Good Deal
Prime Video · 2020 · 57 min
A polished stand-up debut about immigrant expectations and modern dating.
Jimmy O. Yang spends a good chunk of his debut stand-up special explaining how his immigrant father remains completely unimpressed by his Hollywood success. Rather than hiding behind the eccentric characters that made him famous, he steps on stage with a polished set that leans into the tension between old-school parental expectations and the bizarre realities of American fame.
Released on Amazon Prime in May 2020, the hour was recorded at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre. At the time, Yang was capitalizing on a major career high, coming off the final season of HBO’s Silicon Valley and a memorable role in Crazy Rich Asians.
He details his early years learning English solely from mid-2000s rap videos, which left him with a confusingly aggressive vocabulary, and mocks the awkward mechanics of dating taller women. Another bit looks at the financial impracticality of ghosts occupying high-rent, one-bedroom apartments. The crowd in Seattle, a tech-heavy hub with a large Asian-American population, was the ideal sounding board for his thoughts on representation, assimilation, and the struggle to get his dad to understand what an actor actually does.
The set list
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Bathroom hand soap reveals a family's socioeconomic class.
Riffs on how $2 Softsoap is the 'Honda Civics of soaps' indicating trustworthiness, contrasted with bar soap on one end and foam canisters on the other.
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Differences between Whole Foods and Chinese supermarkets.
Contrasts the shopping experiences, specifically focusing on the 99 Ranch Market grocery chain.
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Jeremy Lin winning an NBA championship while sitting on the bench.
Jokes that Lin became the first Asian child to receive a participation trophy.
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Dating taller women while standing at 5'5".
Laments dates wearing high heels, joking that his date's rear end ends up at his eye level, making him look like a child.
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His father calling 20 times a day to check in.
Explains that his dad considers him dead if he fails to respond within three hours and threatens to call 911.
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Forming a high school rap group called The Yellow Panthers.
Recounts learning English from BET rap videos and forming a hip-hop group composed of himself and two friends.
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Unrealistic HGTV home renovation and buying shows.
Complains about absurd Los Angeles real estate prices, noting he cannot even afford a crack house in Compton.
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Acting out a dream Asian beer commercial.
Envisions seeing Asian representation in mainstream beer advertisements with over-the-top cultural tropes.
How it plays
- Tone
- Humorous, nostalgic, observational, and relatable.
- On stage
- Self-deprecating, candid immigrant storytelling persona addressing assimilation, physical stature, and newfound quasi-fame.
- About
- Asian representation, Immigrant parents and expectations, Cultural assimilation and learning English, Dating and height differences, Housing and apartment hunting in Los Angeles, Socioeconomic indicators and hand soaps
What the critics said
Critical response was mixed-to-negative from Decider, which argued the special leaned too heavily into generic, well-worn Asian stereotypes and applause-seeking nostalgia rather than fresh insights, though praising second-half routines like the hand soap analysis.
In the room: Enthusiastic live Seattle audience responding with cheers of recognition to cultural and demographic touchstones.
Backstory
Filmed shortly before the series finale of Silicon Valley and released during early COVID-19 quarantine amid discussions surrounding Asian screen representation and rising pandemic-related anti-Asian sentiment.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- 2019, Neptune Theater, Seattle
- Runtime
- 57 min
- Where
- Prime Video
- Director
- Marcus Raboy
- Topics
- After
- Guess How Much? (2023)
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