“Stage Fright”

By Megan Bormann

Actor and comedian Jenny Slate has made her Netflix comedy debut in her new special, titled “Stage Fright.” The show can only be described as a confusing mesh of childhood home videos, strange family interviews, and awkward laughter from both the audience and Jenny herself. Throughout the show, the audience watches Slate do her stand-up routine while being interviewed seriously about her family and her past. 

The first five minutes are rough. The audience slowly warms up to Slate’s over-the-top personality and high energy. Slate takes viewers through her haunted childhood house, a tour of her bedroom, and her sex life. She cracks jokes about her time as an actress and the unrealistic body expectations women in Hollywood put up with. 

It takes 45 minutes for the audience to learn why the documentary is titled “Stage Fright.” It turns out Slate has stage fright. Not a rare problem for performers, especially comedians. One of the strangest scenes involves Slate staring out the window of her car like she’s the main character on a teen television drama. It doesn’t quite match the whimsical tone of her on-stage performances. 

Slate herself is remarkably funny in her stand-up routine and her easygoing jokes and humor reflect that. But somehow, the scenes with her family and in her childhood home, the place where she is supposedly the most comfortable, are awkward and forced. The messages about Slate that she was trying to convey about herself are lost in an odd mess of the show.