Ali Wong: Single Lady

As a longtime fan of Ali Wong, I enjoyed her previous Netflix specials, "Baby Cobra", "Hard Knock Wife", and "Don Wong", and her award-winning performance in the black comedy "Beef" with Steven Yeun. She's always excelled at balancing raunchy humor with biting social commentary and while I love some vulgarity as much as anyone when it serves a larger comedic goal, her latest special, "Single Lady", feels like a missed opportunity. Exploring post-divorce life and re-entry into the dating world has potential, but the material becomes repetitive quickly. After initial laughs at her escapades, we felt like we were being hit over the head with the same punchline again and again. That said, Wong's stage presence remains undeniable; she's as brash, unapologetic, and charismatic as ever, commanding attention with bold delivery and great comic timing. However, lazy writing and lack of fresher material results in fewer chuckles and chortles than I expected, and it's missing the sharpness and originality that made her previous specials so captivating.

When I stumble upon this 2024 Netflix comedy special from Ali Wong, I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch it.

While I do find Ali Wong to be a good comedian, I have to say that I found this 2024 comedy special to be a bit generic. It was primarily below the belt material, and that just feels so 1990s. Yeah, I do actually prefer comedy with an intellectual twist to it. Comedy should be more than genitalia and sex jokes. And there was a bit too much of self-glorification, as to her being an Emmy winner and her riches, that was just a tad too tacky and corny, as if she is so much more than everyone else because she is on TV.

Ali Wong does have great on-screen charisma and presence, as she has in each of her shows. She feels very much naturally at home on the screen, and she sets up her jokes nicely and delivers them equally nicely as well.

Watchable for sure, but the contents of the jokes were just not particularly impressive. I like comedy to be more than below the belt jokes. And this was basically almost just an hour of Ali Wong talking about how many men she has been with since her divorce, and how she perceives sex as a very casual thing.

"Ali Wong: Single Lady" was really a disappointing performance in my opinion and she doesn't really portray herself in a good way here.

My rating of "Ali Wong: Single Lady" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This special is the female equivalent of an entire special of d*** jokes. Smart d*** jokes, but still... low-hanging fruit.

Honestly, the aim of this is off. I love Ali Wong and I want to love this special, but it's hard to watch-even cringy, at times. The amount of strange flexing and bragging trying to land as jokes is more obnoxious than funny. More manifesto than engaging.

Comedy is a matter of taste. I get that. But if you're like me, you want more from a stand-up special than shock lines and a peek into the world of a rich, successful divorcee and her sexual play-by-play of middle-aged dating. This might be what others find entertaining, but for me, it's proof that no matter how smart and well-written ones jokes are, d*** jokes are still d*** jokes an an entire special of them feels like an easy way to get laughs. It feels cheap from any comic-no matter the gender.

Both my partner and I checked out mentally about a third of the way through.

The wrap up might be the most weirdly forced ending of a standup special that I've ever seen. Like, was she trying to save herself by injecting a touch of humility and vulnerability in the last hundred yards? I don't think it works.

I left this special disappointed and confused by how I was supposed to feel. Once the shock wears off, I'm left with nothing.

I enjoyed her other specials and her new Netflix series "Beef." I loved them and laughed so much I watched them several times with other people. I'm beyond disappointed of the new special. I couldn't even finish watching it. I got no enjoyment watching it. It was literally her talking about having sex with a bunch of men since her divorce. It started extremely raunchy and didn't have any sense of depth in her comedy. I'm not sure what audience she is trying to relate to but it was extremely disturbing to hear all her sexual desires and experiences in almost every joke. While some jokes were okay she still deviated back to being raunchy. I'm not saying she is a pervert but the skit was definitely perverted. I understand the whole single, proud, independent woman mind set but this performance is very extreme. I'm a lover of comedy and love when a comedian can incorporate some sense of depth and intellect in the humor. My opinion but this one doesn't have it. I only gave three stars because her other specials were good.

Imagine being a forty year old adult woman having a child and embarrasing yourself and your family in talking about your promiscuous post divorce relationships in such detail.

Even if it is fiction.

In what universe do you think that your child won't be bullied in school even if it's a private school?

Have a little class.

The problem with this type of "humor" is that it is just cheap, crass devoid of any intelligence.

It is zero uplifting, it is not inspiring it is exactly nothing.

Is this how you want to be remembered by your child?

I get it, sex sells, but were you thát broke that you had to stoop this low?

Lengo en el culo ahorita?

Wow.

Just gross.