Netflix Pix: Aziz Ansari Buried Alive

Congratulations! You're the nth person to visit this page and read the very first edition of Netflix Pix!

Click here to redeem your prize

This week, I’m going to be talking about Aziz Ansari’s Netflix stand-up special, Buried Alive. I could have started this column with a number of significant movies or TV shows, but I’m starting with this particular performance because of an important reason: I watched it last week and I’m too lazy to try and write about anything else. I don’t think StoriesHouse readers will really mind though because I’d honestly be surprised to hear that someone was actually reading this. In that case, hello StoriesHouse reader! I’m glad you decided to visit our site and enjoy our vast array of splendid writings! When you’re not preoccupied delving into Nick Suss’s heightened analysis, sifting through Tyler Martin’s beautiful figurative language, ogling at Hunter Leath’s marvelous designs, or traversing through the myriads of content that other contributing writers have added, be sure to check out the somewhat recently (but not really that recently) added podcasts section where you’ll find all the content to satisfy your auditory needs. You won’t regret it.

Now then, to Aziz Ansari.

If you don’t know who Aziz Ansari is, he’s the small Indian guy on Parks and Recreation — that tends to clear things up for most people who don’t know who he is. Be sure remember that same description for all the times you have to explain who Aziz Ansari is, because if there’s one valuable skill to have in life, it’s being able to remind someone of a B-List celebrity. Okay, B-List might be a little harsh; he’s honestly a pretty well known comedian. He’s starred in several movies lately, such as This is The End and Funny People*, but other than his performance on Parks and Rec, most people know him for his stand up, which is exactly why you’re reading this now because hopefully you want to my opinion on the special.

Assuming the sole reader from before is still with us.

Buried Alive is Aziz Ansari’s third taped comedy special following Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening and Dangerously Delicious. These performances were absolutely hysterical, which unfortunately doesn’t play in Buried Alive’s favor. Now, that’s not to say Buried Alive isn’t funny. It is funny, it’s just not as funny as his previous stand-up specials. The whole show lasts for 1 hour and 19 minutes, which is already ridiculously long for a stand-up special, but it seems extraordinarily long when compared to his other performances (around 50 minutes to an hour long). I think this ended up hurting his special because, to be honest, the first forty minutes of the show were pretty atrocious.

The majority of his jokes during this period mainly revolved around getting married and having babies, which I guess can be funny, but for some reason it just wasn’t -- probably because both of those things are ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING to 19 year olds, which if you didn’t know comprises the majority of his fan base.

Definitely a real statistic

It was really strange seeing Aziz making fun of these relatively heavy topics after making jokes about fucking Butterfingers into a cup of Coldstone Creamery ice cream and 50 Cent not knowing what a grapefruit is. I thought about it for a while, because God knows I wasn’t paying attention to the show, and I came to two conclusions.

Either

1. Aziz Ansari is getting so old that his material is now reflecting the boring life of settling down, getting married, and having kids that he will soon assimilate into, so he is thereby using comedy as a coping mechanism in order to avoid a emotional breakdown and end up living outside a Coldstone Creamery, homeless and addicted to Mud Pie Mojo.

   OR

2. He’s been seeing this stuff happening around him and decided to try some new material out.

Which one is right? Watch the special and decide for yourself.

Spoiler alert: It's the second one.

Anyway, after about 40 minutes, Aziz really starts heating up. I know I would start sweating after walking around a stage for 40 minutes in front of thousands of people underneath really hot lights, but man, he looked like he could really use a bottle of Dasani or something. Around the same time is when he truly started nailing his jokes. He returned to his traditional comedic style, punctuated by his use physicality and strange (but oh so delightful) voices, appeasing all of his loyal fans: 19 year olds that watch Netflix naked and alone in a dorm room while eating a knock-off brand of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Supported by actual data, i.e. my life

Regardless of the flat jokes at the beginning of the special, Buried Alive is definitely worth watching. It get funny enough towards the end to make it worthwhile, and come on, who wouldn’t want to watch Aziz Ansari’s cute little face bounce up and down onstage as he screams “That’s amazing! That’s amazing! That’s amazing!”?

If for some absurdly ludicrous reason you can’t go and watch this entire special, like, say, not owning a Netflix account, the one bit you have to go and check out is the one about ghosts. It was hilarious and had me giggling with the ferocity of a thousand 19 year old boys wearing nothing but boxers while watching videos of red pandas playing in the snow.

That’s probably only me again…

With the inauguration of my completely arbitrary rating system, I give Aziz Ansari Buried Alive four RAAAAAAAANDY’s (that’s eight A’s) out of five

*Edit: After looking up Aziz Ansari on Wikipedia, I found out that Funny People was actually released in 2009. Turns out I don't know what a calendar is.