I Love It Here is the latest creation from comedian Simon Amstell, best known – for those of us who remember these 90’s cultural gems – as the presenter of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Popworld. Other creations include the feature films Benjamin and Carnage, and the Netflix stand-up special Set Free
Ostensibly, this show is about an invitation Amstell receives to a star-studden LA party hosted by Leonardo Di Caprio (“relatable, right?”). A wryly told anecdote which includes Amstell exchanging witticisms with Ricky Martin and being given motherly advice by Laura Dern, the crux is that one of the guests is Amstell’s lifelong celebrity crush. Will he get to meet his dreamed-of paramour? (Yes). Will said star fall for the comedian’s charm and wit (Yes).
Alongside some very funny digressions and some overly provocative assertions (“I forgive Hitler”, amongst them), these anecdotes are grist to the mill of Amstell’s attempt to embrace acceptance, relinquishing control and opening himself to the whims of fate, and how successful this turns out to be. Amstell has spoken before of his journey towards acceptance of himself as a geeky Jewish gay man, and he seems largely to have achieved this. He’s happy and successful (though he is self-deprecating about exactly how successful), and despite the angst caused by meeting (or not) his idol, his appears to now be a pretty charmed life. So, despite Amstell’s obvious wit (and some lines are indeed hilarious), the knowing nods towards how “relatable” these celebrity anecdotes don’t make up for the fact that they really aren’t.
