Comedian Ali Wong has a new comedy special on Netflix called Baby Cobra
Comedian Ali Wong has a new comedy special on Netflix called Baby Cobra
The world finds itself in a sorry state of affairs right now.
Racist and fascist ideals are gaining in popularity with our two biggest allies, fake news put out by despicable trolls is obfuscating real news put out by hardworking journalists, a quick-tempered, slow-witted buffoon will soon have the nuclear codes, our relaxed PM John Key has deserted his post as captain of the good ship Enzed just as some icebergs have come into view and, on top of all that, a new live-action Transformers movie is on the way.
Truly, could things get any worse? You have to laugh or you'll cry.
Fortunately in these troubling times Netflix has our back. I've written previously about how the online streaming network doesn't joke around when it comes to comedy.
But that was almost two years ago, a simpler, happier time when all we had to worry about was exorbitantly inflated house prices and not a global apocalypse triggered by the insane tweets of a former reality TV star.
As I desperately needed to turn my frown upside down I once again started hitting the stand-up comedy specials. Netflix has been steadily adding to their comedy catalogue since I last dipped in and now have around 120 specials available for instant viewing.
Because I live life on the edge and am something of a risk taker I started my comedy quest with the first comedian I recognised.
Geek champion and Twitter hero Patton Oswalt seemed a safe bet so I started my comedy quest with his new special Talking for Clapping.
He had a lot of good to things to say about political correctness, internet trolls and the "evil motherf*****s" in American politics, so it was a real shame that he was talking for claps and not for laughs. That said, his exaggeratedly complex My Little Pony bit killed.
Jim Gaffigan was the next comedian I recognised from his extremely funny guest spot in an episode of Flight of the Conchords as Murray's new friend.
Gaffigan has four comedy specials on Netflix and I ended up watching them all. Not because he's uproarious, but more because just like the fast food he celebrates you know exactly what you're gonna get; an hour's worth of amusing little stories about McDonald's and gym avoidance. Essentially they're all the same, but if I had to pick then King Baby is the funniest.
If the phrase 'Party on Garth' means anything to you then you'll enjoy Dana Carvey's Straight White Male, 60. Carvey has a cruisy style that offers plenty of laidback laughs.
His special shows off his impressionistic skills as he casually takes on everyone from Donald Trump to Liam Neeson to John Lennon. There's the sense he's worked hard to shoehorn in his older impressions, more than a few are well past their cultural relevance, but his 'surly teen' is hilariously spot on and yes, Garth does make a cameo.
At this point I branched out into the unknown with Ali Wong's Baby Cobra. This proved to be an excellent move. Wong was heavily pregnant when she filmed this and also heavily pissed off. Not just about being pregnant but about a lot of things.
Mostly she had a begrudging resentment about how her carefully executed plan to become a gold-digger wife had backfired terribly. Wong's a writer on the sitcom Fresh off the Boat and her routine is full of technique, linking stories and callbacks and tying it all together at the end. Recommended.
After that I retreated back to the familiar. David Cross, star of Arrested Development, had titled his new special Making America Great Again and as that kinda summed up the global mood I hit 'play'.
It was amusingly low-key with Cross delivering a routine that was a curious mix of absurdism sprinkled with a snarling political bite. Like Oswalt's special it was more clever than funny. Good, but not the kind of thing that leaves you teary with laughter.
However a segment on semantics in Michael Che's brand new special Matters did.
The first half saw the former Daily Show and SNL comedian using humour as a political weapon as he dived into Black Lives Matter, civil rights and why he doesn't care about gorillas. It was both thought provoking and incredibly funny.
The second half was more straightforward funny as Che heckled a religious audience member about his porn habits and questioned Jesus' carpentry skills.
These are just some recommendations from my recent stand-up binge. It's still a letdown Netflix offers no New Zealand stand-up, but really, if you can't find something to put a smile on your dial then I'm afraid you're going to need something a lot stronger than wisecracks and amusing anecdotes to pull you out of your funk.
