Ari Eldjárn: Pardon My Icelandic (2020 TV Special) User Reviews

Ari's hilarious

[tonytangney · 9/10 · 3 December 2020]

Really good. The Nords are famous for their dark crime shows and have an undeserved reputation of being on the morose side. It's really cool to see their light funny side protrayed for a change ? If you liked Ari I'd check out a Finnish comic called Ismo. He's good too.

Ari hits the nail on the head or the funny bond rather , especially with the Danes. Good natured feel good stuff. Excellent accents. Only one joke didn't work so well, (the pope one), which is impressive for an hour long show in your non native language.

Look forward to seeing him again.

Great fun

[RubyMouse · 7/10 · 16 January 2021]

I have no idea how I happened upon this on netflix but I'm glad I did. His English accents are spot on and his observations of cultural quirks made me laugh out loud. I can't wait till he takes on Will Ferrell's eurovision!

Interesting way to know about Iceland and the jokes are fun

[Kash3979 · 8/10 · 4 December 2020]

Can't stop laughing of this stand up. It's interesting to know some fun facts in Iceland. Enjoy his performance a lot ... Netflix brings this stand up to Hong Kong.

Best stand up comedian in the world...... per capita.

[sammidrengs-55702 · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

I was laughing out loud the whole show. I have seen this guy on stage a couple of time, here in Iceland, i think he is easily the funnyest one we have in Iceland, This special, wich is in english, is a must see.

Ari deserves this!

[alliadal · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

As an Icelander, seeing one of our funniest comedians get a Netflix special is AMAZING! And it did not disappoint. There's a lot that can be made fun of about Iceland and if you're interested in Scandinavian humor this is a great standup for you!

The greatest comedy show, per capita

[baldursmari · 10/10 · 7 December 2020]

I recommend this comedy show. Ari is funny and it's nice to see an Icelandic comedian get international attention.

Fantastic show.

[sigurdurhermannsson · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

Fantastic show. Worth the watch. No further review as comedy has to be experienced instead of repeated.

Awesome

[rahulankarapu · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

What an awesome show. literally loved it. thank you sir.

A great surprise. Per capita.

[axvngey · 10/10 · 9 January 2021]

I stumbled upon this show on Netflix. Having not heard of Ari before, I didn't know what I would find. But I decided to give it a try anyway.

I found a gem.

Ari is a very good comedian. He touches many topics. Starting by making fun of his own native country, Iceland, he expands to each of the Nordic countries, and then further to others.

There is no crude, insensitive joke here though. They are all inoffensive and light hearted. And they are all good. You get to learn about the cultural codes and differences of individual Nordic countries (as told by Ari, of course). I personally found this show a learning experience, as much as a great comedy.

I laughed all the way. From start to finish.

As a Turk, I already had a positive bias for Iceland, as they have recently produced a consistently solid, successful national football team playing head to head with anyone. I support them against any other team (except Turkey - mostly).

Now I have learned a great comedian, from the same underdog country. I will keep an eye out for any other work from Ari.

And no, I can't pronounce his last name. It's only Ari.

Some good bits... Little cheesy...

[BerkayKuscu · 5/10 · 2 December 2020]

Well, I really don't want to be the boomer, but there were goods and bads. Before anything, he is funny and (I don't know if he is new or not but) he has a future for sure. However, let's be honest...

Some of his bits, especially the ones about the Nordic culture, were hilarious. As a Nordic culture admirer, he made me laugh out loud with his cultural bits. Besides, he's got some real talent in impersonation and accents. I wish he went more on layered jokes with these.

However, some parts were really cheesy and maybe, just maybe, inspired from other comedians. I won't spoil anything but I really remember one of his bits from Ricky Gervais. In addition to that, his jokes were pretty simple, single-layered jokes. Only because I can see the talent, I would really like to hear more intelligent jokes that make you laugh more and more, as you get deeper in that joke.

Overall, more Nordic comedians should be encouraged to make a show in English.

Great stand up comedy!

[reblynnmor · 10/10 · 7 December 2020]

I wish we could go see Ari live! His Netflix standup show was so good! Loved it!

I really missed the comedy shows where you can really laugh

[boboceaelena · 10/10 · 7 February 2021]

Finally, one rare comedy show that's not about sex, political correctness or people complaining about their extremely boring life in the most unfunny mode possible. Thanks Ari for this great show.

This will make your day!

[johnnym-565-338306 · 10/10 · 20 January 2021]

I have not had such a good genuine laugh for years.

Ari is a genius comedian/multingual speaker. Who would have thought you could make smart jokes about cultural differences and languages!

In his stand-up you will learn a lot not only about his home country Iceland. They way Ari mimics inhabitants of various countries and their languages, including British, Scottish and American accents is hilarious, totally convincing and will leave you if not in awe then laughing really hard.

Time well spent.

Great comedy.

