IMO (In My Opinion)

IMO (In My Opinion), written by Jess Salomon

The headline on Jess Salomon's personal webpage reads, "writer, comedian, family disappointment". She left behind her career as a war crimes lawyer for the United Nations to become a comedian, and her new act, IMO (In My Opinion), marks her third year performing stand-up at the Montreal Fringe Festival.

The premise of IMO is that you can't trust the media, you can't trust the government, but you can trust Jess! The material was well-written (in a similar style as Louis C.K.), and included unsettling jokes about the hard truths of this fucked up world. Salomon presented herself as a talking-head pundit, but the commitmeent to that idea was somewhat unconvincing in her stand-up routine. 

Due to what could be described as a sort of Canadian "politeness" present in her delivery, some parts lacked the bite Salomon needed to hit those punchlines. IMO did have some hilarious moments, though, and perhaps her fan base will grow once Salomon becomes comfortable speaking from the margins.

IMO (In My Opinion) runs until June 22nd at Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Sainte-Catherine E.). Check out the schedule at the Fringe Festival website.