User reviews

Comedian Colin Quinn presents the history of New York, in particular its inhabitants and their unique character. Filmed live off-Broadway in 2016.

I've been a fan of Colin Quinn since his Tough Crowd days and really enjoy his cynical, quick-witted, knowledge-filled sense of humour and biting delivery. He employs these traits well in this homage to his beloved hometown.

You'd think a comedy routine that relies on stereotypes of the different ethnic groups that make up a city would be quite cringy and not-done, especially in this over-PC, being-offended-as-a-hobby day and age. Yet it works.

The trick is that while Quinn points out the traits of all the groups that combined to make the modern New Yorker, he doesn't put them down, celebrating them and showing how they contribute to the diversity of the city. It's funny without being mocking.

Not perfect though. Quinn's quickfire delivery is often too quick: you hardly have a chance to digest what he's said and in some cases it's difficult to even make out what he says as sometimes blurts out the punchline. That's the problem with having so many jokes and ideas running through your head: you just want to get them out all at once.

Tough Crowd also had this problem, especially as it was largely unscripted as he would deliver his joke before it was fully formed in his head. Here the jokes are fully formed but his delivery is so fast and intense that the audience can't always keep up.

It's a trade-off though. One of the best things about his stand-up routine is the intensity and if he slowed down to let the audience savour his jokes he would lose that edge.

It probably doesn't help that I'm not from New York so can't immediately relate to what he's talking about. The crowd, being from New York, would have had less of a problem.

Overall though it's still very funny and entertaining.

Great material but he is so wound up it's tough to watch.

As a native NY'r I agree with everything he said and laughed many times but this version of Colin is not enjoyable Colin is an astute observer and accurate reporter of humans-he nails this topic .... I want every visitor to NY to watch this on the plane and hope they don't get scared off This comedic set glorifies a bygone era - a city that can't exist again. ( When he gets to the Polish joke you'll understand- And that observance is gold. ) What makes us different and great is our distinct parts. But if we're not distinct anymore, who are we?

Can't believe I missed this pre-Pandemic stand up show by intelligent comedian, Colin Quinn. This one is directed by Jerry Seinfeld. This special is from a truly NY perspective, with a truly NY delivery. While comedy is not dependent on set design, aside from John Leguizamo, the set design in this one is really the perfect accompaniment to this material. I love his knowledge and use of history in his stand up. This was true here and in Red State, Blue State. His use of historical roots to explain the New York State of mind, whether true or imagined, is still very funny. While Colin Quinn's initial demeanor does not scream educated, he really makes you think.

Regardless of where you live in this country, you've bumped into some of these characters, and their stereotypes. Quinn delivers a witty, NY-Style sarcasm that delivers laughs, and brings our varied cultures together beautifully. I love his offbeat timing, and killer delivery. It's like watching Will Rogers, Mark Twain, Mort Sahl, Andy Rooney, and a few other American satirists bundled into one, given far too much coffee, and allowed to peel back the veneer of political correctness just enough so that you can have some genuine laughs.

Apparently the previous comments are from those who either 1) never lived in NYC or 2) lived there too long and think NYC is flawless.

Having lived in NYC for over a decade and married to a born and bred NYer...now after serving time and living free somewhere in the US, we both found Quinn's observation side splitting funny and spot on. Its a town that is full so many characters and oddities, they don't realize they are doing those very things that set them apart and makes special from the rest of the country.

I hope Netflix/Quinn does a part 2. My team will support it!

I love Colin Quinn's take on NYC and his crazy frenetic delivery! An hour of brilliance. My only regret is that I didn't see this sooner! Thank you Netflix.

This Netflix Special, however missed the mark completely. His delivery for a lot of the anecdotes felt too anger- fuelled and it felt he was trying too hard. One of the funniest traits he had in his earlier shows was his carefree attitude and laidbackness. In this Netflix show it seemed like this was lacking. I hope his next standup show is better! this is boring

Colin Quinn goes through some history and what makes a New Yorker played off of stereotypes of immigrants who moved there. Being from New York himself, it's interesting to see his comedy perspective on what made a character from the city.

Not today folks! That's right! What you got to see was all that she was, a thief and a hack who, when tries to be a comedian of her own material, falls flat on butt.

The truth is out, and while he is blaming trolls for all the negative comments and one-star ratings, many of them (most if not all) come from her own followers. he was horrible and unwatchable. Many reported lasting only 5-10 minutes into his nightmare special before turning it off.

Don't waste your time or effort trying to watch this. There is no comedic value past the fact that he is shown to be the failure he has always been when forced to rely on her own wit.

I don't know how he can do it, but i was mesmerised on the show. History knowledge, performing, telling a story, made me laugh alot. One of the best comedians I've seen on Netflix, and I've seen ALOT!

The only "conspiracy" going on from this is the collective realization colin was never that funny on his own.

Though the biggest tragedy from this was Netflix caving into his complaints and introduced the "like/dislike" feature instead of community rating. Sorry Amy - giving it one star was extremely generous.