Some of the best moments in life come from completely unexpected things. A part of that reason is that ignorance is (sometimes) bliss. In this case, ignorance comes in the form of not being familiar with comedian Rory Scovel. Now in his 13th year doing comedy, Scovel is a regular on shows like @Mindnight, made appearances in movies like The House, and now has his very own Netflix comedy special called Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time. Of course, the title itself is the first joke but I’d gamble to say that for some viewers, they believe it. And those viewers will be blown away by the deft of stand-up skill Scovel puts on stage. Some viewers may also come to think Scovel is a psychopath, but that’s a big plus in my book.
“My suicide note is going to be the Thong Song.” – Rory Scovel
Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time is mostly a standup special with the majority of it taking place on stage in front of an audience. However, Shovel mixes in some sketch-ish bits. The special begins like many other with the comedian making his way to the stage. Of course, Scovel makes it his own by including cocaine, alcohol, screaming, soulful funk that repeats his name “Rory!” and devil horns. The intro works its way to a WWE-style intro. Scovel screams a lot but then twists it all on itself before the opening title.
After the intro, the “host” of the stage show, filmed in Atlanta, announces the arrival the comedian as “Cory Scrayvin.” It’s not long after that Rory begins to repeat the word “anal” and tells the audience “this is the show” and it’s his “one joke.” That one joke turns into a string of jokes about anal sex, including the awkward sound of the phrase “butt fuck.” “It sounds weird to say without an accent,” Scovel explain, then says it without one with creepy eyes.
In a word, Shovel is an asshole. But it’s in the best way possible. His style is very “everyman” like a semi-drunk bar patron who wandered onto the stage and has a lot of funny things to say. This guy knows how to command a stage, how to pull audiences along for wild stories.
After about 10 minutes of anal jokes, Scovel turns to his outfit. He pokes fun at his jacket, then makes it look worse by pulling it up halfway. Scovel weaves in a joke about trends “In three years Kayne will invent this look, and everyone will be wearing it.”
“You guys ever watch ultimate frisbee? What does that say about you?” – Rory Scovel
An interesting portion of the show deals with politics. Most Netflix specials have mostly avoided talking about Trump, but Scovel recorded this show BEFORE the election. So, he has fun with who may or may not be President. He tries to look at the bright side if Trump wins “At least we’ll all die together.”
Mid-way through the show viewers will be treated to another skit that includes one of Scovel’s friends, Jack White. During a fake talk show, Jack White reminds us that Scovel has no idea what he’s doing, isn’t attractive, and likely isn’t that funny.
But the best of the special comes from Scovel’s work on the stage. The comedian layers in such a way that connects people. For instance, Scovel talks about mayors and how we all thought we knew what mayors do. “They run the city.” But then reminds people of Marion Barry and Rob Ford, two mayors caught smoking crack-cocaine. Maybe that’s what mayors do. “You know, like not everyone in the room has a DUI but everyone has been eligible for one?” Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
