Ok, Mister
Netflix · 2024 · 65 min
A veteran comic's smooth, late-night observations on aging and dating.
Deon Cole opens with a list of hyper-specific deal-breakers that only a man of a certain age would care about. He is done trying to plug his phone charger into loose, worn-out wall sockets at a partner’s apartment, and he is certainly not circling the block more than twice to find street parking. When Cole describes the pragmatism of middle-aged bedroom dynamics, where passion is replaced by mutual, high-five-concluding masturbation, it is clear he has fully leaned into what he calls his “vintage” years. Rather than fighting his fifties or lecturing younger generations, he uses his relaxed, cool stage presence to detail the mundane trials of getting older with a great deal of frankness.
Filmed at the Los Angeles Theatre as part of the 2024 Netflix Is A Joke Festival, the show finds Cole at a highly active point in his career. In addition to touring, he was fresh off his dramatic role in the musical film The Color Purple and leading the dark comedy series Average Joe. While his previous special, Charleen’s Boy, dealt heavily with the grief of losing his mother, Ok, Mister pivots back to pure, adult-themed observations. He touches on aggressive dating partners who drag him to basketball games only to leave him on the bench, the absurdity of a certain R&B singer keeping the name “Babyface” into old age, and the sheer confusion of attempting to operate a rose-shaped sex toy without instructions.
The set list
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Telling young women to say 'Okay, mister' to older men hitting on them to get them off their back.
Observational humor exploring how aging men pursue younger women and offering a scaring tactic that forms the special's title.
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Dating deal-breakers and women he will no longer deal with.
Detailing pet peeves like loose electrical wall sockets, lack of front parking spaces, and women over 40 sporting baby hair.
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Having a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) installed in his car following two DUIs.
Narrating the embarrassment of blowing into the device every ten minutes and using poppy seeds as an excuse for false positive alcohol readings.
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Black infidelity and cheating at 'white establishments'.
Describing how Black people go to places like medieval castle dinner theaters when having illicit affairs so they will not be recognized by other Black people.
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Reading and workshopping jokes from a piece of paper on stage.
Playfully addressing the audience with raw notes and jokes, warning them that if they do not laugh they never have to see him again.
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The viral Rose sex toy.
Discussing modern female sex toys and how they may soon make men obsolete.
How it plays
- Tone
- Deadpan, raunchy, witty, and candid.
- On stage
- Relaxed, deadpan, playfully candid, and confident.
- Pace
- Steady pace with relaxed momentum, moving between one-liners and longer narrative bits without lulls.
- About
- aging, dating deal-breakers, bedroom mishaps and sex, interracial dating and relationship dynamics
What the critics said
Critics characterized it as a steady, dependable, and confident special steered capably by an industry veteran, hitting a raunchy yet relatable sweet spot despite a narrow and familiar focus on sex and aging.
In the room: Strongly responsive and laughing hard, with material on relationships resonating widely, though some audience reviews noted repetitive sexual themes and lower energy compared to earlier specials.
Backstory
Filmed on May 2, 2024, as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Fest in Los Angeles; Cole examines aging and shifts in worldview as a 52-year-old man.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- LA Theater, Los Angeles
- Runtime
- 65 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- Ryan Polito
- Honors
- 1 nomination total
- Topics
- Before
- Charleen's Boy (2022)
More from Deon Cole
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Charleen's Boy
Netflix
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Cole Hearted
Netflix
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Deon Cole
Netflix
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Cole-Blooded Seminar
Comedy Central
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