'Cause I don't wanna work anymore

May 2, 2018 7:56 AM

The Pudding examines the biggest laugh in Ali Wong's Netflix stand-up special "Baby Cobra" and breaks the special down to its component parts to find out why the comedy works.
posted by Maaik (27 comments total)

Love her! Her Instagram is so great.
posted by amanda at 8:08 AM on May 2, 2018

This was a great analysis of a fantastic stand-up routine. She's masterful with her comedy and her command of the audience.
posted by xingcat at 8:12 AM on May 2, 2018

This reminds me of Data trying to get a joke.
posted by Beardman at 8:20 AM on May 2, 2018 [7 favorites]

Love me some comedy deep dives. People just don't appreciate the degree of craft that goes into this stuff.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:25 AM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

I watched the Ali Wong special on Netflix a couple of weeks ago, and she's just seamless all the way through. By contrast, we went to see Sarah Silverman last year, and she was using the show to workshop a whole new routine, which really laid bare the "how they make the sausage" business of putting together comedy. It made for a disappointing show because she had a few set pieces to trot out but then a lot of material that she literally read off of a piece of paper she brought on stage with her. The cohesion of the storytelling that worked so well in the Ali Wong special didn't happen with Silverman, even though some of the material was funny on its own.
posted by briank at 8:31 AM on May 2, 2018

The best moment in this was when they referenced Robert McKee but instead showed Brian Cox's satire of McKee in Adaptation, a film that clearly thought McKee is full of shit.
posted by maxsparber at 8:35 AM on May 2, 2018 [9 favorites]

I had never heard of her and tried this special on Netflix months ago. I was really surprised with how excellent it was.
posted by Edgewise at 8:35 AM on May 2, 2018

which really laid bare the "how they make the sausage" business of putting together comedy

I went on a cruise a few months ago where every morning at 8AM, Maria Bamford did an hour of exactly this. I went 3 of the 6 days, and it was fascinatin' in the extreme. (AND SUPER FUNNY)
posted by DigDoug at 8:51 AM on May 2, 2018 [10 favorites]

Bamford. On a cruise? At 8am?! Workshopping?!! Is this a kind of surreal seas adventure that I can purposely sign up for?!
posted by amanda at 8:56 AM on May 2, 2018 [19 favorites]

Most I've laughed at a stand up routine in at least ten years, easy.

The TI-82 manual portion has so many moving pieces, and it's played as a toss off line. The whole routine is stuffed with things like that.

I need me some more Ali Wong stand up, desperately.
posted by dglynn at 8:58 AM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Y'all are in luck! Apparently you won't have to wait too much longer for more of her.
posted by Maaik at 9:01 AM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

Related: this tweet begins a deep dive into the craft of Michelle Wolf’s set at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend.
posted by gauche at 9:15 AM on May 2, 2018 [20 favorites]

The best moment in this was when they referenced Robert McKee but instead showed Brian Cox's satire of McKee in Adaptation, a film that clearly thought McKee is full of shit.

I got the exact opposite impression from Adaptation. In it, Charlie Kaufman thought McKee was full of shit initially but the final act of the film mirrors McKee's advice to a T.
posted by enamon at 9:15 AM on May 2, 2018

Love her, love this!

Cannot wait for her new Netflix special; watching it is a gift I am going to be giving myself on Mother's Day (a welcome relief from a day which will be spent driving around to see my mom and mother-in-law too, argh).
posted by spicytunaroll at 9:16 AM on May 2, 2018

In it, Charlie Kaufman thought McKee was full of shit initially but the final act of the film mirrors McKee's advice to a T.

That's because the Charlie Kaufman character has given up on writing the script and turned it over to Donald, who is a McKee disciple.

Even McKee was aware he was being satirized in the film. He insisted on having a hand in casting, and encouraged them to hire Cox, who he knew and knew would not sentimentalize him, and also insisted on a redeeming moment, which is why there is the scene in the bar.

