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Ramy Youssef

HBO · 2019 · 53 min

A quiet confession of faith, sex, and millennial anxiety.

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Ramy Youssef performs with a quiet, almost conversational intimacy, standing in the middle of the ornate, golden-domed Chicago Cultural Center wearing a baseball cap and treating the crowd like he is catching up with friends at a bar. He avoids broad political soapboxing to focus on the internal conflict of being a practicing Muslim millennial who is trying to balance his faith with his basic human urges.\n\nFilmed in 2019, the special arrived just as Youssef was gaining widespread attention with his Hulu comedy series, Ramy. The hour shares much of the show’s DNA, leaning into awkward confessions and personal contradictions. Youssef talks about the guilt of his early sexual experiences, the logistical confusion of trying to reserve a ticket under the name Mohammed, and the cognitive dissonance of growing up with a framed photo of his father shaking hands with Donald Trump—leading him to refer to the future president as “Uncle Donald.”\n\nThe performance is characterized by a slow, deliberate pace that occasionally tests the room’s energy before pulling them back in. While his early-set commentary on contemporary scandals like Jussie Smollett and Fyre Fest feel slightly dated, the hour finds its footing when Youssef turns his focus inward. He argues that Trump is not so much a politician as a universal human feeling of wanting to win an argument without having any of the facts.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Donald Trump and the living room photo of 'Uncle Donald'

    Details how his immigrant father managed a Trump hotel, resulting in a living room handshake photo that framed Trump as 'Uncle Donald' to young Ramy, leading to an analysis of Trump not as a man but as an emotional mood.

  2. Carrying a walkie-talkie after 9/11

    Recounts his mother insisting 10-year-old Ramy carry a walkie-talkie instead of a cell phone, inadvertently drawing heightened suspicion from classmates in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

  3. Attending Friday prayers versus Sunday church

    Explores the logistical and lifestyle clash of Friday Muslim prayers versus Christian Sunday service, framing Sunday confession as 'cheating' after a wild weekend.

  4. The ethics of dating cousins in Arab culture

    Approaches the cross-cultural taboo of cousin marriages with nuance after experiencing attraction at a cousin's wedding in Egypt.

  5. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    How 9/11 made him more Muslim closer

    Reflects candidly on how post-9/11 anti-Muslim sentiment forced him to confront and deepen his commitment to his faith, concluding with a dark, thought-provoking final punchline.

How it plays

Tone
Thoughtful, empathetic, deceptively subtle, and balancing horny and spiritual themes.
On stage
Disarming, charming, chill, and candidly introspective, blending earnest vulnerability with sharp social awareness.
Pace
Slow, methodical storytelling tempo prioritizing rapt attention and tension over high laughs-per-minute.
About
Faith and modern spirituality, Sex and dating, Egyptian-American millennial identity, Post-9/11 cultural trauma and suspicion, Celebrity culture and the #MeToo era, Donald Trump and political mood

What the critics said

Critically praised for its nuanced, subtle approach to religion, culture, and sexuality, successfully avoiding low-hanging cliches to deliver a thoughtful and brave hour.

In the room: An intimate, low-key in-the-round atmosphere under the tall ceilings of the Chicago Cultural Center, trading boisterous club roars for attentive engagement.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: a24films.com, hbomax.com, medium.com, tv.apple.com, latimes.com, vulture.com, decider.com, pastemagazine.com, imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

An Egyptian-American practicing Muslim raised in New Jersey navigating personal faith, sexuality, post-9/11 American identity, and the political and cultural climate of 2019.

Details

Released
Taped
Chicago Cultural Center
Runtime
53 min
Where
HBO
Director
Chris Storer
Honors
2 nominations total (IMDb)
Topics
After
Done Saying Sorry (2024)

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