JOLLY

YouTube Channel Review

No, it’s not a channel about how to have a holly jolly Christmas.

JOLLY is a portmanteau for its co-creators Josh and Ollie, two British friends who love to experience the world and react to things they see online. In 2014, the two started on YouTube as Korean Englishman, a channel connecting the two cultures (often through food), which has more than 5 million subscribers. Their second channel, JOLLY, began in 2017.

The second channel, similar to their first, often works to expose people to various cultures—such as through feeding British high schoolers the candies and foods of other cultures to see their reactions. Josh and Ollie travel to try prominent culinary dishes of other countries, as well.

But they also enjoy reacting to videos and memes on the internet. Often, they’ll bring in their friend and Anglican priest Chris to react with them—many times, to Christian content. Through it all, Josh and Ollie look to bring joy to their viewers by engaging in various cultures and spreading jolly feelings wherever they go.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Josh and Ollie are clearly good friends. Their conversations and jokes display a healthy relationship that sets a good example for others. The channel is additionally open to trying prominent food from various cultures, and how trying new things is often a good thing to do.

In their videos featuring Chris, the priest provides many serious insights into Christian theology during what are otherwise silly videos.

CONTENT CONCERNS

Some of JOLLY’s reaction videos involve topics that some viewers may not like. Reverend Chris is brought in to react to various compilations of Christian memes or products, for instance, some of which viewers may find offensive. Other reaction videos are centered around prominent music videos, including Ariana Grande’s sexually charged music video for “God Is A Woman.” We occasionally hear a sexual reference, allusion or joke. The channel’s stars additionally try various beers, and they discuss how cures for hangovers taste.

Videos contain the occasional swear word. We hear words like “a–,” “p-ss,” “h—,” “d–n” and “crap.” God’s name is used inappropriately sometimes, too.

CHANNEL SUMMARY

JOLLY does a good job of putting a smile on the viewer’s face. I found myself breaking into a grin—not just at the jokes, but at watching the duo engage with and enjoy other cultures. However, parents should be mindful of a spattering of content that they might find inappropriate, especially for younger children.