You know what you’re getting with Jack Whitehall. Posh, crude, jovial, and somewhere on the spectrum between lovable and cringeworthy, depending on who you are.
His episode of Amazon’s new Live Italian (Prime, available now) is no exception to that rule. Whitehall stars in the first of a three-part series that takes celebs to Italy “to spend some quality time, slow down, and reconnect with their passions”.
In Whitehall’s case, that passion is food. But foodies should proceed with caution: the panini and pomodoro are only really a backdrop for Whitehall’s humour.
If you’re the type who likes to dip a toe in the water before committing to a full 45 minutes, the first few minutes provide a flavour of what’s to come. The jokes kick off with Whitehall’s coffee cup falling off his suitcase, and him ‘mistakenly’ thinking a waiting Ferrari is his, only for it to drive away and reveal his actual car: a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape.
Whitehall’s host is food blogger Chiara Maci, whose passion for her native Italian cuisine and poetic waxing of how “for us, food is like art” feels like it could warrant a show all of its own.
Here, though, it’s forced to clash with Whitehall’s jovial attempts at an Italian accent: “Oh I know this one, mushrooma on toasta.”
The jokes don’t really get any better from there. “Some people like it, but I think it’s offal,” Whitehall says in a butcher’s shop. “I don’t understand,” Maci replies.
For Whitehall fans, it should be a pleasant ride. Italophiles may want to stay clear.
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