I know that lumping in two female comics would drive either of them absolutely nuts, but the similarities are uncanny: they’re both named Chelsea, both their specials were on Netflix, they mention that their Jewish fathers like black women, they’re both most famous for shows I don’t care for (Brooklyn Nine Nine for Peretti, and The Chelsea Handler Show), etc.
But I wished I’d liked these specials a little better…I’m almost afraid to pan female comedians stand-up specials out of fear I’ll get labeled as one of those guys who doesn’t think women are funny, even though I would probably rather watch Amy Schumer or Aisha Tyler’s specials over anyone not named Patton Oswalt. Anyway…
Chelsea Handler: Uganda Be Kidding Me…It’s supposed to be about Handler’s recent trip to Uganda, but I’d say she spends only about ten minutes actually talking about that, and the rest going off on aimless rants about her friends, her dislike of cats, her disdain for other people’s privacy, etc. None of it is particularly funny, but, even worse, it feels impersonal. Handler is really good at talking in a way that makes it feel like she’s being the most candid person in the room while she’s actually hiding almost any real information about her. She briefly breaks that wall while mentioning how lousy her parents were but that’s about the only instance of her willing to look truly vulnerable (rather than just sloppy, telling stories of drunken blackouts or shitting). Grade: C-
Chelsea Peretti: One of the Greats…Another comic from the irony-is-everything side of things (call it the Sarah Silverman School of comedy). The best stand-ups have a way of letting you feel like you really know them by the end of their specials, even while making their life universal enough to apply to you. Peretti would rather run around the stage making exaggerated noises for ten seconds out of every minute, but has some good (though impersonal) material scattered throughout. And I did love the frequent cutaway shots to obvious audience plants (like a dog, a guy eating spaghetti, a couple making out, etc.). Grade: C+