Hasan Minhaj: Off With His Head

Off With His Head is just as good, if not at times better, than any of his previous work.

There’s no magic bullet in this hour to change your mind about Minhaj. As he even jokes in reference to his foibles: “breaking news: comedians aren’t wizards.” But his thoughts about class and race and how our relationships to boundaries have deep meanings both inside the family home as well as on the global map, those are illusions worth shattering.

Gone are the PowerPoint comedy and theatrical solo-show framings with which Minhaj burnished his reputation. In their place is straight stand-up, the irreverent content of which is carefully crafted to say, Not only am I not a scold and a victim, I’m actually kind of a privileged asshole. .... How successfully he pulls off this pivot varies from bit to bit. Even with all his newfound bluster, Minhaj has a tendency to rely more on attitude and performance to sell jokes than surprising punch lines.

The most hilarious moments in the special are the times Minhaj is characteristically specific and vulnerable, like when he details the moment he finally got a brown therapist or when he describes explaining Black Lives Matter to his immigrant father. .... It’s funny, but the rest of the special struggles to clear that bar.