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Legit features Jim playing himself. A stand-up comedian, Jim yearns to go "legit," hoping to one day star in motion pictures and appear on television. In the pilot episode, he meets old childhood friends Steve (Dan Bakkedahl) and Billy Nugent (DJ Qualls), the latter of whom is severely disabled, suffering from muscular dystrophy. The trio move into a house together, and the rest of the series chronicles their various shenanigans, as Jim auditions for roles, performs stand-up, and attempts to get with women.
In a nutshell, Legit falls lethally short in terms of comedy. For the first few episodes or so, the script is almost entirely comprised of recycled material from Jim's stand-up, with his stories being played out here, and with his diatribes spouted in everyday conversation. It simply feels lazy. Jim has stated that he never performs the same material again after recording it in a special in order to ensure that his fans have new jokes to enjoy whenever they pay money to watch him onstage. And yet, Legit drags out some of Jim's oldest jokes from five or six years ago, which have now lost their punch. Worse, this is a mainstream American television comedy, meaning it cannot be outright vulgar or feature any nudity. Swearing is present, but only very occasionally, and the bad stuff is bleeped out. Without swearing, the humour lacks bite. Onstage, it's funny to hear Jim curse frequently, especially when he blurts out the occasional "cunt." Casual viewers unfamiliar with Jim may find some of this material funny, but they'd be better served watching Jim's much funnier stand-up DVDs.
Produced by U.S. cable television network FX, an "American" disposition pervades the entirety of Legit to detrimental effect. Despite scenes involving sexual stuff, no nudity is ever allowed. Sure, it might be nasty to see a penis, but, if done properly, it could be shocking in a hilarious fashion. And it might sound childish but a brothel scene in the first episode feels way too tame, lacking sauciness. It's baffling that this show is American in the first place. After all, Jim lives in England, and has even stated in his stand-up that he prefers to live in England because America is so politically correct. An English television show would have more teeth, and it would be far more colourful as well. As it is, Legit is a middling American sitcom, lacking the brilliance and wit of classic shows like Scrubs or Friends.
Another underwhelming aspect about Legit is, alas, Mr. Jefferies himself. It's not that he's terrible - he's just "meh." To illustrate why, compare Legit to Ricky Gervais' new show, Derek. In it, Gervais and non-actor Karl Pilkington play actual characters and stretch their range, which is intriguing and entertaining. Jim just plays himself here, and a half-hearted version of himself at that since he's unable to utter curse words. It would be interesting to see Jim attempting more actual acting, since Jim's real-life ambition is to become a screen actor.
It must be stressed that Legit is not all bad, but the drab episodes outnumber the enjoyable episodes. The show actually exhibits real promise when it moves into original material, with its third episode in particular featuring an entirely original plot and a handful of fresh jokes that successfully land. And that's the really frustrating thing about the show: it often takes off when it doesn't rely on Jim's now worn-out material. But then, just as things are getting better, Jim delivers more of his material in a really half-arsed fashion, which winds up sounding forced. By the end of the first season, Jim has just about run the gamut of his stand-up material, leaving little else for him to source in later episodes (a few of his other stories are much too racey and crude for this sitcom). Legit has been renewed for a second season, but it's difficult to feel excited about it. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what Jim does next and where the show leads. If, that is, I decide to keep watching it.
5.8/10
