Bad Decisions

Felipe Esparza performs the exact same set twice, recording one show in English and the other in Spanish to pull off a rare bilingual release. He uses his trademark sluggish, deadpan delivery to turn deeply uncomfortable family history into punchlines. When talking about his parents’ domestic violence, he mimics his mother’s squeaking voice during an argument, compares it to Mickey Mouse, and drops a punchline about how that trauma explains his adult cocaine habit.

Filmed at the Observatory Orange County in Santa Ana, California, the 2020 release caught Esparza during a busy career stretch that included recurring roles on “Superstore” and “Gentefied”. Despite the novelty of the dual-language format, the material itself leans heavily on standard club observations about weight and veganism before turning to grim family dynamics. Critics were divided, with some praising his ability to get laughs out of bleak situations and others finding the jokes about childhood bullying, domestic abuse, and drug use overly cynical and mean-spirited.

He is at his strongest when pushing the boundaries of parenting advice. Explaining how he handles his son getting mugged at school for lunch money, he decides to simply send the kid to school empty-handed. They still kick his ass, but not at his expense.