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Promotional art for Money Shot
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Money Shot

Whitney Cummings

Comedy Central · 2010 · 48 min

An aggressive hour focused on dating, cell phone snooping, and gender differences.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Whitney Cummings takes the stage to complain about the invention of the thong, why guys watch sports, and the ethical gray areas of snooping through a boyfriend’s cell phone. She updates the classic men-versus-women stand-up premise for a modern audience, relying on a loud, forceful delivery to hammer home her points about relationship friction. Rather than the targeted insults she popularized on the roast circuit, she spends the hour entirely focused on the absurdity of dating and the differing morning routines of both genders.

Premiering on Comedy Central in 2010, Money Shot served as her debut hour-long television special. At the time, she was primarily recognized as a regular roundtable guest on Chelsea Lately and a standout performer on the roasts of Joan Rivers and David Hasselhoff. While some critics found the gender-based material conventional compared to her sharper insult work, the performance earned an American Comedy Award nomination. The broadcast successfully established her as a mainstream voice, setting the stage for her television breakout as the creator of multiple network sitcoms.

The set list

7 bits

  1. Male strippers, fake boobs, and spanking in the bedroom

    Opens the special tackling explicit sexual topics with self-assured irreverence.

  2. Men watching porn and comparisons between porn and The Food Network

    Riffs on how women can tell when men consume too much pornography and offers an unconventional pro-porn defense.

  3. The silent treatment and female emotional ninja tactics

    Breaks down relationship psychology, arguing that the silent treatment is actually not a punishment.

  4. Twilight and dating a vampire

    Examines the absurdities of romanticizing vampires and vampire fashion trends.

  5. The pump fake

    Details how women pretend to reach for the check on dates.

  6. Crowd interactions with front-row men

    Improvised off-the-cuff banter and ribbing directed at male audience members seated down front.

  7. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Torture devices invented by men closer

    Rants against feminine expectations and garments created by men, such as thong underwear, high heels, and breast implants.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, raw, provocative, and conversational.
On stage
Foul-mouthed, self-assured 'guy's girl' who maintains her femininity while being tough, sharp, and candidly self-critical.
Pace
Loud, forceful delivery punctuated by exaggerated facial expressions and self-satisfied giggles.
About
Differences between men and women, Relationships and dating, Sex and pornography, Bachelorette parties and weddings, Female behavioral traits and tactics

What the critics said

Critical response was polarized: some reviewers found her take on relationship and sexual dynamics fresh, confident, and funny, while others criticized the special as one-note, loud, and reliant on well-worn gender tropes.

In the room: The recorded audio kept audience laughter minimal in the mix, punctuated by interactive banter when Cummings targeted patrons seated in the front rows.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: rottentomatoes.com, thefutoncritic.com, peacocktv.com, mrqe.com, dvdtalk.com, thecomicscomic.com, tv.apple.com, theseriouscomedysite.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed in Cummings' hometown of Washington, D.C., drawing upon and expanding material previously featured on her 2009 comedy album Emotional Ninja.

Details

Released
Taped
Sidney Harmon Hall, Washington
Runtime
48 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
John Fortenberry
Honors
Young Hollywood Awards Comedian of the Year (2010)
Topics
After
I'm Your Girlfriend (2016)

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