Ja'mie: Private School Girl

Ah, the horrible Miss King returns bigger than ever! To clear this up for many of you, yes, it is Chris Lilley dressed as a teenage girl. This in itself isn't meant to be funny, what is hilarious is that he perfectly nails the nasty, self-obsessed, delusional teenage girls that many of us have encountered at one point and time in our lives. So much so, that his mannerisms and affect are flawless.

This series is a masterpiece of observation, is meant to be self-deprecating and like much of Aussie and Brit humour walks the fine line between hilarity and cringe worthiness. The creepy skype scene between Jam'ie and her grandfather is one such example.

My only disappointment with this series are the unnecessary cut scenes that seem like padding. Kind of reminiscent of an old 90210 episode! Other than, supporting cast are terrific and really expand on the small segments of Jam'ie's life that we have seen in other Lilley series such as We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High. Would highly recommend though not for those who find the run of the mill American sitcoms amusing.

Binge-watched it three times back-to-back. I don't know how Chris Lilley can manage a straight enough face to carry this off; but he does.

I have seen some ordinary reviews for Ja'mie ( added the apostrophe in year 8 ) - but guess they must be from people who take the whole set-up seriously and can't get their head round a middle aged comedian doing a wonderful job as an over-the-top snobby head girl ! Benny Hill did some similar skits years ago ; that likewise were very funny ; Ja'mie is a combination of slap-stick - Dame Edna, over-the-top great Aussie humour taking a wonderful swipe at many of the US college type shows were the spiteful blonde beauty loses her boyfriend to the plain new girl who turns out to be a glamour. This is a show that aging dad ( me ) and teen daughter both love and has us both cracking up in parts. e.g. The flat chested Ja'mie on being targeted by some more developed 'borders' at the school ; "Why don't you go cook your dinner, I bet your having Lesbianese"

These spinoffs from the Summer Heights High TV show feature one of the characters in depth rather than switching between them. This gives us more focus but at the expense of wearing the material thin. I think I liked the original format more because it kept things fresh. Still, I think that Ja'mie had a better spinoff than Jonah as she is more interesting and there is more that can be done with her character.

Chris Lilley is very reliable when counting on someone to produce a great comedy. Personally, Ja'mie's character portrays the stereotypes associated with spoilt teenage girls and gives the audience such a good laugh. Well done Chris Lilley!