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Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Unruly
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Unruly

Ralphie May

Netflix · 2015 · 83 min

A veteran comic tackles cable news, air travel, and fast food.

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Ralphie May’s first Netflix special, Unruly, catches the comic twenty-five years into his career. Dropping the same day as the third season of House of Cards—a release schedule May joked was like trying to body surf a tsunami—the hour relies on the conversational southern charm that built his touring audience. He works the stage at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, dispensing extended riffs on pop culture, air travel, and the unique dread of seeing Anderson Cooper show up in your city.

May remains comfortable with controversy, pushing through bits on race, generational shifts in oral sex, and the gravitational pull of fast food. He peppers the hour with crowd work and a highly specific anecdote about a gay friend waking up to a surprise favor at a party. Late in the set, he pauses the jokes to speak directly to his son, offering advice in the event he isn’t around to see the boy turn fifteen. It is an earnest moment that stands out amid an otherwise high-volume hour.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Everyone being a little racist when they drive

    Explores everyday racial biases and stereotypes triggered behind the wheel.

  2. Pride in the American South and media distrust

    Opens with remarks proclaiming pride in the South ('or, as I like to call it, America') and criticizing CNN for inventing news.

  3. Drug use and stoner culture

    Shares stories detailing personal drug use while openly advocating for stonerism.

  4. Explicit sexual techniques and teenage church girl encounters

    Frames explicit descriptions of digital and oral sex, along with teenage attempts to bed churchgoing girls, as a 'life lesson' for young men.

How it plays

Tone
Raunchy, irreverent, and no-holds-barred.
On stage
Hilariously raunchy, no-holds-barred, and irreverent southern comic speaking frankly about touchy subjects.
About
Airline travel, News media, Chick-fil-A, Racism when driving, Southern pride, Drug use and stonerism

What the critics said

Considered raunchy and unapologetic; reviews noted that while early stoner and media-critique material was divisive, the frank discussions of sex, relationships, and graphic storytelling won over the crowd.

In the room: A raucous, fist-pumping crowd that was eating out of his hand by the end of the show.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: themoviedb.org, imdb.com, tv.apple.com, underthegunreview.net, moviette.blogspot.com, sidereel.com, en.wikipedia.org, ralphiemay.com.

Details

Released
Taped
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta
Runtime
83 min
Where
Netflix
Director
John Asher
Topics

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