Over the years, we’ve seen so many famous couples break up. From Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. One relationship that has been going strong, though, is that of comedian Ali Wong with the streaming service giant, Netflix.
Ever since her 2016 comedy special “Ali Wong: Baby Cobra”, she’s been involved with a number of Netflix specials, TV shows and films. Most of you probably know the comedian from the romantic comedy starring Randall Park called “Always Be My Maybe”. Others may recognize her as the voice of Bertie in Netflix’s animated series “Tuca & Bertie”. For us though, she will always be known as the comedian who proudly declared that she was willing to eat ass for a 25-year old not ugly male nanny. That stuck with us for a while.
It’s been nearly 4 years since we’ve seen a comedy special from her. So we’re dying to know if the Asian-American comic still has what it takes to leave a crowd in stitches? Will this Valentine’s Day special have couples laughing together or leave a lot of awkward silence in between? Let’s find out!
Now, some people would compare Ali Wong’s comedic style to that of Amy Schumer’s but we disagree. Sure Schumer is known for her raunchy jokes and gross-out humor but it’s always delivered with this bubbly, ditzy tone. Ali, on the hand, goes all out like a woman possessed! Right out of the gate, she launches into this Lewis-Black like tirade about how female comics don’t get nearly as much quality as male comics do with women. In a very detailed manner, mind you. She, then, goes on another tangent talking about the difference between fan pussy and fan dick.
It’s clear she’s lost none of her edge since “Hard Knock Wife”. The tone of Ali’s delivery often oscillates between these two modes: very salty and very horny. Throughout her entire performance, she maintains an incredibly intense register which results in some very animated sequences in which she describes her fantasies and situations. For us, it comes as a bit of a mixed bag. Her gross-out humor is on point. Especially when it describes her vivid sexual fantasies and some very interesting experiences involving bodily function. We found an annecdote about the time she was severely constipated quite amusing.
That being said, our girl seriously needs to work on her accents. There are instances in which she tries to act out a comedic bit and it comes off as a tad insincere and even cringe-inducing at times. Which is surprising seeing that Ali’s had a lot of time to do voice work on animated shows like “Big Mouth” and “Tuca and Bertie”. It would have been nice to have seen her flex some of her vocal talents in this special. If comedians like Bill Burr have taught us anything is that accents and imitation can play a huge role in immersing the audience in a joke. So even if the punchline is a million miles away, you can still hold their attention.
The material in “Ali Wong: Don Wong” is mostly fresh. Meaning Ali doesn’t retread or reuse some of the older anecdotes and jokes from her previous specials. Something that we can definitely respect. Also, if any of you came in worried that she’d rely on Uncle-Roger style Asian stereotypes as a crutch, you can breathe easy. At this point, we’re quite done with the whole we’re Asian and quirky shtick. Ronny Cheng thoroughly ran that bit right into the ground and there is no shortage of YouTube comedians like Steven He. Hats off to her for avoiding the cliche!
Depending on your mileage for raunchy jokes, you may find it stale and one-dimensional after a while. Personally, we found that while a lot of the punchlines were cum on my face now laugh, the comedian found enough innovative ways to keep the bit going. Another major aspect of her material is pointing out the disparity in which how men are allowed to behave and how women are treated. This will definitely rub some people the wrong way and we can see it now that a ton of people are going to start labelling “Ali Wong: Don Wong” as another woke-feminist propaganda attack.
Does she go hard on men? Yes, no doubt but she also dishes out some hard truths about women’s unrealistic expectations of men. There’s a really raw and risque joke about how she needs a man to know when to be soft and tender…and when he needs to get a little rapey. Something that a lot of men can relate to in their bedroom experiences. She also makes a ton of self-deprecating jokes about her insecurities and her various strange kinks. So while there is a biting sharpness to some of the punclines, there’s a good amount of self-awareness that keeps it from being too self-congratulatory.
The weakest part of her special has got to be the motherhood jokes. Perhaps it’s just us, but after watching both “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife”, we think that well is thoroughly dry. There’s only so many times you can tell the audience you hate your kids before it starts to get uncomfortable.
Netflix’s “Ali Wong: Don Wong” has enough raunchy madness and high energy to keep audiences entertained throughout its relatively brief hour-long runtime. It’s much of the same ole angry, horny mom jokes you’ve come to expect from the Asian comedian but with a little more nuance this time around. While not exactly on par with the wit and setup of her other contemporaries, Ali Wong still manages to deliver a fun rated-R time. Just maybe turn the volume down to avoid any awkward questions after.
You can now catch “Ali Wong: Don Wong” on Netflix today!
The Review
Netflix's "Ali Wong: Don Wong" Review
Netflix's "Ali Wong: Don Wong" has enough raunchy madness and high energy to keep audiences entertained throughout its relatively brief hour-long runtime. It's much of the same ole angry, horny mom jokes you've come to expect from the Asian comedian but with a little more nuance this time around. While not exactly on par with the wit and setup of her other contemporaries, Ali Wong still manages to deliver a fun rated-R time.
Review Breakdown
- Netflix's "Ali Wong: Don Wong" Review
