Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would

So, I'm a fan of Trevor Noah, or at least used to be until I stopped watching the Daily show because it just dropped off.

And I really, really loved his old stand-up. New, fresh perspective on things. New stories, new takes. Exciting stuff.

I didn't have big expectations going into this, but most of this is regurgitated older material of his loosely strung together and it feels lazy. Maybe it's that he's too much in his bubble and has writers for his jokes on the show. Maybe he had a three show deal with Netflix and just had to get it over with.

My guess is, the guy's burnt out.

And I'm sure he'll come back strong, once he's stopped doing the Daily Show.

As a fan of T N, this was a snoozefest and not even close to good as his previous worst stand-up. At best, this would've been an ok 15-20 min stand-up open-mic night gig. Him speaking German with barely any explanation to what was being said was boring. Then the rest of the fist half was just dragged out nonsense with zero laughs thus far. The last half was the only time I broke a few chuckles, and even those jokes dragged on endlessly. His monologue on The Daily Show is hilarious, so now it's clear the TDS writers come up with all the funny content. He needs to make sure they go with him if he still plans on doing stand-up as a career, because had I paid to see him live for that one hour, I would've walked out half way through and demanded a refund. It's a generous 5/10, only because I'm still a fan.

I've adored his past specials, have read his book and listened to his podcast. I love how he makes me think and laugh in equal measures, fueled by his imagination and worldy, compassionate perspective. Happy to hear he'll be doing more comedy now.

Overall, this special had some funny moments for me but fell flat compared to his others. One of my favorite bits was ordering Indian food in a Scottish restaurant, and I think some of his best material comes from retelling stories of his own personal experiences.

Enough of the material I'd already heard him speak to before (his German accent for example), so it didn't feel as fresh or engaging. I'm sure now that he's doing his own thing he'll have much more material to work with, and I'll be hear for it and rooting for him.

If you know and love Trevor Noah, this special is no exception. If you're an interesting (or interested) person that appreciates worldwide references and jokes, he once again will not let you down. If you're a right-wing conspiracy theorist that can't take a joke, you're going to tighten up your butthole and rate this one star.

Comedy has never been about laughing 100% of the time. There has often been deeper themes between comedians and this special is another example of how you can reflect on humanity with humour.

Saying "he used to be funny" is an easy way to say your political beliefs don't line up with his.

I tried watching The Daily Show after Jon Stewart left but I just no longer found it funny. I have nothing against Trevor Noah. I think he is very smart and knowledgeable and I agree with him on many, many issues. I just don't find him that funny. This special is no exception. He is bright and funny. He also is a great impressionist and his mastery of languages is very impressive. However, I think this is an average stand up special with some very funny moments. I understand he is leaving the long running news show to go back to full time stand up. I am not sure that is a great move if this is an example of his best material.