Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It 2024 Movie Review
I’ve been a fan of Ronnie for a while seen all his specials and would say this one was the tighest and most well put together. Sharp observational humor, definitely caters a bit more towards a younger audience. His bit about baby boomers and getting scammed had me howling.
Hawaii was an interesting choice for a comedy special not sure the last time I’ve seen that done but for the most part the crowd was pretty good. Hits a few strong silences in there making fun of Americans but doesn’t waiver. Brings up a few key insightful observations that separates it from just a riffing comedy set, particularly about losing friends to the self-help algorithm cycle and taking agency away from bad faith actors in discussions. He does seem to genuinely care a bit more this time which makes the comedy feel more enforcing self reflection on some of the absurdity in American culture for its own benefit instead of just pointing and laughing which it can feel like some other sets.
Ronny Chieng, familiar to fans of The Daily Show as well as of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (he jokes in this hour about one such awkwardly-timed encounter when he was recognized for his role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), filmed his third Netflix special in Honolulu.
Hawaii has a special place in his heart, and not just because he filmed the Disney+ series, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D., there. Chieng relates how he not only has encountered people who politically side with MAGA on the islands, but also how he has adapted to maintain friendships with them despite their political and philosophical differences. He similarly takes a deep dive into the dark side of men’s self-help influencers online. And he makes fun of himself for the responsibility he was given in helping his wife’s fertility treatments, all while reflecting on what he might be like if he becomes a parent, or if he becomes anything like his own parents.
Chieng opens by making fun of his friends and classmates for how becoming parents has made them look older and uglier, joking that having kids means you’ve given up on your own hopes and dreams. “I’m still trying here!” he exclaims.
And yet, he and his wife are still preparing for the possibility of parenthood, which leads into a chunk about fertility treatments and his role in that.
Much of this is well-trodden ground for men in comedy, but Chieng still gets enjoyment from us and himself out of what the fertility process says about the American healthcare system, as well as what it says about men and their sexual habits. Besides, it leads to a funny sight gag where Chieng attempts to bring his semen sample back to the lab, only to be recognized by a Shang-Chi fan.
Chieng digs a bit deeper when he weighs in on how something as simple as wanting to learn how to lift weights can lead straight men down an algorithmic rabbit hole on YouTube, where they’re eventually served up videos by Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate, and then get primed up to riot within a matter of weeks. “That’s not even an exaggerated timeline,” Chieng claims. “Every man in this room has lost a buddy to the algorithm. We all now someone who lost their f—ing mind on that men’s self-help, Andrew Tate masculinity, YouTube self-help algorithm.” He notes how even the richest people behind the algorithms fall victim to this, and how he himself isn’t immune to it, either. “We’re on a razor’s edge to being a piece of shit,” Chieng says. “An Instagram post could push it either way.”
Filming this before the elections, Chieng also reminds us that the people who support Donald Trump “have a point, but you don’t have the vocabulary to describe your reality because you didn’t read enough,” and he counts some of the ways in which America has lost touch with its own greatness, going farther and further into detail than you’d expect a comedian to do. If only he could figure out how to talk to Baby Boomers like his parents, though, and get them to see through all of the scams and misinformation out there.
