Hasan Minhaj: The King's Jester

My first exposure to this comedian -- at the first 5 minutes I thought this special was a bit crude with the infertility jokes. But then, I saw it was talking about his real-life experiences, with him mentioning his daughter.

Each mention of Hasan's increasingly wacky stories made me laugh more. First, a wheeze; then, a chuckle; then, full-on belly laughing! You should also know as he is telling his biography, you get some insights on how the American governmental/economic system works from the perspective of an immigrant.

The sex jokes at the middle and end of the special were a bit uncomfortable, but I saw that was the point. The occasional call-backs to Hindi-Urdu were also fun, even as someone who barely can use the language.

First of all, few comedy sets legitimately give you goosebumps and makes you teary. Hannah Gadsby created the mood in Nanette but it had all soul and little laughs. Hasan succeeds on both, it's a set with a lot of heart, and a lot of laughs.

But more importantly, Hasan changes the game of stand up in a significant way with this set. When this set will be closely examined by art historians in the future, they should be able to delineate the new era Hasan heralds with the show. This is my version of it. Without going into any spoiler, the show broadly consists of two stories, Hasan growing up in a Indian Muslim community and Hasan antagonizing world's most powerfuls through his Netflix show "The Patriot Act" and earning fame in the process. The show starts with a narrative on his marriage, having his first child and it is a recurring thread that gives the two main stories some context.

In the first half, Hasan fully embraces his racial-religious identity and talks about his personal experience. In the second half, Hasan dons the hat of the presenter as in his Netflix show and go behind the scenes.

Hasan, never a very keen observational comic, goes high on drama through the set. His body language is exaggerated, expressions loud, movements are theatrical. His props appear at the right times behind him in a large screen. Hasan even name calls Aziz and Kumail in his set.

However, the real reason the set reaches the unbelievable crescendo, the epic high, is how the set incorporates all the tropes and tricks of a summer blockbuster. It has named and identified villains, it has the villains menacing with others and attacking his family, it has a story where the underdog Minhaj smokes them in his own way. It has the revenge drama, the satisfaction of a earned victory, the adulations of the crowd, the jubilations and the actual cheer of the audience. This is a new style of stand up. Stand-up traditionally stayed true to everyday experience of a common man, but Hasan with his theatrics, gives his story a dramatic high and makes it a terrific production.

I do not know whether some of the future comedians will venture into this dramatics, but this set is thoroughly enjoyable. Jokes are few and far between but the atmosphere is electric and you enjoy delivery of every single line which are precise and punchy. It is like you bought a ticket for a pop concert and you get the production value of a super bowl halftime show. Nice work, Hasan! Great job.

I dont know how much of what he was saying is true... if it is, then damn bro im sorry ... if not.. then it was just making me sad for you... i kept on watching not because i know you can be funny ... but because i felt pity for you... and it was just making me sad.. if i watch a stand up.. then i want to be laughing.. but with this ... the bits that made me laugh where overshadowed by all the sad stuff.. even at some points i felt there were the 'laugh at anything person' sprinkled all over...

make me feel like you are only good at comedy when someone else is writing stuff for you to say on screen. U were awesome in patriot act... but this was just like... well let me say it like this.. it was like i was the plane going into the tower and this is what it felt like.

This is by far the best comedy I have seen in recent years. I love Hassan's energy and eloquence. He is one of the few comedians you would watch without getting bored. I am in awe of how could talk like that. I have always had difficulty explaining my thought and ideas clearly and concisely, and I pay a great deal of attention when I watch stands ups or movies. Hassan is one of the few comics who checks those boxes. I have never seen him stumbling on words or stammering. I use to think Homecoming king was a pinnacle of comedy but this surpasses it by a mile. Highly recommended. Check out his other work if you haven't already.

The special was alright. Somewhat entertaining but breaks down to him being a dangerous clout chaser who had to stop because he has a wife and kids now and she wants him to be less dangerous or something. Really trying to post W's and ending up mostly L's. Trying to take credit for speaking truth to power and getting push back but it was mostly toothless and he received regular hate mail. Some of it was funny but not much. I'm giving it a 5 because he did it all in his regular style of comedy and storytelling so he was true to form. It felt a lot like cover for his show getting canceled too. 5 stars.