Streaming
Service: Netflix
Movie
Name/Year: Theo
Von: No Offense (2016)
Genre: Documentary, Comedy
Length: 67 minutes
Rating: NR
Production/Distribution: Comedy Dynamics, New Wave
Entertainment, Netflix
Director: John Asher
Writer: Theo Von
Actors: Theo Von
Blurb
from IMDb: Southern
comedian Theo Von offers up a twisted take on his dating mishaps, meeting Brad
Pitt, chasing down fugitive chimpanzees and more.
Selina’s
Point of View:
With
a title like Theo Von: No Offense, you have to expect a stand-up set
full of offensive comedy. Luckily, I tend to like some edge to my stand-up, so
I didn’t really feel the need to prepare myself at all. If you’re a little more
thin-skinned, though, I would recommend giving yourself some extended prep time
or not watching at all.
Theo
Von (Bobby Khan's
Ticket to Hollywood, Why? With Hannibal Buress, The Story of Our Times) got about as offensive as I
thought he would. He discussed everything from mundane subjects – such as
meeting Brad Pitt – to incredibly touchy subjects like child molestation.
In a special
like this one, you need to make sure you don’t take anything too seriously. You
know the comedian is going to go balls out, so you have to remember that it’s
all a persona, everything is a joke and likely doesn’t represent how he really
thinks. A lot of the time, people forget that.
As
for the actual content, some of it was funny and some of it just didn’t hit for
me.
For the
parts that were good, they got some small chuckles out me. Nothing had me
really roaring with laughter, but it captured my attention enough that I did give
a few giggles. Unfortunately, none of those moments really lasted long enough
before he felt like he was trying way too hard again.
I
want to stress that my dislike has nothing to do with offense – the jokes and
the delivery just weren’t good at times.
For
example, take some classic controversial comedians like Andrew Dice Clay (Entourage, Whatever it Takes, No Contest) or
Dave Chappelle (Chappelle's Show, Half Baked, Laugh Factory). They have content that relies on offensiveness, but when they’re
doing a special, you can’t look away. Their delivery is sharp and it catches
you off-guard enough that even if you are offended, it’ll get that knee-jerk
laugh out of you before you can stop it. Theo Von didn’t quite get that.
Von was
more on the predictable side. He tried to be offensive instead of falling into
it more naturally. It the end, the special felt a little forced and unnecessary.
One
of our readers recommended this special to us, so I tried to watch it with even
more of an open mind than I normally do, but it just didn’t click with me.
Cat’s
Point of View:
The world is
sort-of inside out and upside down right now. We’re all shaken up to one degree
or another because of the pandemic. Laughter is an excellent stress reliever.
What better time to watch a comedy special, right?
Wrong.
I feel myself
beginning to channel Yosemite Sam. What in tarnation did I just watch? That was
a waste of an hour.
I have sat here
and tried – TRIED hard, mind you – to come up with something positive to say
about the Theo Von: No Offense stand-up special. I’m the eternal
optimist that can find something positive in everything. I’ve got nothing.
I wasn’t
laughing. That was pretty much the sum of it. I believe that the set was
organized intentionally to offend as many people as possible, in order to make
the title seem even more sarcastic. If that was the case, they were wildly
successful. I wasn’t amused by the ploy, however.
There were a few
moments, and I use that period of time generously, that I half-chuckled. Then
the comedian said something else that wasn’t funny and nuked the laughter
before it even fully formed.
Dave
Chapelle: Sticks and Stones
(2019) was more successful at getting me to laugh. Even then, I only enjoyed
the epilogue after the actual show was over.
I don’t find
bully humor funny, and that’s really what this show came across as. Making fun
of people with disabilities, ethnic groups, and gay people squarely puts you
into that category for me. It wasn’t tastefully done. I’m embarrassed this guy
came from Louisiana, honestly.
Larry the Cable
Guy (Witless Protection, A Madea Christmas, Cars 3) has more class than
this guy, and he has some messed up jokes – which part of his schtick is
apologizing afterward.
Maybe it’s Theo
Von’s delivery. I don’t know. What I do know is that I will be praying that we
don’t end up watching another one of this Von’s comedy sets any time soon, or
ever again.
I can’t see
myself recommending this.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – None
Metacritic
User Score – None
IMDB
Score – 5.6/10
CinemaScore – None
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 1/5
Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating: R
Movie
Trailer:
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