You might assume a Latino comic would trash Donald Trump, his big, beautiful Wall or both.
If the comedian is Carlos Mencia, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Trump barely came up during Mencia’s epic set at Denver’s Comedy Works Friday. Instead, he summoned the unironic spirit of “Team America: World Police.”
“America … f*** yeah!”
The show, the second of two from the “Mind of Mencia” alum that day, found him defending the nation against its angry critics.
What other country has people trashing it 24/7 but never leaving? We have obese poor people and complain about the slightest indignities. Meanwhile, citizens from other nations endure life-or-death hardships.
To paraphrase fellow comic “Yakof Smirnoff” – “what a country!”
This wasn’t empty rhetoric or an attempt to woo Red State USA. It flowed from the comic organically, buttressed by insightful punch lines.
Mencia also raged against Cancel Culture (without name-checking the cultural scourge), begging audiences to laugh about our differences. That unites us, and we’re all the same at the end of the day.
This wasn’t Colbert-level clapter or a TED Talk masquerading as stand-up. You might not hear a funnier set this year than what Mencia uncorked.
He even bared his bum for an unexpected laugh.
— Christian Toto (@HollywoodInToto) October 18, 2024
The 9:45 p.m. show sailed past midnight but never lost steam. He implored the crowd to give the venue’s servers a fatter tip for working well past the expected time.
Mencia clearly had a blast, indulging in some adult beverages late in the show. Crowd work bolstered his inclusive messaging, leaning on ethnic stereotypes without losing the crowd. It was almost as if the ghost of Don Rickles haunted the venue.
He saved his sharpest attacks for the woke mob. Comedians aren’t politicians. They’re not trying to hurt our feelings. They just want to make us laugh. And, if a gag lands the wrong way, people have suffered far, far worse.
Like Mencia.
He hinted at a troubled childhood, including physical danger and sexual abuse. It made him more resilient, a message he said is lost on too many Americans.
It’s “Rub some dirt in it” comedy.
The set featured enough “problematic” gags to get him canceled a half dozen times. He trotted out various accents, leaned into stereotypes without fear and raged against isolating comedy by demographics.
He wants the freedom to be himself and share the jokes he thinks are funny. The rising backlash against woke bylaws is helping him do just that these days. So is the club’s policy to lock up everyone’s phones prior to showtime.
Phew.
Comic culture warriors are both rare and necessary in 2024. Think Rob Schneider, John Cleese, Bill Maher and Tim Dillon. They’re raging against the comedy machine, demanding the freedom their predecessors fought so hard to protect.
Today’s rebel comedians aren’t threatened by jail time … just cancellation and the occasional assault. Ask Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock how that works.
Add Mencia to that small but vital list. He’s been around long enough to know why comedy matters, how it unites us in troubled times and how easily it can slip away if left unprotected.
Not on Mencia’s watch. It helps that he’s never been funnier.
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