Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for The Dark Queen
Cover image credit: via TMDB

The Dark Queen

Adrienne Iapalucci

Netflix · 2024 · 52 min

A deadpan, deeply cynical hour from a Comedy Cellar favorite.

Adrienne Iapalucci establishes her worldview early in her Netflix debut by declaring, “I’m not a good person.” She spends the rest of the hour proving she is a woman of her word, delivering a flatly spoken, pitch-black set that challenges contemporary boundaries of good taste. Her style is defined by a slow, unbothered cadence that acts as a delivery system for shocking punchlines about tragedy, school shootings, public figures, and awkward tribute tattoos. Filmed at New York City’s Comedy Cellar and released in late 2024, the hour marks a major milestone for the Bronx-born comic, who had spent two decades as a respected club staple. Louis C.K. directed the set, with Ari Shaffir producing. The release followed years of Iapalucci touring as an opening act for both of them, alongside regular appearances on the New York club circuit where she earned a reputation for a deeply misanthropic stage persona.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Dating a 9/11 first responder

    Argues that having to constantly listen to him talk about being a hero made her feel like the real hero.

  2. School shootings and private schools

    Asserts that parents only send kids to public school if they prioritize home remodeling over their kids' safety.

  3. Middle East analogies and Palestine

    Compares Israel to America's real child, Ukraine to a stepchild, and Palestine to America's trans child that nobody wants to discuss, questioning if anyone has tried giving Palestinians casinos.

  4. Transgender rights and healthcare funding

    Argues that if the federal government can afford to fund every foreign war, it should easily be able to pay for gender-affirming surgeries.

  5. Stranded on Epstein Island

    Jokes about washing ashore on Epstein Island and being forced to participate before being granted access to a phone.

How it plays

Tone
Dark, irreverent, transgressive, biting, and unfiltered.
On stage
Deadpan, unapologetically acidic, and misanthropic, deliberately establishing up front that she is 'not a good person' and parodic of indifferent middle-class attitudes.
Pace
Matter-of-fact, straight-faced, staccato, and monotone cadence with a rapid machine-gun barrage of taboo premises.
About
Middle East conflict and foreign aid, School shootings and gun violence, 9/11 first responders, Trans rights and gender-affirming healthcare, Jeffrey Epstein and pedophilia, Political virtue signaling and neglect of poor people

What the critics said

Praised by critics and peers as a sharp, boundary-pushing, dark mirror to society with exceptional joke-writing mechanics, while dividing viewers who found its taboo subject matter and monotone delivery abrasive or overly edgy.

In the room: Tense and squirming, with visible pauses and hesitations before erupting into laughs inside the intimate Comedy Cellar room.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: v13.net, netflix.com, 800poundgorillamedia.com, rottentomatoes.com, decider.com, letterboxd.com, en.wikipedia.org, adrienneiapalucci.com, pro.imdb.com.

Backstory

Released on Netflix one week after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, touching on deeply polarized national and global topics such as the Israel-Gaza conflict, the war in Ukraine, school shootings, and trans rights.

Details

Released
Taped
2023, The Comedy Cellar, New York
Runtime
52 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Louis C.K.
Topics

If you liked this