Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal

This ties Dane Cook's most recent stand-up special (the one he shot in his backyard, in which he just talks for an hour) as the worst I've ever seen. I'm angry with myself for watching it all the way through, but I stuck with it because an hour can cover enough topics that it's usually not fair to dismiss the entire performance if the first few minutes are bad. In this case, it is. First, the "jokes" stem from the same old premises you've heard dozens of times and are often contradictory:

-Observations about pregnancy (relaying these to a theater full of women who have most likely given birth themselves).

-Men vs. Women (claims women strive to keep up their looks as they age to impress men, but also says most men don't care about appearances and will pounce on anything that moves).

-Generational gaps (screams about the differences between millennials and gen Z because there's no real punchline).

You get the idea.

Now, let's talk about that thirst trap of an outfit. Iliza chooses to wear some kind of medieval/rock & roll crossover pants, but complains right out of the gate how tight they are. She pairs these with a sheer shirt that exposes her midriff because she wants us all to notice how toned her stomach is after having two kids and being over 40.

The material comes off as preachy, not humorous, and is delivered with such an aggressive tone it feels like the audience is being reprimanded (another tactic to prevent viewers from realizing there are very few actual punchlines). This is more of a feminist propaganda TED talk than it is a comedy routine. The tight shots of Iliza's face often reveal her "gotcha" expression, like she's convinced she's making some earth-shattering revelations with the things she's saying. I'm tempted to contact Amazon support to ask if they can subtract my view from the number of times this was streamed.

I actually enjoyed Iliza's stand up for years. She had great specials full of relatable topics and laughable physical humor. Her specialty was actually roasting men and women which I loved. Easy for a female comic to poke at men but she made fun of both men and women. Comedians often make jokes about the differences between men and women and she was great at it. Also notably never political which was smart. Fast forward to Roe V Wade overturned then politics jumped into and ruined her last special. Now her comedy is full on feminist and even man hating at times. I thought her specials would get funnier since having a kid but quite the opposite. Also I have no idea why she's dressed like Madonna. She's always had interesting style but the half nakedness was ridiculous and distracting. Nicki Glasser did the same thing wearing a club looking mini dress in one of her specials. It's like pop stars. The older they get the less clothes they wear to distract from the fact their music sucks. Same thing here. So RIP Iliza. You comedy is dead to me.

I've been a fan of Iliza for years but these last two specials just were not funny to me. A Different Animal felt like she was trying to do a TedTalk with comedy. I laughed at two jokes; the shower bit & the vemo comment. I was impressed at her repeated swats, even after two babies girl still works on her physical health. It was just the same old girl power phrases again and again. American almost had a woman president, Britain already had a literal modern queen for decades! I clicked on this special for COMEDY!!!

I don't think it's post pregnancy brain either, she a professional comic (most comedians are really smart like genesis level). It just seemed like she was to busy pandering to women and it just was not funny. She tried to passify the men and it was weak. A Joe Rogan joke, most men I know don't give a crap about the guy or Trump. I hope she gets back to being funny like she used to. I mean she has a husband, other parents to deal with, a great comedic mind, etc.

I love Iliza, seen several routines, but this nonsense was boring and only mildly amusing. Turned off half way through. Too much Girl power and not enough content for all. Slow and ponderous and says she doesn't bring her kids in spotlight then goes on about how much she loves and dotes on her daughter. If you didn't know better you'd think she hated all men and denigrates them whenever she gets the opportunity for a quick girlie laugh. The gen Z, gen X & millennial spiel is dated now too. Needs more up to date content, more even tone for all and stop believing your own hype about how good you WERE!

And you would like to bring him into a world where you are conflating men congratulating each other for bringing life into the world with merely having sex?? What is wrong with you? There's comedy and then there's this... garbage, thoughtless, just awful really. I feel bad that you have a son and husband and you choose to proliferate an ancient sexist agenda. Disgusting. I'll never watch anything you make again. I'll tell anyone who asks not to either. As a man I'm highly offended and I've never really been offended by comedy before. But then again this isn't comedy and it's not funny. Trash. Sexist. Trash.