sumerbajaj
I feel like I am a part of Romesh's dysfunctional team promoting his show :)
This show is witty and such a good take by a British comic on what it would be to be on American reality TV. I love the concept of this show which covers Romesh's journey as a stand up British comic attempting to break into the American scene, the coverage of which makes for an unorthodox funny show.
Giving it 10/10 for the novelty of the concept and it's intelligent free flow of the inter-cultural challenge exploring what it takes to be known as someone 'funnny'.
Feel like it deserves many more eyeballs, both at the Greek and on TV, regardless of how it goes :)
terrimccrary
I had two impressions of this show: one good, one bad. First the good: LOVED the title!!!! I thought I was in for a true modern immigrant experience, something as a modern immigrant myself, who returned to America (the country of my birth and childhood), from Canada in my 20s with three small children. I was also pursing a career in theatre. So, I immediately identified with the title. Two thumbs up on the marketing strategy in promoting this show. It got my attention. I also LOVED Romesh's British accent. He could do voiceovers easily. Also, using his platform to expose racism in the industry was good reminder for those of us who are blind to the truth. Unfortunately, after the first few episodes, it became painfully clear that this was not a typical immigrant story that the average immigrant or young hopefuls can relate to. And, I am not even sure why Romesh agreed to call the show "just another immigrant". Maybe "coming to America" would have been more appropriate as he is already famous in the UK, and is in his 40s, with enough money to buy a house, car, motorcycle, groceries, helicopter rides, trips to Vegas and well over $50K in advertising without breaking a sweat. And, with the benefit of having a cameraman follow him around in creating his own show while breaking into a career in America, not to mention booking an Amphitheater is NOT the typical immigrant story I am familiar with. For example: families living in one room, struggling for survival, starving, dealing with multiple challenges along the course of getting a break. Who among them can afford a therapist to make house calls to your home or have teams of marketing professionals at your beck and call? The show has some interesting bits with his Uncle and the other supporting characters. But, what caused me to give this only one star, is because the positive aspects of Romesh's character like having standards, courage and respect were sorely lacking. He wasn't funny but his family's situation was unnecessarily sad. I found myself wanting to give his doormat of a wife and innocent children a hug. He showed himself to be very self-centered, inconsiderate and even creepy when he allowed a porno movie crew to film scenes in his home using not only his mother's bed and the bed he shared with his wife, but his children's beds as well. It did not matter whether or not the crew cleaned up after themselves. He did not ask his family member's permission, going so far as to hide it by sending them away for the whole day. (Which was a moot point, as his family will have access to what the public views in any case). If there was nothing wrong, why make such a big deal in hiding it? If he were single or living by himself, it would have been his own independent choice. But, if you are that desperate for money, get off your butt and be a porno star and earn the money yourself instead of exploiting others or better yet, go get a job waiting tables or something while waiting for your big break or augment your needs to fit your budget. Even Romesh's free-spirited, eccentric Uncle was visibly distressed by his nephew's disrespectful treatment of his family. If I was a casting agent, I might cast the uncle. So, basically, Romesh has so much talent to attract an audience on his own merit, he has to stoop to using other's talents and gimmicks to "sell" HIS show. So far, he has demonstrated his talent in being a sleaze and a dishonest person with a sense of entitlement who is too lazy to do the right thing for his family. I guess he figured they were benefitting from his prior success, so they had no choice in the matter. They had to bow down to the wannabe American Star's demands. There is a also a scene where he takes his family bowling in Vegas and then keeps skipping out on them to conduct an interview in another area of the venue. It was so contrived, like his family would not have understood if he had been honest with them from the get-go. Obviously, they knew the drill. So, he insulted their intelligence and disrespected them to the point that it became impossible for me to root for someone with so little integrity. He is NOT a representative of a true immigrant. And please get an image consultant and shave the beard, it doesn't make him look funny or add anything engaging to his appearance. He may as well wear a mask or go full out "wolfman" with sound effects.
arkanis50
Having only been exposed to Romesh on UK panel shows like 9 Out Of 10 Cats I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Just Another Immigrant, especially given the title. Initially I assumed this was going to be another lazy Trump-bashing which every comedian seems to be doing since November 2016... but it wasn't and I have been pleasantly surprised. Romesh casts his deadpan lazy eye toward breaking into the US comedy scene (namely selling enough tickets to fill The Greek without anyone having a clue who he is in the States) and in the process drags his family along from the UK for the unpredictable and often hilarious ride.
