Ansari at his authentic best

NETFLIX just surprised its viewers with an Aziz Ansari stand-up special, which could arguably be one of the comedian’s best work to date.

Well, “best work” is a bit of a stretch.

Let us just say it is an excellent start to his climb back to relevance.

The half-hour special titled “Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian” was released early last week.

Almost everything about the show worked in cohesion to make it good.

Yes, the setting and general ambiance of the event is a far cry from the sets the American comedian and actor had grown accustomed to.

However, as one of the more prominent victims of cancel culture after a woman accused him of sexual misconduct in 2018, it looks like he will have to start from the bottom and work his way up again.

It is for this reason that I thought the comedy nightclub setting, the title of the special itself and his material all worked.

Missing was the over-the-top delivery that Ansari is known for, which is replaced with a more chilled and intimate showing.

The special starts with Ansari backstage waiting for what seems like an opening act.

It is then revealed that the comedian was not actually advertised to perform, and the show itself was actually a surprise for all those in attendance.

The loud cheers from the crowd must have acted as some form of validation, after which Ansari steps out after a quick perusal of what looks like his joke book.

It is said every comedian has their own identity or signature, with most deriving material from their own personal lives.

As someone who suffers from dwarfism, most of Brad Williams’ work revolves around how he fits into society and usually pokes at his everyday interactions with people in the streets.

Kevin Hart’s material is more rooted in his family and home life, while Dave Chappelle prefers to tackle societal ills.

And Ansari’s act is more like a collection of all the above. He has at one time tackled all the styles during his five other specials.

“Nightclub Comedian”, however, is more Dave Chappelle territory, albeit without the controversial material.

Amongst the issues on the menu are the recent United States elections, the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination and technology as a whole.

He pokes fun at himself by comparing his current venue to the big arenas that people like Kevin Hart perform.

He also jabs high-profile names that have publicly opposed vaccinations, namely Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and singer Nicki Minaj.

Rodgers was the victim of the special’s best joke after a story of him responding to a reporter’s inquiry about his vaccination status made news some time ago.

“Yeah, I have been immunised,” was the actual response.

Ansari’s joke and response is an insult to the football players’ intelligence. The pun, and I am not including the set-up here, reads: “Relax guys, he is a football player.

“He probably read some articles, he got sceptical and he did some more research.

“Are you really that stunned that he came to the wrong conclusion?

“Did you really think he was going to crack the case?”

While part of the humour probably gets lost in the quote and lacks Ansari comedic timing and cadence, it really is funnier than it reads.

In fact, the whole set is comedic gold, albeit less edgy than his previous works.

It was the special that Ansari needed to make and one we need to hear.

It is a huge improvement from his last work “Aziz Ansari: Right Now” during which he spent way too much time hiding his sexual misconduct case in his jokes and trying to garner some sympathy from the audience.

The latest special is to Aziz Ansari as authentic as he can be. He is simply at his best.