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He dissected his previous material on R. Kelly.
(This is a paraphrase, but barely.)
ButNightclub Comedianis mostly about the look, especially about how it makes Ansari look.
The half-hour begins with black-and-white footage of a very young Ansari descending the Comedy Cellar stairs.
Then it cuts to the present day when Ansari is now standing backstage waiting to go on.
He peeks around the corner, anticipating his moment.
He glances at a notebook, then closes it.
I was like, No no no no no!
like check my pass!
He swings at other comedians and artists who pursue moneymaking ventures like brand partnerships and luxury-beverage companies.
Kevin Hart wouldneverbe up here for free, okay?
Ansari says, pretending to bemoan his own lack of brand-partnership deals.
Its like this throughoutNightclub Comedian.
Ansari wants to have his down-to-earth authenticity and dine out on it, too.
Hes real,andhes got important stuff to say.
He has jokes about vaccines that posit that not everyone is equally qualified to make scientific decisions.
He complains about our addiction to content, even as he is performing and producing it.
Except if you look closely, all the faces around him change.
The crowd is different from one shot to the next.
Its not one authentic performance; its many of them stitched together.
But the look of this special its claim of being real is all that its about.
When that part of it crumbles, whats left?
