and so continuously that I found it exhausting to listen to and it seemed like parts were repeated over and over. Yeah, ok, penis jokes and sex jokes are funny but they're also as old as time so not much new here and this was at least 45 minutes longer than it needed to be. It's not the worst standup I've seen but it's not great either.

Based on the description and the trailer, I figured I'd give the show a try. I tried to stick with it, but the constant back and forth pacing across the stage made it too hard too watch. The pacing was so annoying it districted from the actual material. Someone should have warned her about this prior to the taping. I quit watching after about 5 minutes after I fast forwarded about 20 minutes to see if maybe the pacing stopped. It didn't, so off it went. Too bad because I always like trying out comedians I haven't seen before. Based on the trailer, the material itself was really funny. Maybe I'll give it another try down the road.

Jacqueline Novak is wildly clever-there's no doubt about that. But in Get On Your Knees, her jokes come at you so fast it feels less like a stand-up special and more like speed dating with comedy. She's gasping for air, we're gasping to keep up, and nobody's getting a moment to laugh.

There's fantastic material buried under all that velocity, but it never gets the chance to land. Comedy needs a beat, a breath-something other than a verbal sprint to the finish line. If the goal was to fit it all into one hour, maybe split it into two? Or, radical idea: slow down and let the jokes shine.

It's a missed opportunity by the director, too-someone should've said, "Let's give the brilliance a minute to breathe." Because it's there. You just need superhuman focus (and maybe subtitles) to catch.

This is comedy genius. I can barely describe it. The pacing is dazzling and you need to try to keep up with it. But you get this from the beginning - this must be the way an airplane would speed up along the runway to take off. And it does take off! Bold, poetic, hilarious, this stand up comedy show reaches literary heights that must have made many comedians jealous of this incredible, inexhaustible talent that moves incessantly across the stage leaving you breathless at the end, and unable to believe what you just saw. Unbelievable heights of intelligence! I recommend you watch this with all my heart. But be prepared Jacqueline will have you going for the sprint.

I don't think I have heard such direct sexual in your face comedy from anyone like this. I defy anyone to actually count the times she says ****, ****, *******, ******. Surprisingly it is not done in a crass way. If the idea of full hour of sexual discussion is not uncomfortable for you. Give this a try. It certainly was different.

I would agree, with others, that it was fast paced and densely packed! So it seems longer than it was, and you may feel exhausted at the end.

Was it funny? Yes and no. At no time did I laugh out loud, but I smiled a lot. It is more of a performance. A highly energetic performance.

Bravo, well done Jacqueline.