The sort of character - and I am not entirely sure that is the right word - Jeselnik uses onstage does not rely solely upon trying to offend a crowd’s sensibility. After all, the opening line on Caligula to a theatre packed with screaming fans is, “I know, right?” This part of Jeselnik’s evil alter-ego can even present itself without the assistance of a joke about babies dying on 9/11 or about Holocaust deniers. Not only is he aware that what he is saying defies any sense of decency or morality, but he also remains certain in each joke’s ability to get the entire crowd either hissing or laughing. Every joke is told with a completely unapologetic air of arrogance. The best part about Jeselnik’s act is the ego and confidence he can demonstrate while saying the vilest things possible. Consistently relying on making a crowd uncomfortable might sound gimmicky on paper, but Jeselnik shows throughout Caligula, his latest stand-up special, that he is quite gifted in utilizing a slight shift in perspective or wording to make a mundane setup lead to an intentionally offensive and hilarious punch line. Regardless of how you feel about the offensive content at hand, there is no denying that Anthony Jeselnik is a skilled joke writer. However, creating an hour’s worth of stand-up that seeks to have every single joke make light of every subject that makes every person in a room wriggle in a seat takes a considerable amount of skill. People generally like X, therefore you say Y. All you have to do is figure out a mainstream value and champion the opposite. It is actually quite simple to be offensive.

Anthony jeselnik caligula full movie