Jamie Foxx has won an Academy Award and a Grammy, and is up for another Golden Globe already for this Netflix special, which is very much a celebration of the actor and comedian’s life’s work as much as it is a celebration of the fact that he’s still around to appreciate it. The only question left after filling in the blanks of his special’s title is: Is it going to be as funny as it is heartfelt?
The Gist: Foxx hasn’t released a comedy special in some 22 years, but it’s the past year and a half that has really mattered to him, his family and his fans.
As an opening montage of TV news headlines and social media speculation vaguely whispers at what might’ve happened to the movie and music star in April 2023 while filming his upcoming Netflix film, Back in Action, with Cameron Diaz in Atlanta. And now, Foxx is back in Atlanta, literally back in action, to set the record straight. Foxx talks us through what happened (as best as he knows, as even he admits he doesn’t remember the first 20 days of his hospitalization), how he rehabbed, and how grateful he is for his sister, his daughters, and his fans.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: The buildup to Foxx’s first comedy special in more than two decades might feel reminiscent to Chris Rock’s live Netflix special (Selective Outrage), insomuch as there’s one story we all want to hear, even if Foxx’s health scare is and was decidedly more life-or-death than Rock’s Oscars incident with Will Smith. But the celebratory tone of Foxx’s hour is more akin to Mo’Nique’s own Netflix comeback.
Memorable Jokes: A lot of the laugh-out-loud humor comes through impersonations.
Foxx notes wryly how Katt Williams made fun of his “mystery illness,” but does so by comparing Williams’ affectations to those of the Wicked Witch of the West.
During his rehab, Foxx recalls hyping himself up by pretending to be someone else during daily wellness checks or while having his ass wiped by the nurses when he was unable to. For a few days, Foxx imitated Denzel Washington; then Dave Chappelle, Mike Tyson, Jay-Z, and even Donald Trump with a then-topical (for the summer) reference to “eating the dogs.”
All the while, he comes back to this motto he has adopted: “If i can stay funny, I can stay alive.”
There’s a fun play on words regarding Sean Combs, answering rumors of whether Diddy tried to put a hit out on Foxx. “Did he?” Indeed. Foxx takes some swipes at Combs, currently under indictment on sex trafficking and racketeering charges (as well as allegations of his involvement in the murder of Tupac), by joking that he steered clear of Combs’ infamous parties. “Hell naw, n—, I left them parties early,” Foxx declared. “Something don’t look right,” he said, adding an observation: “It’s slippery in here.”
As a stroke survivor (did I mention yet that that’s what had happened to Foxx?), the comedian also makes fun of his own physical limitations, specifically with dick jokes at his own expense, both in terms of wondering how he’d let a strange nurse bathe him, as well as how he’d react to a long, loving embrace from Halle Berry.
And after some quite sincere songs, both with his youngest daughter as well as with a backing band, Foxx has one last lyrical nod to his second chance at life, singing: “I’m cured. No more white girls!”
Our Take: Although there are laughs to be had in this hour-plus, this is as much church revival as it is comedy special.
At one point, Foxx claims: “When I forgot about God, he blessed me with a stroke.” At another, he’s leading his Atlanta congregation in a singalong of “God is good…all the time…all the time…God is good.”
He breaks down in tears upon first seeing his crowd receive him, and tears up several times more. His legs sometimes shake while he’s sitting down. And when he’s not crediting God directly or Atlanta indirectly for saving his life, Foxx is praising his little sister, all four-foot-eleven of her, or his daughters, for standing up for him when he could neither stand nor stand up for himself. It was the women closest to him who protected Foxx from any visitors who might’ve seem him so helpless after suffering a brain bleed that prompted a stroke. It was his youngest daughter, teen-aged Anelise, whose strumming on her guitar apparently kept Foxx’s vitals calm while he was unconscious and clinging to life in those first few weeks.
When Anelise appears onstage and plays, Foxx the father stands behind her first to support her, then to lean on her once more, showing us how much she has emotionally supported him.
Foxx then sings and performs a few original songs with lyrics shouting his gratitude to God for giving him a second chance of life.
But he’s also in a mood to celebrate this first life he has led, reminding us all that “you can’t clone this,” and by this, he’s referring to his acting and singing talents and his range, from In Living Color‘s Ugly Wanda to his Oscar-winning portrayal of the late great Ray Charles, and Django and Rio in between.
Our Call: STREAM IT. In his opening moments onstage, Foxx declares, “you have no idea how good this feels.” Sixty-eight minutes later, you’ll likely feel as good as he does.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.