Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning (2020)

Streaming Services: Netflix

Movie Name/Year: Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning (2020)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 64 minutes

Rating: TV-MA

Production/Distribution: Netflix

Director: Kristian Mercado

Writer: Sam Jay

Actors: Sam Jay

Blurb from IMDb: Comedian and "Saturday Night Live" writer Sam Jay serves up fresh takes on relationships, travel nightmares, the audacity of white people and more.

Selina’s Point of View:

I’m of two minds with this comedy special.

Sam Jay (Saturday Night Live, Donald Glover Presents, The Comedy Lineup) is new to me. I’ve never heard of her before. That said, I’m always down to watch a comedian that I’m unfamiliar with. I love to hear different perspectives and I love to laugh. Hell, I started liking my husband because he’s a funny guy. Comedy is just always worth a shot.

One of the things that Sam Jay definitely had going for her was a perspective that isn’t normally examined in specials like this one. At least, not in any that I’ve ever seen. That means that a lot of her jokes felt fresh. Some of them touched on stuff that’s been joked about quite a bit, but from an angle I’ve never considered before. I’d have said the special was worth watching just because of that.

On a similar note, a lot of her stories were hilarious. There were a few times where she had me genuinely laughing out loud. Often, because she caught me off guard with a punchline. At least once I found myself declaring that I was definitely going to hell for laughing at a particular joke.

I’ve always liked dark humor based off social issues. Dark humor is my thing.

My biggest issue with Jay’s humor is that she often held onto a bit for a little to long. The joke would start to wear out its welcome.

Sure, most comics will repeat a line here or there for some extra laughs, or revisit a subject later on down the line in order to come at it from a different angle. That’s fine. I don’t have a problem with it. Sam Jay didn’t leave it at that, though. She would repeat certain stories, or jokes, without putting a new spin on them, so many times that – even if they were funny to begin with – they weren’t by the time she was done.

It became annoying. In fact, it wound up getting so annoying that when she revisited the topics later in her special, with a new context, it still wasn’t funny anymore.

There’s a balance that needs to be maintained when a comic uses repetition in their set. They need to use it just enough to get the extra laughs, without making the audience feel like she thinks the only way to make people understand it is to beat the subject into the ground. There were times when she did not have that balance.

Even with the faults, I think I’ll still seek out her future specials.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’ve come to a realization regarding Netflix comedy specials. They’re like that proverbial box of chocolates where you never know what you’re going to get. Of course, unlike me, you could watch the trailer.

I try to avoid stand-up trailers out of concern that they’ll show the best bits and take the surprise out of the moment.

While the trailer for this special does reveal one of the good bits, it stays with a condensed portion of that single premise rather than showing multiple items from the comedian’s set.

I found Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning amusing. Some of the segments were less so than others for me, but comedy is really a subjective thing. Something I find hilarious might actually rub someone else the wrong way. I found the material relatable for the most part. The bits including, and connected to, the one shown in the trailer were my favorites.

Overall, what it boils down to is that I just wasn’t laughing aloud. I chuckled here and there, but there were no side-splitting oxygen-deprived moments that you hope for with something that’s supposed to be funny. My lackluster reaction could also be attributed to tiredness.

All told, I’m not sure that I’d go out of my way to recommend this special to anyone. However, if asked about Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning, I wouldn’t steer anyone away. Those who don’t enjoy humor laced with sexual content and expletives might give this one a pass.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 5.9/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5

Movie Trailer: