My Name is Mo'Nique (2023) User Reviews

Public therapy session

[BlacWic · 5/10 · 17 April 2023]

I mean, what can I say? There were a couple punch lines, but most of the funny stuff also left me wondering if I was supposed to laugh. This seemed more like she should've took this to therapy session but instead tried self medication in the form of just spilling it out on stage kind of approach. It was kind of disturbing to be a comedy special honestly. A comedy show that comes off as if she has a lot of trauma she still needs to deal with. This was a rant with sprinkles of jokes. I respect her for doing it that way as it probably allowed her to release a lot of years of sadness and anger, but for a comedy special it was awkwardly funny at best.

Not what I expected but I still love her!

[melissaluharris · 4/10 · 6 April 2023]

I absolutely love Monique and want to see her win. And continue to win. The cussing what a bit overkill. MF this and MF that ninja this and ninja that. It was over done to the point where I was focusing more on how much she was cussing than the actual punch lines. Some of the build up in her storytelling didn't hit like it should which was a little disappointing. I really wanted her to nail this one but it was quite there. I think she had great content but the lengthy build up to the punch line that didn't actually land made the whole thing a little off.

But I still love Monique and can't wait for more from her.

Glad she's back, but I wouldn't recommend.

[jzzity-581-377154 · 5/10 · 5 April 2023]

I've loved Monique since the Parkers. I've actually been rewatching The Parkers these last few weeks, so when I saw the special I was pretty excited. I watched 98% of it and laughed twice. There was A LOT of cursing, like every other word that it became noticeable. I'm a fan of all the greats and I can't even remember Richard Pryor saying g*damn every other word (unless I'm forgetting). I also thought the special would be more about why she was blackballed, but it was more about her life. Like a standup autobiography if that makes sense. I'm glad to know more about how she was raised, but even the personal stories didn't catch the heartstrings or make me laugh. Hopefully she gets another special and will focus on different topics .

Applaud Mo'Nique for Loving What She Does but We Need to Be Honest with Our Standards

[allygrace85 · 1/10 · 5 April 2023]

"My Name is Monique" feels more like a one woman show than a comedy special. What do I say... Have you ever been on a bus and witnessed an unreal display of a homeless person or street character regailing an entire busload of strangers with their life story? After a while, the initial amusement wears off and you're seriously contemplating getting off the bus 9 stops before you even reach your destination, simply for the preservation of your understanding of mental health amongst black people and humanity in general.

Yeah... comedy shows are suppose to make you laugh. Feel and relate- even to a life experience not exactly your own. Not trigger a memory where you saw a person trying to convince a bunch of strangers her very disturbing, unresolved life trauma is a hilariously beautiful badge of honor she proudly wears for the world to see.

So all the bizarre behavior Mo'Nique displays is wrapped up in this "well now ya know" hood Ted Talk masquerading as a comedy special.

It didn't make me laugh. Honestly it made me wonder why we don't want more for or ask for more from Mo'Nique. Every third word was the N word or straight up profanity. It was distracting and weak storytelling... again reminiscent of that person on the bus having an episode and taking us all for a truly uncomfortable ride.

To be sure, it doesn't make sense to wish failure on a complete stranger or predict a miss. I watched "My Name is Mo'Nique" because I believe everyone deserves to rebound and defy the odds. And who doesn't want to laugh? It was strange. I look to comedy for that universal glimmer of "we fall down but we get up" energy. Clearly Mo'Nique has the ability to captivate an audience. But, at this point, I feel Mo'Nique has a very specific audience she's speaking to. It's a strange, emotionally crippled audience that romanticizes abuse and hardship in such an ghoulish way, a person who doesn't walk in Mo'Nique's exact shoes can't see the triumph of overcoming those very toxic circumstances.

Mo'Nique talks a lot but,at its core, she's not saying anything. Its a raw presentation of trauma, shrieked for 70 minutes. She surely builds herself up... a lot. What comedian doesn't. But to do this, good commedians know your material needs to be coherent and funny. I tried...watched the special and walked away sad.

After all this time, she should have been funny.

Pure Garbage

[seansoulo73 · 1/10 · 5 April 2023]

I was hoping for a serious comeback after all the hoopla surrounding Mo'nique's public outrage over unfair pay with Netflix. Maybe now we see why she was offered $500K (and I don't think this special was worth that much).

It was non-stop cussing from the onset with every expletive you could imagine coming out of her mouth with no punchlines whatsoever. Me and my wife watched about 15 minutes and didn't laugh once...not once. It's sad, because I was hoping for so much more, but maybe Netflix simply let her put the nail in her own cauffin by releasing this tragedy.

She needs writers and better material, because filling every sentence with MFs, Ns, Fers, Bees, ain't gonna cut it. And I do mean every sentence.

Garbage Mouth

[BudoSenpai · 10 April 2023]

I just knew it would be a lousy show, but I gave it a shot anyway. I was only able to stick it out for about twenty minutes and then I had to shut it off. Apparently Mo'Nique still thinks that excessive profanity makes her funny. Throw in a few more F-bombs and a few of everything else while you're at it, why don't you.

Where was the humor? And the people who are saying that they laughed the entire time, you make me want to do Stand-up comedy as well. Hey, if I can get a bunch of you to sit in a club while I do a set, I'd become a big hit in no time. I'm sorry but she was not funny. She and Chris Rock should get together 'cause his show sucked too! They should hire Wanda Sykes as a comedy coach.

Magic of old Monique captured here

[mk_k6-326-626621 · 7/10 · 6 April 2023]

This long awaited stand up special would never be able to match the expectations of anyone sitting back, arms folded, waiting to see if 'Monique was worth the Netflix deal in the end'. And anyone expecting a 1 hour show of punch lines will also be disappointed. This is not a typical stand up show but in many ways feels like a personal testimony, capturing someone emerging vindicated but bruised after a trial by the public. In this special, Monique takes us on a journey in every sense of the word - back to her past, family and marriages to explain exactly why she felt compelled to stand to corporate giants. There are moments of magic that make this special worth seeing for the comedy - laugh out loud jokes about her time in special Ed is hysterically funny and takes us back to the classic Monique of the Queens of Comedy era. She has lost none of her comedic flare or confidence. The other highlight is the emotionally powerful testimony where she reveals her struggles with her sexual identity which is genuinely heartbreaking. These kind of extremes of laughter and anger and tears is perhaps a summation of the last few years for Monique but she delivers these peaks and troughs with a candour you can't help but respect. Some will take issue with the expletives - but none who are familiar with Monqiue's style of comedy, there also a few jokes don't entirely land or go on for too long - the 'oral explosion' scene felt a touch contrived and flat. Ultimately though this wasn't a 'perfect' stand up show, but it is one worth seeing for the moments of classic Monique humour that are there and to get a better understanding of the woman who, for better or worse, stood up to some powerful people and corporations and seemingly won. Welcome back Monique.

She is out of touch with what is funny today

[ben_jimenez · 1/10 · 12 April 2023]

After sitting through only half of her show. I couldn't take the cursing which lacked any comedy at all. It seems that Mo'Nique is out of touch with comedy today. So she decided to just talk about herself, put herself down, cuss in every sentence, and obviously make up some bad comedy stories which we all know didn't happen. How many years did it take for her to finally get on Netflix and this is all she brings? Lol. In her defense most comedians have lost their funny since COVID. We all had to deal with some type of loss during this time, but damn I would of been working hard on some good jokes knowing I was going to finally be able to show Netflix what they had been missing. This is a fail, and Mo'Nique baby, this is why they wanted an audition in the first place.

I LOVED IT! I'm from B'more and I GET IT!

[senegalstyle · 10/10 · 12 April 2023]

Mo doesn't have to justify her choice of material and she's a bit old to stand around telling jokes like an amateur.