But the end of the film is when it ceases to be an adaptation and becomes pure fiction, which Kaufman did not want to do, and ultimately is a comment on the near-total-impossibility of fairly adapting books to screen and the pressures of making art house films conform to pop film standards.
posted by maxsparber at 9:45 AM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]

By contrast, we went to see Sarah Silverman last year, and she was using the show to workshop a whole new routine, which really laid bare the "how they make the sausage" business of putting together comedy.

We went to a Simon Amstell workshop a few years back and it was still really funny! It was in NYC and some of the jokes fell flat (mostly critiquing religion) but then he just riffed on them not working in America which still, somehow, managed to be funny! But yeah, interesting to see the lumps get ironed out.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:03 AM on May 2, 2018

That's because the Charlie Kaufman character has given up on writing the script and turned it over to Donald, who is a McKee disciple.

Also, he specifically warns against using a Deus Ex Machina, and then the plot is suddenly resolved by an Alligator eating someone.
posted by Ragged Richard at 10:04 AM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]

Stewart Lee's dissection of his routine in If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One is a masterclass in comedy. He goes through the whole routine, what he's thinking, what he expects the audience to do at that point, what groundwork he's laying for later, and do forth. For example, his opening:

Conventional wisdom says we should start with a great gag. Instead, I tried to say as little as possible in as many words as possible. I tried each night to be as unfunny as I could, to appear as if I had no grasp of the situation whatsoever.

Just an amazing piece of craft.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:08 AM on May 2, 2018 [6 favorites]

I saw Ali Wong do stand-up at a tiny dive in the Tenderloin in SF years and years ago and she was already a stand-out. This analysis is fantastic and will help me articulate from now on why I find most stand-up routines unremarkable collections of jokes. Dammit, comedians, SHAPE your material, tell a damn STORY. For those who haven't seen it, another great example of well shaped, beautifully crafted comedy storytelling is Hasan Minhaj's "Homecoming King."
posted by PhineasGage at 11:05 AM on May 2, 2018 [5 favorites]

this tweet begins a deep dive into the craft of Michelle Wolf’s set

This is _incredible_
posted by Maaik at 11:28 AM on May 2, 2018 [2 favorites]

Although I enjoyed the SCIENCE! of that breakdown, it sort of rubbed me raw. I would LIKE to think most comedy is more spontaneous and flowing. Possibly since my sense of humor is mainly reactive.
posted by Samizdata at 12:51 PM on May 2, 2018

Interesting but I disagree that most comedy is just jokes. So so so many comedians at Edinburgh do a thematically linked hour. Is this a US/UK distinction?
posted by eyeofthetiger at 1:47 PM on May 2, 2018

Many comedians do this: Here's Dara O'Brian's tweet "I love it when somebody spots the structural work!" about the Guardian review of his latest show.
posted by Zack_Replica at 2:13 PM on May 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the contrast drawn between Wong's well-structured show and "most stand-up" is pretty irritating to me. Most live stand-up I see in Australia is built around an overarching theme and structure, and often comedians are doing really clever and interesting things with that form (Hannah Gadsby's "Nanette" is one devastating example).

Maybe it's a difference in the way that US and Australian or UK comedians tend to work - putting together an hour long show every year to tour around the various festivals seems like the chief mode here.
posted by misfish at 5:20 PM on May 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

I would LIKE to think most comedy is more spontaneous and flowing.

If it’s done well, it will seem that way. And as an audience member it’s totally cool to not want to lift the curtain and see all the work that goes into it. But successful comedy routines are the result of a TON of work. Legendarily, comedians will take years to get their “tight ten”(minutes of routine).

Which is one of the things that makes this special so remarkable. It’s so well-crafted, and the ending basically pulls the rug out from under the entire premise. It’s like watching a movie with a really well-executed plot twist, where you can look back and see how obvious yet hidden in plain sight it was.
posted by lunasol at 5:37 PM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yeah yeah yeah the comedy is good but nobody is talking about the impressive web experience?
posted by Monochrome at 6:36 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

I would LIKE to think most comedy is more spontaneous and flowing. Possibly since my sense of humor is mainly reactive.

Nope. It's (almost) all scripted, honed and polished to the nth degree. Often it's scripted to seem spontaneous and off the cuff of course. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it though! Admire the craft as you laugh...
posted by pharm at 6:56 AM on May 7, 2018