One of my favorite things about Netflix is the variety of live stand-up comedy specials available for viewing. Although I’ve never reviewed any stand-up before, I thought I’d take a whack at with Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening.
BASICS:
Aziz is known for his TV comedy work (Parks and Recreation, Scrubs) and memorable film side characters (I Love You Man, Funny People, Get Him to the Greek, 30 Minutes or Less). He’s one of the few identifiable Indian-America stars in mainstream Hollywood (the only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Maulik Pancholy, who plays Jack’s assistant Jonathan on 30 Rock) and one of two Indian-heritage comedians I can think of (the other being Russell Peters, an Indian-Candian comedian). Unlike Russell Peters, however, Aziz steers away from Indo-culture clash jokes and instead talks about his daily life, ranging from tormenting his teen cousin online to silly celebrity encounters.
THE GOOD:
It’s difficult for me to judge a comedy routine because so much of my opinion depends on the structure of the jokes alone. Aziz follows a Mitch Hedberg-ian format of small vignette stories with unexpected ended – which I love! While Mitch Hedberg has an air of innocence to him, Aziz dirties it up a little bit. He also switches up the surprise endings so the material maintains freshness throughout.
Aziz does a hilarious Kanye impression and hearing him recount signing up for his teen cousin’s online study group just to mess with him is epic. I like it when he gets into story mode and his jokes are more like comical observations interwoven into the tale. At times it feels more like a conversation than a show, which is great!
THE BAD:
During the portion of the show where Aziz goes through celebrity encounter stories, it begins to feel like name dropping after a certain amount of time. I get that it’s the life that he lives, but I don’t want to feel like he’s telling me just so I know he hangs out with A-listers.
The end of the show is the “Raaaaaaaandy!” portion of the show – probably more tolerable if you’ve seen Funny People, which I have not. Aziz plays a character named Randy who makes the same joke over and over. By the end, it was so repetitive I became convinced that I, too, could become a comedian. Even the audience participation portion felt predictable.
THE VERDICT:
Great stand-up special over all. If you aren’t feeling it, don’t feel guilty about quitting early. If you’re looking for Raaaaaaaandy, skip to the end.
I give Aziz 3.5 mics out of 5.
The Eyewash Station 