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Comin' In Hot

Jo Koy

Netflix · 2019 · 60 min

High-energy physical comedy tailored for the cheap seats.

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Jo Koy does not do small rooms. His 2019 Netflix special, filmed inside the sprawling Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, demonstrates how his physical comedy can expand to fill an 8,000-seat room. Where other comics might feel dwarfed by a massive stage and giant backdrop lettering, Koy uses every inch of the space, remaining a committed practitioner of highly physical stage work. He spends plenty of time climbing, sitting on, and humping his stool to act out elaborate bits about Japanese pornography and his own bedroom performance.\n\nThe bulk of the set is dedicated to family dynamics and cultural identity, specifically the immigrant hustle of his Filipino mother and the soft life of his teenage son. Koy mimics accents from across Asia, comparing the similarities between Filipinos and Mexicans while recalling how his mother taught him to “get extra” of anything free—a euphemism for stealing. He also targets his son’s privileged upbringing, contrasting it with his own childhood memory of bringing lunch to school in a recycled Cool Whip container.\n\nBy 2019, Koy was a massive arena draw, having recently won Stand-Up Comedian of the Year at the 2018 Just For Laughs festival. Filming in Hawaii was a homecoming of sorts, given his record-breaking ticket sales on the island. While some critics pointed to a heavily sweetened laugh track in the edit, the performance itself captures a touring comic at the peak of his crowd-pleasing powers.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Telling Asians apart by vocal accents

    Demonstrates contrasting vocal tendencies of Hawaiians, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Japanese speakers, including Hawaiian vowel emphasis and Korean accents sounding like weed smokers.

  2. Cultural similarities between Filipinos and Mexicans

    Compares shared cultural traits like Vicks VapoRub and explains historical ties dating back nearly 500 years to Spanish settlement via Mexico.

  3. Critique of Japanese adult videos

    Physical act-out where he straddles and pushes into his stage stool to demonstrate why people should avoid watching Japanese porn.

  4. Penis size inquiries and satisfying partners

    Repeatedly surveys the audience on whether size matters, jokes about his own deficiencies, and flips women's shouts into callbacks while acting out bedroom techniques on a stool.

  5. Growing up in an immigrant Asian household

    Recalls school lunches packed in reused Cool Whip containers, making his son cry snot back into his mouth, and proper rice-cooker technique.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, witty, candid, and raunchy, balancing crude sexual humor with heartfelt familial and cultural affection.
On stage
High-energy, passionate, animated in vocal and physical delivery, self-deprecating, and an unapologetic user of stool physical comedy.
Pace
Breakneck speed and rapidly paced storytelling driven by high physical and vocal tempo.
About
cultural differences and ethnic stereotypes, Filipino identity and immigrant family life, fatherhood and raising a teenage son, sex and penis size, childhood memories and school lunches

What the critics said

Praised for accurate accents, lively crowd interactions, and relatable cultural anecdotes, though critics observed that the set lost some steam in the second half when descending into crude sexual jokes and shock humor.

In the room: Enthusiastic and responsive Hawaiian arena crowd engaged in extensive back-and-forth dialogue and front-row banter.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, decider.com, romper.com, thereviewgeek.com, entertainment.inquirer.net, letterboxd.com, qr.netflix.com, today.com.

Backstory

Filipino-American comic raised by a single immigrant mother and raising a 16-year-old son; the special dropped on Philippine Independence Day and prominently reflects on Filipino heritage.

Details

Released
Taped
2017, Blaisdell Center, Honolulu
Runtime
60 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Shannon Hartman
Honors
Just For Laughs Stand-Up Comedian of the Year Award (2018)
Topics
Before
Live from Seattle (2017)
After
In His Elements (2020)

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