Despite what this PFP might make you think, he is not a furry... apparently.
Cynical Reviews
, a.k.a. Christopher "CJ" Jay, is a snarky British Youtuber and reviewer of movies and TV shows. He has a secondary channel, Cynical Seconds, which can be found here. He also does video game livestreams, which can be found on this channel.
This show provides examples of:
- Analogy Backfire: This is CJ's reaction when the father in Am I Normal? compares vaginas to catcher's mitts.CJ: So you throw your balls into them at 90 miles per hour? Got it!
- Author Appeal: CJ is a fan of South Park and will sometimes use it as a favorable comparison to something he's reviewing.
- He also really enjoys things in the fantasy setting, such as The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons.
- In his Love Is All You Need? video, he admits to being a fan of dystopian fiction, such as Nineteen Eighty-Four.
- Berserk Button: He REALLY doesn't like Shaky Cam in movies.
- In his second video on Goop, he mentions how he loathes "psychics" and the harm they can cause.
- CJ has also admitted in his review of "Santa Inc." to disliking when filmmakers try to center more on political topics, especially when they either do it in an extremely
unsubtle manner and/or when the creators in question have done morally questionable stuff in the past, rather than trying to tell a good story.
- Black Comedy: The review of Unplanned is rife with this. Also discussed in the video as a coping mechanism used by people who work in emotionally challenging jobs, despite the movie attempting to use it to frame Planned Parenthood workers as callous.
- Celebrity Resemblance: CJ looks and sounds a bit like a young Phil Collins.
- Child Hater: Downplayed. Even though he admitted to be this in his Karen review, he'll occasionally show concern over stuff that involves them in a harmful manner, such as his video about the Boys & Girls Alone reality shows, where he was reacting with horror and disgust at how the kids in the shows were exploited.
- Country Matters: Directs one at the makers of Boys & Girls Alone for prioritizing their show over the well-being of the children.. He also delivers a censored one in his review of Cyberbu//y (2011) towards Lindsay.CJ: Oh of course he's a lawyer, no wonder she's such a *bleep*.
- Crossover: Krimson Rogue joins CJ to talk about Empress Theresa.
- Deadpan Snarker: CJ himself is this big time.
- Don't Shoot the Message:
- In-Universe, CJ thinks the messages in Am I Normal are good, but they're undercut by poor acting, amateur production values and the occasional unintentional humor.
- This is also his thoughts on Cyberbully. While he notes that the film's concept isn't inherently bad (especially when compared to fellow Lifetime movies Cyberseduction His Secret Life and The Pregnancy Pact, which he compares it to), it still ends up flopping due to the simplification of cyber bullying in general, poor acting and unintentional hilarity.
- CJ also cites Love Is All You Need? as an example of "Message Good, Medium Bad", comparing it to the aforementioned Cyberbully.
- Flawless Token: This is one of of CJ's many complaints about how the main character is portrayed in Mulan (2020), as he feels that unlike the original where she had to improve using her wits, she is very capable since childhood because of having superpowers and thus is less compelling as a character and unrelatable to the audience
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: When one of the Planned Parenthood workers in his review of Unplanned jokes that POC stood for Pieces Of Children (instead of Products Of Conception), CJ remarks that someone somewhere just got an idea for their band name.
- Hypocritical Humour: In one of his sponsor segments, CJ claims that Nord VPN (the sponsor) keeps their users' internet history "safer than your virginity at a Warhammer tournament". This is despite CJ himself being a Warhammer fan.
- I Am Very British: Exaggerated for comedic effect in his review of The Prince.
- It's Personal: Stated as such is his review of the live-action remake of Mulan.
- Joke and Receive: In his review of Love Is All You Need? CJ notices that Emily Osment of Cyberbully is in it and remarks that maybe she'll get the cap off this time. Later, he is flabbergasted when the same thing happens during the protagonist's suicide attempt.
- Pass the Popcorn: In the intro to his video on Black/White, CJ noshes on a bag of popcorn while watching the show.
- Plot Hole: Discussed in the video Why Plot Holes Matter: A Response To Patrick Willems "Shut Up About Plot Holes".
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: CJ's rap at the end of his Black/White video, which CJ prefaces by calling it "the second whitest thing you've ever seen" (with the whitest thing being Bruno's rap in the show itself).
- Running Gag:
- Shout-Out:
- When CJ "turns back the clock" in his Black/White video, he uses the same time travel methods as Wayne and Garth.
- When the Planned Parenthood workers in Unplanned show off a model of their new building, CJ says "What is this?...AN ABORTION CLINIC FOR ANTS?! HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET ABORTIONS IF THEY CAN'T EVEN FIT INSIDE THE BUILDING?!"
- Take That!:
- At the beginning of his review of Cyber Seduction, he attempts to avoid directly saying it's about pornography to appease YouTube censors. When he tries using "media that's meant to entertain using copious amounts of nudity and some questionable writing", the Game of Thrones logo appears.
- He's also done of couple of jabs towards Bill Cosby for obvious reasons, such as in his review of "Velma", where he says the trailers had as many dislikes "as a Bill Cosby comeback tour".
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- CJ slumps down in his seat only a couple seconds into watching Black/White.
- The first words CJ says in his review of Music (2021) are as follows:
CJ: Oh. Oh no. Ooooohhhhh nooooooo… - Your Mom: A rather common joke of CJ's, most often by referring to bulky things as "thicker than your mother".
