Aziz Ansari: Right Now

Metascore

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Sonia Saraiya

Aug 6, 2019

The first 20-ish minutes are the most honest work Ansari has done, a litany of observations about the status quo that reveals a hunger and frustration that was buried under his happy-go-lucky persona. ... There’s a bit of flab, especially in the back half. ... But whatever soul-searching or image management that Ansari has gone through since the babe.net story has made him a better performer—one who is more able to dwell in gray areas of comedy. Read full review

Caroline Framke

Jul 9, 2019

“Right Now” is otherwise a packed set of punchlines and anecdotes about performative allyship, living in the moment, and how the goalposts of decency keep shifting. Complaining about “wokeness” could easily come off as out of touch and cranky, but Ansari largely avoids that trap by cracking smart, slyly scathing jokes about the “newly woke white people” whose well-meaning indignation can tip the scale into “condescending.” Read full review

Inkoo Kang

Jul 10, 2019

It’s the most organic and tactically nimble post-#MeToo comeback thus far ... His crackerjack flash is starkly subdued. Ansari probably makes about three too many earnest appeals to our better nature and the need to live in the present. But this is still the work of a comedy veteran who channels righteous fed-up-ness and critiques obliviousness with relatable flair. Read full review

Verne Gay

Jul 9, 2019

There is no apology, though hardly no remorse. ... From there, "Right Now" becomes, in a comically inverted way, a plea for tolerance,for perspective shift, for a check-out-the-world (from where I stand) riff. ... Risky show, risky strategy and both pay off. Read full review

IndieWire Ben Travers

Jul 9, 2019

“Right Now” is a check-in, an update, a work-in-progress, and it strains to bring the audience back to Ansari, even while many have already come running. Read full review

Ashlie D. Stevens

Jul 10, 2019

At points like this [he recalls a “Parks and Rec” episode in which his character, Tom Haverford, installs a nanny cam in a teddy bear, which he then gives Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones)] “Right Now” feels like an intentional comeback-slash-apology — an earnest, if at times clunky, one. It's notable that his reflections on the jokes he would no longer perform today are infinitely more interesting than the jokes Ansari actually delivers. Read full review

Megan Garber

Jul 11, 2019

The question becomes how you treat the discomfort—as something to be celebrated, or as something to be denigrated. Ansari’s answer, over a show that has some great jokes and some distinctly less-great ones, is another kind of ellipsis: Can we just talk about something else? ... Another way that Right Now is of its moment: It is a work of winkily manufactured authenticity. Read full review

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User Reviews

Cmenzo

Jul 16, 2019

Loved it. Great mix of humility, vulnerability, and humour. Respect for Aziz taking comeback risk.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

ajone

Aug 10, 2019

I don't know what the neg reviews are coming from. Maybe #metoo fanatics who want Aziz in jail without trial? It was really funny and aside from 3 or 4 other comics (chapelle etc) the best stand up in the biz. What more do you want?

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

LongLiveUs

Jul 16, 2019

He’s different this time, but he’s still funny. It’s kind of weird to watch him have to change his personality. He makes it work though

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

TheKDog

Jul 12, 2019

You see that Aziz has grown up. He's handled the sexual misconduct event wonderfully well in this surprisingly profound Netflix special. He makes you think long and hard about a lot of things, all the while keeping you in splits. Now if only he can come out with Season 3 of Master of None!

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

brockcheese

Jul 16, 2019

This strange comedy special seems in many ways more like an apology and ruminations on how society affects art and visa versa.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

OlivierPiel

Jul 13, 2019

"Wokeness"...even Mr Ansari cannot topple the new taboos of the new moralistic religion. Barely a scratch.
Two things should make Americans scream but wokeness is more important than education or knowledge:
1- That a son of Indian immigrants appropriates Crazy Rich Asians, even though"Wokeness"...even Mr Ansari cannot topple the new taboos of the new moralistic religion. Barely a scratch.
Two things should make Americans scream but wokeness is more important than education or knowledge:
1- That a son of Indian immigrants appropriates Crazy Rich Asians, even though this show only considers Chinese to be Asians and is set in Singapore where close to 15% of the population is from the Indian subcontinent, yet shows them only as servants and waiters!!!
2- That an Indian can say n**** without being vilified because his skin is darker than Stephen Curry ( whereas skin colour is a huge social marker in India).
Can a Chinese (the most racist culture in the world and where modern slavery is still alive -Filipino and Indonesian maids treated like dogs) say n**** as Jimmy O Yang pretends?

These two cases are part of the absurdity of wokeness that should be addressed and attacked by these funny men !
But they are just cowards, looking for a Netflix paycheck...… Expand

1 of 8 users found this helpful17

edb111358

Aug 16, 2019

Who cares what Aziz, or any other so called comedian, thinks about politics, politicians and the like. Stick to life events and if you can't find humor there, get a different job.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Aziz Ansari: Right Now: Season 1

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