Ok, Mister

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.