I normally end up finding out about these roasts because bits and pieces of it get spliced out of the whole and then put in small bits on various other sites like YouTube or whatever else floats your boat. Normally, these are the best bits of the show as you would expect.
Often people have these wild memories of roasts and how great they were purely because of the really good scenes or the really good comics that did really good roasts. Unfortunately a lot of us that do that are diluting our memories because all roasts, not just this one, are mostly a bunch of crap that regular people are not going to get because the people invited are normally good friends of whoever is being roasted and therefore there are inside jokes that we don't and are not meant to, get.
This roast is not different in that regard and while it does have some very funny bits in it, these moments can be captured by simply watching the shorts. For the most part this roast is quite boring, and it has taken me 4 sittings already and I still have over and hour to go.
Kevin Hart is short! Kevin Hart is in too many films with the Rock! Kevin Hart has a particular way of speaking that he can't get away from no matter what film he is in! Kevin Hart is short!
That's basically the jokes that everyone tells over and over again and it can only be funny so many times when you hear it. Things get mixed up a bit because the roasters will often take hits at the other people on the stage and of course, some politics gets thrown in there when 1 or 2 of the people on the stage are conservatives and are relentlessly attacked. I am normally quite proud of these people for having the balls to turn up because they know this is going to happen to them.
There is a pretty good who's who in this lineup and a lot of people that are always there are also present.
Kevin starts the show out and then Shane Gillis, who is quite good at his job, moderates or is the host. I always appreciate the person that is hosting because while a lot of their bits are obviously rehearsed, some of it is done on the spot because the people on stage for the most part are not aware of what the other guests are going to say and they clap back.
They mess with us and try to pretend that Dwayne Johnson was not able to make it but of course, he was able to make it and when he comes out there is uproarious applause for him, as expected. Of course The Rock was going to be able to make it for this.
Some pretty crazy things get said during this roast including making fun of other guests' personal tragedies such as partners and even parents dying. This is something that has been discussed in the past and how the comics will ask permission before going after such a obviously hurtful joke and it has been revealed - and is even spoken out loud at this roast - that they did ask beforehand if it was ok.
That didn't stop some of the media from targeting certain members of the panel though for the usual accusations of white supremacy and racism because that is the world we live in now.
Tony Hinchcliffe is well-known for being conservative despite being openly very gay so a lot of people took shots at him only to have him throw it back. It was a little upsetting to me that virtually everyone on stage took jabs at co-guest Sheryl Underwood's husband having committed suicide and this was one of the topic matters that it was asked before the event if this was ok to talk about and Sheryl approved it. But the media and of course the idiots on Twitter decided to go after Tony and only Tony about this. It's a mad world we live in.
Instead of going off on a rant about that though, I am just going to focus on whether or not this entire show is actually entertaining: It is, but 3 hours of it is too much. There is a lot of repetition in topic matters and Kevin Hart pretending to get upset about the jokes about him over and over again is kind of like his acting - repetitive and a bit boring after a while.
This is why I have already tried 4 times to get all the way through this and have to switch it off after 30 minutes per time or so.
I do think this is an entertaining feature, but I can't imagine anyone really enjoying sitting through all 3 hours of it in a row. For me, this is something I keep on deck and watch a bit of here and there and then go and do something else. It's simply too long and more of a vanity project for everyone that is involved in it. I am kind of bewildered that things like this can actually be profitable for Netflix but they must be, because they keep making them.
Should I watch it?
Well, I think if you have the patience to sit through this at 5 or 6 different sittings then yes, you should. There are some really funny moments in this that are kind of unique to a roast format. Seeing really famous people really go after one another is a pretty humorous thing to witness because it wouldn't make any sense if they did it in their own standup or on one of their podcasts or something like that.
But this is really not something I think most people would enjoy seeing from start-to-finish in one sitting. I thought I was going to do that and tapped out after just 30-40 minutes on my first go round. I even skipped some of the musical performances because I don't understand why that was in there at all.
It sounds like I am not recommending this but I actually am. It's good, it's just too long for a one-off.
This can only be legally streamed as part of a Netflix subscription