She's a grown woman telling grown woman life experiences. The people that can't understand that were never in her corner and aren't her crowd anyway. I'm glad she went into (small) details about Lee Daniels and the other names she dropped.

Another thing: I wouldn't judge her about her use of language , she talks how she talks. If she had an immigrant accent no one would say a word but Baltimore, B girl vernacular, especially back then, Black English WAS/IS A THING whether other people like it or not.

It doesn't matter - she wasn't talking 2u, she was talking TO ME so if you didn't get it or didn't like it, that's why. Every thang ain't for every body but folks insist on inserting themselves in the culture anyway.

As About As Funny As Other Female Comics

[AJx91 · 6/10 · 15 April 2023]

I think people are just being a little biased. This was about as funny as any other female comic on the current scene. Like to me, this was Amy Schumer level of funny. However, it wasn't as funny as Ms. Pat or Ali Wong. But if you are familiar with Ms. Pat's and Tiffany Haddish's style of comedy-then you won't feel like a stranger here.

So on your profile, if you have ever given a female comic above a 5 star, I just don't see why you wouldn't feel the same about this, unless you are biased. Or maybe you are rating on looks instead of the level of humor.

However, it does start off a little bit more political, than funny. Which I wouldn't recommend, especially seeing she has been on a break for so long before finally doing this special. Also everyone is against her right now for what happened in the past.

Where was the comedy?

[iamsagra · 3/10 · 6 April 2023]

As many have said, the profanity was overbearing. Instead of saying uhh as a space saver, she used cuss worlds. I saw Monique a few years ago in New York and I was highly disappointed because her entire set was about the mess with Oprah, Lee, and Tyler. With all that has transpired with her since then, my expectations for this special were high and she missed the mark. It was her time to show the world why she deserved more. Yet, I didn't laugh a single time. It seemed like she was attempting to justify her behavior with the life stories as opposed to telling jokes. I think Monique got so lost in trying to be right that she forgot how to be funny. She looked great though.

I enjoyed it despite my sensibilities

[comfortiyiewuare · 10/10 · 6 April 2023]

I was laughing from start to finish.

The way she delivers her words make them funny and you can't help but notice that she is using specific words for the purpose of intensifying her comedy. Once I got over some of the words, I found myself laughing then I cried and then I screamed out in laughter many times.

Monique is funny and a great story teller. She pulls your heart strings with her stories, that were so personal and most times so vulnerable. She tells you the most painful stories in a funny way.

Monique is a master of comedy. She knows how to make you laugh by saying nothing at all.

In all, I'm happy She is back! This was a truimphant return.

Not nearly as bad as what some want to us to believe

[chazzynights · 6/10 · 29 April 2023]

I had a pleasant time. The end was touching, she share a secret in a heartfelt way. I thought it was fine.

For those nolstagic of the hey days of comic view with more heartfelt moments of vulnerability followed by funny joke helping to release the tension in moments where Mo'Nique shares moment of personal experiences.

I also understand some people saying she didn't talk about her issues with Oprah and other individuals she beefed with. I'm glad that she didn't. I wouldn't say the special was gut busting funny, but I was listening as I was cooking, and it felt like having an aunt at home spending time with me and being entertaining.

Language

[ivannano · 3/10 · 9 April 2023]

I'm far from being a prude, but when literally every third word in this is either a curse word or the 'n' word, you have lost me.

She also seems to not appreciate the irony that one of her main stories was about a racist teacher who wanted to teach her to speak correctly. She was certainly right to challenge how he went about it, but maybe he had a point.

Then again she also doesn't appreciate the issue with befriending a woman in special ed., then using her 'friend's' physical issues as a punch line.

Mo'Nique has obviously overcome issues in her life. For that, she should be applauded. It doesn't mean that she deserved this platform.

Hopefully, she will read the honest criticisms and improve. If not, there are many others more deserving.

No

[reviewernumber-35266 · 1/10 · 4 April 2023]

For her to be getting on everyone's last nerves about having a special, I thought this standup would be immaculate. It was quite the opposite and worse. I'm not the type to go online and write reviews about anything, unless it's really bad, or really good. And this was so bad. I literally created an IMDb account just to write this. I was about 20 minutes in when I realized, damn, this is not funny at all. But I had at least 40 minutes left so I wanted to give it a chance. It literally just got worse and worse. A bunch of unnecessary cursing and yelling without being funny. No punchlines. When she started crying, I almost threw my phone! It was horrible.

Not funny

[hunterdelo · 1/10 · 30 April 2023]

Monique, like the Sommore, used to have good jokes. Now she seems to have an act where it's all set up for a punch line that never really comes. Off the stage, she has had so much beef with so many peers that it makes you wonder where the issue is. I liked the beginning of the show where Monique tries to get the audience to understand how she came up and that her background is rooted in her not being school smart.

After that, there just was not enough good material to generate much laughter for our family. She really fought to get the money she deserves for this special so I expected more instead of just a well dressed victory lap.

Not Funny, Boring

[bronxgourmet · 2/10 · 9 April 2023]

So I think the purpose of this was to let her talk about her past, her family, her challenges, & how she believes these things have shaped her and the choices she has made throughout her life. There was an excessive amount of swearing and not much comedy. This felt more like a campaign than a comedy and the topics were unrelatable, offensive, and boring. Everyone has a chance to do better despite their circumstances & saying that the reason "you are the way you are is because this is what you saw growing up" is just unacceptable. There are better ways to deal with adversity & just mind your own business- which she mentions she was unable to do. Sometimes we need to step aside & let God take over so we dont end up enduring unecessary things- which she mentioned many times she saw herself as a boss because of her show. Instead of trying to change everyone else & point the finger at everyone else, dig deep and see where you can do better- which she mentions when referencing Lee Daniels. When you put your faith in people rather than God, you will always be disappointed- which she mentions when discussing the crystal trinket. All in all, it was not good and quite sad to see that low level language was the only way she could express herself. Just look who's listed with her as the cast in a show that's supposed to be about her. Research how this show came to be, who the major players were, & how self humiliation was the cost. Sad!

Monique is the BEST female comedian

[love3377 · 10/10 · 9 April 2023]

I...my husband and I always loved her. We always supported her. We were so HAPPY to see her on her new Comedian Show on Netflix.

It was a eye opening Show. She cuss too too much especially in the beginning but she brought her truth..her real..her life....and appreciated it. She was...or is SOOOO BEAUTIFUL...HAIR IS BEAUTIFUL...MAKEUP PERFECT. LOVED THE SHOES COLOR OF DRESS..AND SHE SEEMED TO NOT MIND SHARING HER FAMILY AND ALL ITS DIFFERENCES WITH US. THE WORLD. I PRAY HER AND HER HUSBAND CONTINUE TO STAY TOGETHER.... SHE WAS SOOOO FUNNY. She spoke about her mom..granny and their extreme closeness....her being married to her last of 3 husband...her uncle Tina and her uncle and all of their sexuality.

But to tell us about her ultimate relationship..her personal sex life.... I was SHOCKED. BUT LOVE EVERY BITBOF HER SHOW. ALSO...THE AUDIENCE SHOWED HER SOOOO MUCH LOVE...SHE AND I ALMOST CRIED. LOVE U MONIQUE AND ALL YOUR STRENGTH.

JUNK

[penofinspiratin · 1/10 · 5 July 2023]

As soon as I saw her on stage, I had an unsettling aura, or felt like watching my own child walking on stage in a school play & as a parent you suddenly can tell your child has caught stage fright.

Monique had that about her, & I was panicking knowing if she speaks she will say so much nonsense it would have been better she ran off stage.

Well she unfortunately did open her mouth & used curses & pauses to compensate the stage fright.

I have 1 star based on her effort of how even though she could read the hostile environment, she managed to switch up & not let it distruct her.

Tbh I was bored the entire time, I except jokes from a stand up perspective but this was more of a documentary

With rainbow flag coniving tactics.

I'm a fan of Monique but this & her movie Reading left me.in doubt, it's like im certain this is why she was absent on screen for a while.

I LOVED IT!

[francoischristana · 10/10 · 17 April 2023]

I have always admired Monique. She has always been a true and raw comic. Because of her authenticity, this humor made me cry as much as laugh. I got drawn in and thought I was riding the best roller coaster. Monique captivates the audience and keeps you interested. I really needed this, and I admire the bravery she had to share her story. She was a legend in her era and a classic comedian. I celebrate Monique's journey because she is making history. Because I could feel how hurt she was by all the betrayals when many tried to blackball her from the industry, but she still stand tall and strong. She lugged her cross with graciousness.

She called herself special ed, made fun of her mom, called herself a gorilla, discussed her private sexuality, called her family dark skinned, and would not stop swearing

[missraze · 1/10 · 16 May 2023]

Pretty much it in a nutshell:

She called herself special ed, made fun of her mom, literally called herself a gorilla, discussed her private sexuality, called her family dark skinned, and would not stop swearing.

I think Netflix said: in order to officially end this and do this for you, you have to do something for us, and that's "repent" and humiliate yourself. Or if we go away from the conspiracy theories, we can just say she told herself that. Because she certainly did humiliate herself. Even people in the audience weren't laughing. All of the laughs seemed uncomfortable, and many shots were zoomed in on one face so that you couldn't see their neighbor *not* laughing, because when the cameraman took the camera walking behind people or craning over people, I caught many people stiff and not laughing. I thought maybe within 20 or so minutes, she probably wants to run off the stage but can't. She should have ignored her thug husband gassing her up to get more money from everyone, regardless of how her "grandma taught her to respect her husband" and she should've accepted what Netflix was going to originally give her, or just turn their offer down the way she turned down promoting Precious, and she should've kept doing standup the way Katt Williams does it, which is independent and crowdsourced and earned. You can't go from an old sitcom, to a horrible movie with bad press about her, to millions of dollars from anyone for doing unfunny standup. And you can't possibly blame black culture on your behavior either. Monique is the same one who said you shouldn't wear a bonnet to the airport, right, because of how it makes black people look. Though all races wear head wraps. Well here Monique is heralding being in special needs, having a mother who can't read, taking drugs, growing up around addict gamblers and pimps etc as relatable comedy.

She's spent so much time fighting Netflix for what she doesn't deserve, that she forgot how to hone her craft and social skills in the meantime. Now she can never fight the good fight again. The boy who cried wolf.

When Katt Williams sweats and swears profusely, it's actually funny. However, this was amateur in its imitation. Katt Williams discusses important political and Hollywood issues that would make anyone sweat and swear a lot lol. Monique was just insulting herself in a way that is totally random to us I'm sure, and not even in a Kevin Hart way. Hart is good at relatable self-deprecation; being short and not knowing how to fight: simple, and we can all see he is short so he's not exactly humiliating himself talking about it, and many of us cannot fight lol. Monique, however, revealed things that you just don't reveal about yourself, to show triumph at "beating Hollywood/Netflix" but ironically she made herself look worse because she just couldn't calm down.

It seems she made such a fuss over Netflix and that fuss might have been needed, but I think she forgot that part of Netflix paying you means you have to perform a standup show. She kept talking about her drug use during the stand up and I think she was on drugs here. But since she got paid, lost weight and is still married to Sidney which is clearly all she cares about, she decided to just do whatever during this show.

The way standup comedy is done these days even by black women isn't perfect, though; they have a podcast style, the deadpan monotone well written jokes. Very hipster. However, I still like it because it's personable and relatable and they do actually make me laugh even though they lack stage presence. I must say, Monique has some incredible stage presence, but she is a horrible joke craftsman. She needs a podcast and an editor to delete all the cuss words.

