I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (S1, 2019) – Review

If you like the present, it shouldn’t be a problem to eat the gift receipt. Right?

Yo, this be Reuben. First, a little apology for my inactivity on this here site — it’s been a busy time with the A-Level exams going on and all that, and adulthood looms, which is a scary prospect. Alas, I have returned, for better or for worse (probably for worse, let’s face it) — and with a first for Stuff and That! Yep, this is a fully fledged TV review, and I’ll be writing a few more of these, too.

Oh how wonderful a medium TV can be, and oh how wonderful is comedy – y’all know it’s my favourite, right? American comedian Tim Robinson has been rather prolific in recent years, I hear, and alongside Comedy Central sit-com Detroiters, this little project of his stands as one that’s worth a watch. A sketch show coming in at around fifteen minutes a pop each in a part of a six-episode series, Netflix exclusive I Think You Should Leave is a short and sweet watch, and while not the best in the medium I’ve seen by any stretch, has its fair share of funnies and sillies and all that malarkey.

Tim, looking fresh.

In such attire as a hot dog suit, Robinson guides the viewer through about five or six sketches each episode, and, whilst it ranges from a starstruck fan trying to hide the fact he’s choking in front of his idol or a love of TC Topps’ TC Tuggers shirts that are the only shirts that have “a little knob on the front so you can just pull it out when it gets trapped on your belly”, I Think You Should Leave focuses on the absurd, blending the ridiculous with everyday normalities like birthday parties or baby showers. You’ll find a perfectly normal adult situation in this show, like an office meeting for example, which is either ruined or made better, depending on how you see it, by an infectious case of the silly, confused screaming and unexpected quirks alike making their mark in a fittingly stupid fashion, which, for the most part, works.

Socially conscious to an extent and meme-ready, Tim Robinson gives I Think You Should Leave a modern touch, and for the most part it compliments the comedy in that it’s got more to it than just “lol random”, whilst the colourful scene transitions and fun theme-song give it a fast-paced and vibrant tone which fits right in with Robinson’s baffled screaming fits and gift receipt eating. Appearances from other screen-stars give it a bit of extra bite, too, with Andy Samberg (also the show’s executive producer) and Conner O’Malley’s ridiculously stupid performance standing out amongst the rest.

Nonetheless, I feel like the main issue with the show lends itself to that aforementioned ‘fast-paced’ tone, as, while the episodes are only around fifteen minutes each, some of the sketches last a minute or two too long, with some of the jokes falling flat a little earlier than they would have liked, taking away from that fast-paced tone of what should have been a consistently frantic sketch show.

Moreover, seeing as it is a sketch show, by nature it’s going to be inconsistent to an extent, and whilst most of the jokes land, I feel like there was potential here for a more consistently funny time, as Zach Kanin, Robinson’s main collaborator, seems a weaker collaborator comparatively to the brilliant Sam Richardson of Detroiters, for example – perhaps with him some of those flat jokes could have been ironed out or avoided altogether. I mean, you’re always gonna need variety to keep the jokes fresh, but with some of the more internet-conscious threads like the Garfield Party House had me trying to make myself laugh, because that’s what you do when you feel a little guilty watching slightly flat comedy.

Even so, for the most part, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson has a pretty successful hit-rate, especially for a debut series. Some of the sketches got me in stitches, and looking back, as a whole, despite roughness around the edges and some below-par sketches floating around, Robinson’s latest series offers a pretty vibrant and fun time that I’d give a recommendation for.