On Drugs
Keith Lucas, Kenny Lucas & Lucas Brothers
Netflix · 2017 · 49 min
Identical twins deliver low-key stoner comedy in matching denim.
Keith and Kenny Lucas stand shoulder-to-shoulder, wearing matching denim and identical thick-rimmed glasses, delivering jokes in a synchronized deadpan. On stage behind them at The Bell House in Brooklyn stands a giant portrait of Richard Nixon. The setup is the joke: two former law students turned stoner comedians dismantling the War on Drugs with the laid-back rhythm of a late-night living room conversation. They never address each other by name, relying entirely on pronouns like “he” or “him” while trading lines that blur where one twin’s thought ends and the other’s begins.
Filmed in 2017, the special catches the brothers at a peak in their early-career momentum, fresh off their FXX animated series Lucas Bros. Moving Co. and memorable roles in 22 Jump Street. The performance leans heavily on nostalgia, weaving together riffs on ‘90s pop culture with sharper political observations. They riff on the absurdity of being suicidal while listening to Missy Elliott, propose a hybrid political persona named Bernie Mac Sanders, and imagine a Space Jam phone call between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. The hour ends with a custom cartoon segment confronting Nixon’s drug policy head-on, adding an unusual structural twist to a performance that feels part stand-up set and part joint-therapy session.
The set list
-
Richard Nixon and the War on Drugs
Entering to 'Hail to the Chief' surrounded by cutouts of Nixon and framing the 46-year crackdown as 'the war on n—ers who just want to have fun.'
-
Solving police brutality via Hollywood cameos
Recalling a scary police stop that turned into a selfie request because of their role in 22 Jump Street, concluding every Black man should get a short cameo with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.
-
Michael Jordan recruiting Charles Barkley for Space Jam
Impersonating the phone call where Jordan persuades Barkley to accept a supporting role in the film.
-
Twins taking magic mushrooms
Exploring the perils and absurdities of identical twins doing hallucinogens together.
-
The closer (spoiler). Show it
Animated encounter with Richard Nixon
An animated sequence featuring their cartoon alter-egos from Lucas Bros. Moving Co. interacting with the ghost of Richard Nixon.
How it plays
- Tone
- Deadpan, absurd, satirical, witty, and irreverent
- On stage
- Deadpan, laid-back stoner twin comics who share an inseparable tag-team dynamic and never identify who is who onstage
- Pace
- Laconic, relaxed, low-key, conversational momentum with deliberate pauses
- About
- The War on Drugs, Richard Nixon, Race relations and police encounters, Marijuana and magic mushrooms, Law school and poverty, 1990s pop culture, sports, and professional wrestling
What the critics said
Praised by Decider for their unique twin chemistry and for balancing personal storytelling about drug laws with absurdity; Chortle acknowledged their affable charm and offbeat punchlines while finding some of the laid-back improv and rambling setups indulgent.
In the room: Intimate and receptive room at Brooklyn's Bell House, chosen specifically for its patient and alternative-friendly comedy crowd
Backstory
Personal history with the War on Drugs, which led to their father being imprisoned when they were toddlers, as well as several uncles and cousins; both twins attended law school (Keith at Duke, Kenny at NYU) before dropping out to pursue stand-up
Details
- Released
- Taped
- The Bell House, Brooklyn
- Runtime
- 49 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- Jay Chapman
- Honors
- Ranked #9 on Paste's best comedy specials of 2017
- Topics
If you liked this
-
Tig Notaro Drawn
HBO
-
David Huntsberger One-Headed Beast
Stand Up! Records
-
Sheng Wang Sweet and Juicy
Netflix
