On Tuesday, Jan. 30, Netflix released the British comedian Jack Whitehall’s special, “Settle Down.” Making active use of its one-hour runtime, it serves as a direct contrast to Whitehall’s association with his former role in the 2021 film “Clifford the Big Red Dog.” He harps on living with his girlfriend, model Roxy Horner, his reluctance to purchase their own dog for £6,000 and the conception of their first-born child.
One habit that will become inseparable from Whitehall in the minds of many after watching this special is the act of drinking alcohol. Jokingly promoting the scant benefits of alcoholic drinks, with the implication that they are meaningless due to alcohol’s ability to debilitate someone, he combines this and other bad habits like vaping to declare how “they” are taking people’s vices away. He does not voice his concerns about the powers that be beyond this comment, along with remarking how Recaptcha tests are getting more difficult these days. Regardless, Whitehall makes it known that he despises sambuca, and elaborates about his frequent compulsions to drink alcohol. Without consuming it, his internal monologue “is like a cross between [his] dad and Severus Snape.”
He further introspectively leans into the reasons that could contribute to his dependence, one of them being his “wafer-thin ego” that seemingly does not crumble at the thought of millions of people watching him. He proudly bolsters his self-importance, so much so that he feels the need to show multiple articles featuring him with a PowerPoint presentation. Although he abandons the slideshow midway through, it gives the impression that he is putting on a TED Talk-esque event, except it is only about himself. There is nothing to be gained by the audience from this special besides jokes based on him and the copious amounts of needless information about the celebrity life that he delivers.
Whitehall’s body language is very much an act, and it may be emphasized given the number of people in the crowd at the London O2 Arena at the time, but it comes off as forced. Based on this, being expressive may not have been as widely accepted in society when he was growing up, yet he was encouraged from a young age to be theatrical through years of child acting. Additionally, he claims his parents “were financially well-off but emotionally bankrupt,” making the jabs against his girlfriend and his general pessimism all the more sensible. Regardless, his background has transformed him into a dynamic public speaker who tell stories through movements to enunciate nearly every action he describes.
The pub and the bar are foundational settings for many of his stories, which fails to make them have any more initial impact than the classic “a guy walks into a bar” joke. Despite the uninteresting attention-grabbers, Whitehall is all about relatable humor, especially when it comes to relationship dynamics. He paints the scenario of Horner and himself walking into a bar, only to be stopped by a rude bouncer, according to how Horner interprets his attitude. Whitehall wrestles with the thought of defending his girlfriend from her imaginary opposition, but he reasons that he would have no chance fighting against the absolute tank of the bouncer, reenacting how the sad scuffle would play out. Any man in a relationship who feels tied to these gender roles of maintaining an “alpha male” status can relate here.
True love is when you love them in spite of detesting everything they’re passionate about.
Jack Whitehall, The “Settle Down” Netflix comedy special
On a similar note, Whitehall feels compelled to be the best boyfriend Horner has ever had. This is reasonable in itself, ensuring he brings his best foot forward to the relationship, but it becomes unhealthy when he is constantly comparing himself to one of her past lovers, Leonardo DiCaprio. Whitehall is hung up over Horner’s love life preceding himself, lending to his narcissistic traits, yet I cannot blame him here. He mentions he can no longer watch classic movies featuring DiCaprio without the intrusive thoughts seeping in about what he and Horner did during their short stint, not to mention the self-proclaimed downgrade Horner made. She went from “the Wolf of Wall Street to the Labradoodle of London.”
This criticism is not to deduce Whitehall’s relationship into that of unimportance, as he does show a level of maturity when talking about his love for Horner. He does appear to give tough love given he believes “true love is when you love them in spite of detesting everything they’re passionate about.” However, he provides a sobering realization that his life will soon be less about his “drunken hijinks” and more about raising his child. The most heartfelt moment in “Settle Down” is when he notes how he and Horner had previously suffered a miscarriage and found the silver lining in the loss, driving him to still try for a child and to be the best father he can be. Forgetting my lack of taste in his comedic style and the pitfalls of this special being too much about him, I wish the best for Whitehall in fatherhood.
Ending off with a cinematic conclusion about why his home residence will always be in the United Kingdom, it is safe to say Whitehall gave a strong performance, although I am still not convinced as to what makes him so great and famous in the eyes of…himself. He brags about his life thoroughly as if he is globally known, yet this is the first time most people will hear of Whitehall. My impression of him is that he will fade from stardom as most celebrities do, hopefully being a good father and husband in the process, but if he wants to be as amazing as he makes himself out to be, it will be a turbulent ride to the top.
Rating: 2.25/5