Trevor Noah is someone that I have mixed feelings about as far as humor is concerned. Because of the time he spent on The Daily Show he became entirely too political for me to really have much interest in him because that all went too far in the past 6 years. Trevor just seemed like almost everyone else in the media and he, just like all the other late-night "comedy" shows was extremely partisan and very one-sided in who he was going to mock on the show.
I had hoped that his new stand-up special would steer clear of politics and about 50% of it does. However, he also broached the topic of Covid extensively and if you are not on one particular side of that whole debate, he basically spends 15 minutes calling you an idiot which isn't surprising because that is exactly what he did on the "Daily Show" for 2 years.
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Subject matter was a big part of the reason why I had a difficult time enjoying this special but that wasn't the only issue. Trevor does situational comedy meaning that he describes things that either did or could have happened and the lead in to the punchline of jokes of this sort can sometimes be really long. In Trevor's case they are extremely and excessively long. At one point, and it is his last bit, it take him nearly one quarter of the entire special to get to the main punchline. I nearly fast-forwarded that bit because I was just starting to get annoyed at how much time he was spending on describing the situation.
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Instead I just wandered around the living room and tidied up a bit while listening. So in that sense I am glad it was a bit boring because my living room was a mess and it no longer is.
The topics he covered were not very wide and although I might be missing one here he covers learning German and visiting friends and family in Germany and Switzerland, the Covid lockdowns and how you are an idiot if you didn't wear masks, his good friend who was Indian in high school, and of course, stuff about Presidents and one particular President a lot more than the other ones. I am sure you can guess who that is.
I don't care much for political comedy unless the person who is doing it is going to give equal time. Trevor has the audacity to talk about the widening political divide in the USA while at the same time being completely ignorant to the fact that it is exactly people like Trevor Noah that made this happen. Another thing I do not like about Trevor Noah's stand-up in this special as well as all of his other ones is that he relies on his skin color far too frequently for pandering and punch-lines. I feel this way about any comedian that continually takes the lazy route and uses racism, whether it is real or imagined, as a way to get laughs and avoid criticism because if you criticize him, you are obviously a racist, right? The fact that he says racist things about white people in his own stand-up will go overlooked even though if it was done the other way around, there would be a public outcry.
I will say this about Trevor though: He is one of the greatest impersonators alive today. The way in which he can switch accents so seamlessly is truly impressive. In one of the scenes he switches between South African, American, Scottish, English, and Indian accents without missing a beat. This is a true sight to behold and I admire his ability to do this. I think that he could probably be one of the best comedians of our lives if he would refine his material to focus less on political and race-related topics and instead find humor in regular day-to-day situations. Save the activism for The Daily Show and maybe stop pandering to the crowd. Imagine how much of a shock it would be if for just a little while someone like Trevor Noah was just trying to make you laugh instead of trying to change the way you think about social issues? That would be amazing but I'm afraid it is probably not in his wheelhouse.
Overall I would say this isn't the worst comedy special I have seen on Netflix, it is pretty average though. Aside from the impersonations the lead ins for all the jokes are honestly, too long and the subject matter is something that is going to get under the skin of a lot of people, particularly when you are STILL getting preached to about Covid and racism by a very wealthy black man who lives in a massive luxury house.
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I'm sure the lockdown was REALLY hard on you in your $22 million mansion
I suppose there are worse ways that you can spend an hour than by watching this. I'm glad I saw it. Trevor has a great opportunity to be one of the best... he just needs to diversify his material and speed it up a bit. Seriously, in this one-hour special there are only like half a dozen bits!
