Though Kevin Hart Presents: Plastic Cup Boyz might appear to be billed as a Hart standup special at first glance, it doesn't feature much of the man at all. Rather, it's an hour-and-a-half-long showcase of Hart's cohorts in comedy the Plastic Cup Boyz, who have opened for him with individual sets of their own on past tours.
Opening the special (the Boyz' first to ever be taped for release) Hart says the trio of Joey Wells, Will "Spank" Horton and Na'im Lynn are "too good to not shine" in giving his own notoriety a back seat. And while each crewmember has both hits and misses during their evening onstage, the special on the whole is a few drops short of a pint.
Wells steps to the mic first, winning the crowd over with anecdotes from eating on the job at McDonalds to expecting no less than a $70,000 salary following post-secondary school. This material does well thanks to familiarity and Wells' delivery, breaking away from narrating every so often to voice a different character in his story. Jokes touching on fatherhood and Hoarders either run too long or don't approach the topics in uncommon fashion, but Wells' character saves each from being a total bust.
Horton, up second, takes honours for the crudest set of the special. Like a wealth of comedians before him, he takes a look at the sexes through a lewd lens, though it skews heavily towards women with jokes about eyebrow pencils, panty liners, a few seconds of fat jokes and a breast size roll call. As subject matter that has been mined for years, Horton's retelling does little to make the material remotely funny. A topical subject that he nails is cellphones in relationships, expertly playing the relevant issue to both sexes in humorous fashion.
Lynn's closing set opens with him retelling how one YouTube commenter compared him to a Kit-Cat Clock, eliciting the most drawn-out laughter of the evening as he moves his eyes back and forth. Fittingly, his set splits the difference between his crewmates: humorous looks at how black people are racist precede a detailed look at anal cunnilingus that runs too long, a few gay jokes prefaced by "I'm not saying that's gay" or "there's nothing wrong with that," and airing out the dirty laundry (literally) of host Hart.
Each of the sets is bookended by a short sketch starring Hart and the upcoming comedian, one of which brings the three to a fictional Kevin Hart School of Comedy. While it's wholly unfair to say the trio are clones of their friend, the cues they may have taken from him as far as subject matter and the manner in which its delivered are apparent. If humour of the broad and bawdy variety is your cup oftea swill, the Plastic Cup Boyz invite you to drink deep. If not, you may find things a little flat.
Exclaim! is reviewing every standup comedy special currently available on Netflix Canada, including this one. You can find a complete list of reviews so far here.
Opening the special (the Boyz' first to ever be taped for release) Hart says the trio of Joey Wells, Will "Spank" Horton and Na'im Lynn are "too good to not shine" in giving his own notoriety a back seat. And while each crewmember has both hits and misses during their evening onstage, the special on the whole is a few drops short of a pint.
Wells steps to the mic first, winning the crowd over with anecdotes from eating on the job at McDonalds to expecting no less than a $70,000 salary following post-secondary school. This material does well thanks to familiarity and Wells' delivery, breaking away from narrating every so often to voice a different character in his story. Jokes touching on fatherhood and Hoarders either run too long or don't approach the topics in uncommon fashion, but Wells' character saves each from being a total bust.
Horton, up second, takes honours for the crudest set of the special. Like a wealth of comedians before him, he takes a look at the sexes through a lewd lens, though it skews heavily towards women with jokes about eyebrow pencils, panty liners, a few seconds of fat jokes and a breast size roll call. As subject matter that has been mined for years, Horton's retelling does little to make the material remotely funny. A topical subject that he nails is cellphones in relationships, expertly playing the relevant issue to both sexes in humorous fashion.
Lynn's closing set opens with him retelling how one YouTube commenter compared him to a Kit-Cat Clock, eliciting the most drawn-out laughter of the evening as he moves his eyes back and forth. Fittingly, his set splits the difference between his crewmates: humorous looks at how black people are racist precede a detailed look at anal cunnilingus that runs too long, a few gay jokes prefaced by "I'm not saying that's gay" or "there's nothing wrong with that," and airing out the dirty laundry (literally) of host Hart.
Each of the sets is bookended by a short sketch starring Hart and the upcoming comedian, one of which brings the three to a fictional Kevin Hart School of Comedy. While it's wholly unfair to say the trio are clones of their friend, the cues they may have taken from him as far as subject matter and the manner in which its delivered are apparent. If humour of the broad and bawdy variety is your cup of
Exclaim! is reviewing every standup comedy special currently available on Netflix Canada, including this one. You can find a complete list of reviews so far here.