Matt Rife and his Netflix special
Steve Timko
Matt Rife’s Netflix comedy special is being vilified for misogyny. I didn’t care much until Marc Maron’s sounded off on it during a discussion with Kliph Nesteroff. The Daily Beast covered it in a story: Marc Maron Sounds Off on ‘New It Boy of Shitty Comedy’ Matt Rife
https://www.thedailybeast.com/marc-maron-sounds-off-on-new-it-boy-of-shitty-comedy-matt-rife
That got my attention. The article said it’s one of the most-watched comedy specials on Netflix.
I decided a week or so ago to watch it and report about it to the group. I watched the first 15 minutes or so. And now, a week later, I decided I’m not going to finish it. Not because it’s offensive. Because it’s not funny.
Rife got a following through social media. Maybe those bits are funny. I haven’t watched them. His Netflix special is just clunker after clunker, at the “pull my finger” level. You could take just about any other comedian who has a Netflix special and film them doing crowd work and it would be funnier.
Spoiler alert: Here’s the joke at the beginning of his special that caused the most outrage. A restaurant hostess is serving him. She has a black eye. Rife said of course she has to be hostess, because if she could cook she wouldn’t have the black eye.
It’s an old joke. Rife is telling a street joke in his Netflix special. Whatever skills polished comedians have in telling jokes, Rife doesn’t have them. I’ve written earlier about Dave Chapelle telling jokes that border on being offensive or cross the line. But Chapelle has talent, improving the joke with his delivery and his energy. Rife is flapping around on stage like a carp out of water.
A few jokes later, he’s talking about women and astrology. I don’t remember the exact joke, but he says in talking to a woman and the difference between Jupiter and her is that Jupiter has a ring and she doesn’t. Jupiter? A ring? You mean Saturn? Jupiter actually does have a ring, but it takes sophisticated equipment to see it. Saturn is the planet best known for its ring. Anyone with a backyard telescope can see it.
The Netflix special has strong audience laughter to his jokes. I wonder how much of this has been sweetened. Then again, he was a hit on social media. Maybe there are crowds that dig this kind of humor and Netflix was right to give him a platform, at least from a business perspective.
There’s another comedian who was canceled because of his jokes. Shane Gillis was picked to join the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” He got unpicked after his jokes on a podcast were deemed racist and homophobic. He’s making something of a comeback, I guess. He has a special on YouTube, which I haven’t watched. But I’ve seen clips on his stuff on TikTok and he seems funny. Unlike Rife, he knows how to tell a joke.
Jason Carpio
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2023 7:19:25 PM
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