Film
James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999
James Acaster's filmed stand-up special about 1999—the year everything went right—and 2017, when it all fell apart. He's charming, vulnerable, and genuinely hilarious as he unpacks the gap between who he thought he'd be and who he became. It's comedy that lands because it's honest about failure, regret, and the messiness of growing up.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love comedy built on long, winding anecdotes that loop back on themselves, where a set-up pays off in a joke you didn't see coming and the mood swings from giddy to unexpectedly tender.
Skip it if you want jokes packed tight every few seconds; this lone performer talks at length, unhurried and happy to wander, so its stamina can wear thin.
What it asks of you: Settle in for a long, conversational stretch with few breaks; it moves at a stroll, warm and personal, and rewards sitting still rather than dipping in and out.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas2020
A comedian rebuilding their relationship with comedy after a seismic special. Like Acaster, Gadsby finds humour in contradiction and uses stand-up to process real pain. Intelligent, funny, and unexpectedly moving about reinvention.
But If you found their previous special too heavy, this one still carries that weight—just with more laughs. Some will find the meta-commentary about comedy itself exhausting.
John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City2018
Perfectly constructed storytelling wrapped in comedy. Mulaney has the same gift for making personal disaster hilarious, and he builds jokes with the precision of someone who understands the architecture of laughter and the weight of confession.
But His style is much more structured and less raw than Acaster's. If you prefer comedians who feel like they're discovering jokes on stage, this polish might feel distant.
Bo Burnham: Inside2021
Visually inventive, emotionally raw comedy that interrogates anxiety and modern life with both wit and genuine darkness. Like Acaster, Burnham isn't afraid to let the audience sit with uncomfortable truths, but he adds theatrical ambition to the mix.
But It's relentlessly bleak. Some audiences find the depression and nihilism overwhelming rather than cathartic. Not a feel-good evening.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson2019
Both use comedy to explore the specific pain of feeling like you're always doing something wrong, but Robinson externalizes it into twisted scenarios while Acaster keeps it personal.
Sketch comedy that captures the same feeling as Acaster's set—the absurdity of being a person who fails in ordinary ways. Robinson's humour is surreal but it emerges from genuine emotional chaos. Both are about the gap between expectations and reality, but Robinson approaches it through warped scenarios instead of confession.
But It's very weird. The comedy lives in uncomfortable social interactions that don't resolve neatly. If you want traditional stand-up structure, this deliberately dismantles it.
More like this (6)
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American2021
Southern drawl delivering stories about growing up odd and the weird grace of lowered expectations. Bargatze shares Acaster's warmth and his ability to make mundane failure genuinely touching. The laughs sneak up on you.
But The pacing is slow and meditative. If you want rapid-fire jokes and constant energy, this will feel slack and almost sleepy in places.
Marc Maron: End Times Fun2020
A comedian who's made a career of examining his own neuroses and failures. Maron's version of self-examination is darker and more sardonic than Acaster's, but it shares that same fearlessness about admitting you're broken.
But He's cynical in a way that can feel punishing. There's less warmth here; his comedy sometimes seems designed to make you uncomfortable rather than moved.
Patton Oswalt: Annihilation2017
Filmed just after a genuinely catastrophic personal loss, Oswalt finds astonishing jokes in grief and keeps moving forward. It's comedy as survival, with real stakes. His generosity toward the audience's emotional intelligence is beautiful.
But The heaviness of what he's processing might feel too proximate. Some viewers find it difficult to laugh when they're witnessing someone's active pain.
Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty2020
Infectious energy and storytelling about family, identity, and belonging. Feimster has the same gift as Acaster for making the personal universal. It's lighter in touch but no less honest about what it means to figure out who you are.
But The tone is consistently upbeat and affirming. If you want darkness or edge, this will feel relentlessly positive.
Joe Rogan: Strange Times2018
Long-form comedy about meaning, mortality, and the strangeness of existence. Rogan shares Acaster's willingness to meander through ideas and let conversations breathe. It's generous and rambling in the best sense.
But Nearly two hours of tangents. If you prefer tight construction, this will feel like listening to someone think out loud rather than watching a finished set.
The Mule2018
Both examine the distance between who you intended to be and who you became, using unexpected humour to make that gap bearable. Acaster does it through confession; Eastwood does it through a story about an old man learning too late.
Clint Eastwood film about an old man transporting drugs, less a heist movie than a character study of someone facing the wreckage of choices made decades ago. It's funny in small, sad ways. The tonal range—mixing humour with real reckoning—mirrors what Acaster does, except Eastwood situates it in crime and consequence rather than comedy.
But It's slow and meditative to the point of tedium for some. The comedy is sparse and dry. If you want laughs, you'll be disappointed. If you want a comfortable watch, you won't find one.
People
Cast
James AcasterSelf - Comedian
Directing
- Daniel LucchesiDirector
Writing
- James AcasterWriter
Production
- Clarissa MaycockAssociate Producer
- Darren StreetBroadcast Producer
- Eddie KingBroadcast Producer
- Ian WarboysBroadcast Producer
- Jo MiseldineBroadcast Producer
- Nick LongProducer
- Stuart LawsProducer
- Molly StewartProduction Assistant
- Nicky ShortProduction Assistant
- Tim LewisProduction Assistant
- Paul BertellottiProduction Designer
Recommended by
Chris Gethard: Career Suicide, Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty, Kyle Kinane: Trampoline In A Ditch, Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills, Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace, Jerrod Carmichael: 8, Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male