[lexi_2002-913-584187 · 10/10 · 9 April 2021]

Great content and comedy, Love this guy! All original all Icelandic humour, what a show!

One of the best stand-up shows i've seen in years!

[arendse-91296 · 10/10 · 30 March 2021]

I watch a lot of stand-up comedy, and this is the first show I remember in a really long time, where i've been laughing from start to finish. I watched this together with my family, and we don't often agree that something is good, but this time we did. I had to take some asthma medicine because of laughing so much I could hardly breathe, and my sister was crying from laughter. Perhaps should be mentioned we are danish, and loved to see so many scandinavian references in a show. Huge recommendation!

Hilarious!

[frednorman-13727 · 10/10 · 4 July 2021]

I found this hilarious. I loved his different accents and the gentle paradise of other Scandinavian cultures. Fascinating.

I'm a Dane

[Whoopz · 3/10 · 29 January 2021]

This was planned. Like he couldn't understand people saying "Winter is coming" I couldn't understand the fun in the Danish jokes, because most of what Ari said was just the truth.

Fantastic show!

[jlcp-photo · 8/10 · 6 February 2021]

Wholesome, clever jokes that did not fail to make me laugh. I loved Ari's different accents and his impressive use of other languages. A fantastic special. I am excited to see more of Ari in the future.

Treat Yourself Right Now!

[mrkette-01290 · 10/10 · 18 October 2021]

I am a comedy junkie from way back in the 1980s, and this is one of the funniest stand up sets I have ever seen. I have watched a minimum of seven times...but it could easily be more than that. I cannot recommend it highly enough. WATCH IT RIGHT NOW!

Icelandic comedians - who knew?

[PaulC852 · 9/10 · 13 September 2021]

This is an unexpected delight! Genuinely funny but inoffensive comedy (unless you're a Dane :-) ). I am in awe of someone being able to do this in their second (or third) language and do all the accents too.

It does require a certain amount of erudition and familiarity with the world (Europe in particular) to get some of his humour, so I guess it may be over some people's heads, but for those who do this is one of the best standup shows I have watched in recent years.

Frábært!

[serdaraltin · 8/10 · 27 December 2021]

Hilarious! Besides all the accent/language jokes -which they are so good- Ari is great at making sound effects! He surely knows how to use his voice. One of the best specials i've ever seen.

Great and surprinsing fun on northern european people /CERTIFIED!

[thebestovechristiansen · 9/10 · 14 May 2022]

This is great fun, in particular if you like me know your part of north european people, or their culture, language or accents(mistreats). This is targetting not only Icelandic and Danish, but also with significant hints to Nowegian, Finish (my favorite perhaps), English and German, but also general stuff. I did not know it at all but stubled into it. I felt it was very funny in an intelligent Way. With nordic,viking "drama" fuzz this is kind of a relief and nice little perspective.

Outstanding comedian

[lorainepage · 10/10 · 27 October 2023]

He's brilliant and hilarious. I laughed 'til I cried! He excels at languages and physical comedy. Mostly referring to England and Norwegian countries. The laughs grow in intensity as the show goes on. I would watch any other shows he's done-- he is truly a master. You can tell he has truly worked on his bits until they were perfection. I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard me laughing hysterically. You have to concentrate a bit because he's throwing a lot of foreign languages out there but the comedy is well worth the effort. I now want to visit Iceland, or at the very least Denmark. His takes on the British are so funny!

One of the best stand up shows on Netflix

[muratmihcioglu · 8/10 · 5 January 2023]

Making comedy about ethnic identity has become almost mandatory, but thankfully Ari has used this as a means to sneak in, only to show how much more he has got in his inventory.

The first few moments were not funny, but strangely I did get the feeling he was on to something. Then, along with "Pope attending the Eurovision", he began to deliver perfectly quite authentic jokes that would take someone of his origins to construct, BUT work on almost every contemporary audience.

What strikes me most is how reminiscent to Jim Carrey he is. He must have worked on Carrey's mimicry in front of a mirror or something. This shows literally screams out loud that Hollywood has got the name for a new sequel to "Ace Venture Pet Detective - Like Father Like Son".

Yep. Someone's gotta do this movie with Ari as the lead and Jim Carrey with a cameo.

Laugh out loud!

[plupu66 · 9/10 · 25 November 2023]

I laughed out loud for an entire hour. So did my wife. We could hardly catch our breath. Excellent writing. Great performance.

Poking fun at Icelandic people , at Brits (those were the funniest parts), at Danes, Finns, Norwegians and pretty much everything that is to poke fun at.

Ari has the humour flow freely, effortlessly. A magician of the comic situation and of the punch line.

Nothing is forced, creepy or cheesy. Does not need the yuk element, the fart jokes or embarrassing elements. Even the sex-inspired jokes come naturally and are spot on.

Other stand up comedians should watch and learn from Ari. And applaud!