Since she has such a great presence, she needs to leave comedy, get right with God and become a minister or something. Just be a funny, charismatic minister or that friend who makes people laugh. She needs to retire after this. Even when she hosted the Shaquille O'Neal comedy specials, she wasn't funny. I always think, "Monique is hosting/performing. It won't be funny but it won't be boring, mostly because she is loud and drops a couple gems." And that was 15 years ago. Still saying it.

Netflix was right in the past. She's fallen off her Game!

[gomez-92909 · 1/10 · 13 April 2023]

Spoiler Alert: If the "N" word bothers you then be WARNED. This Heifer uses the "N" word almost every other word. Not to mention the continuous amount of cussing she uses. I get it, we are all adults here but your jokes can be funny without you acting Obnoxious throughout the entire special. It will get boring just a heads-up.

I figured since the whole incident with Netflix she be ontop of her game with this Special, but SURPRISINGLY Netflix knew all along how poorly she would do. I only got mid halfway through the Special before she became annoying and I turned her off. I would NEVER watch A MO'NIQUE SPECIAL AGAIN!

Wasted time

[d_penn · 1/10 · 6 April 2023]

Overall, My Name is Mo'Nique is further proof that Mo'Nique cemented herself as one of the queens of comedy with a knockout special for the ages. She came in with something to prove and walked out, reminding us she hadn't lost a single step.

Her storytelling, attention to minor details, and punch lines will make you laugh for the entire special.

IMMMM SOOOOOOO JUST KIDDDING HERES THE REAL REVIEW: It wasn't funny. She needed to speak her truth.. which she did. But definitely not funny. I watched hoping she would be funny. Even what she tried to still want funny. A documentary. Her comedy was in those def comedy days.

Where was the humor?

[nasteebuc · 1/10 · 5 April 2023]

Seriously hard to believe Netflix paid anything for that. It stunk like Jeffery Dahmers spoiled pork chops. All she do was drop n bombs, mfers and bees. Reminded me of that classic hit from project Pat "chicken head". This was possibly the least funny comedy special I've ever watched. Can't speak for the whole thing tho. Had to turn it off halfway thru. Couldn't take it anymore. She truly put the "special ed" in the comedy special genre.

It would've been better if she had good writers and if it was performed by someone who was actually funny and had timing . I'm never this hard on a comedy special. But it really was whack.

EXACTLY what it needed to be and a long time coming.

[KLM_Production_Chick · 10/10 · 11 April 2023]

This was brave, thoughtful, engaging, AND funny as heck!

Bravo. It takes guts, tenacity and endurance to stand on a stage after everything that's happened on the platform that was part of the controversy and bare one's truth and curate intimate aspects of your life in lyrical vignettes of honesty.

...x10 if you are a BLACK WOMAN.

...x20 if you are a BLACK WOMAN undervalued in your industry.

...x30 if you are a BLACK WOMAN undervalued in your industry, getting cold shoulders for SEVERAL YEARS

...x40 if you are a BLACK WOMAN undervalued in your industry, getting cold shoulders for SEVERAL YEARS, and being ridiculed by your peers for ADVOCATING for yourself.

Mo'Nique being funny is a given. In a heartbeat she has/can/will continue delivering topical laughter, with truth, love and honesty that hits you straight in the guts... #facts

AND she (imho) is one of those few comedians that in an evening of comedy solo or with the likes of ANY of the greatest Comedians alive or dead can hold her own (from Moms Mabley to Pryor to Carlin to Murphy to Katt TO Chappelle)

But this special needed to be exactly what it was...about HER, in HER TRUTH allowing us to get to know HER (if you are new to her) or reminding us of who the bleep SHE IS.

I'm so happy she DID this and looking forward to so much more!

BRAVO BRAVE SISTER!!!!