Adam Carolla takes the stage to tell his hilarious life story based on his New York Times bestseller, Not Taco Bell Material, in this latest stand-up special.
First off, I have to get one thing out of the way, if you go to a comedy show or watch a stand-up comedy special on television, do not go into it looking to be offended. These days too many people go to comedy shows and are offended easily. If you’re one of those people, do not watch this special! Adam Carolla shows no limitations, and it is what has been dying in stand-up today. Adam Carolla goes after in this hilarious stand-up special.
“…goes after everyone from Mexican immigrants to the city of Los Angeles to his old friend Jimmy Kimmel…”
I have to admit I was not much of a fan of Adam Carolla other than his work on Comedy Central’s The Man Show. But this special changed my mind. Carolla definitely brought his A game with this one. He goes after everyone from Mexican immigrants to the city of Los Angeles to his old friend Jimmy Kimmel and of course, even himself and his family.
Adam’s jokes about L.A. were spot on. As a person that frequents L.A. quite a bit, I totally understood his gripes with the city. I felt that his Los Angeles jokes and immigration jokes were the strongest in out of the special, but all of his other jokes are almost as funny.
“…found it to be more sweet rather than hilarious…”
With all the positives that Not Taco Bell Material had, there were only two minor problems that I had with it. One “problem” was that it felt longer than what the runtime was. The runtime is 72 minutes long. When something feels longer, it’s not necessarily a good thing, but at the same time, since this was a very funny special, it was not much of a problem. The other “problem” I had with the special was how it ended. Usually, comedians will end their set with a joke that receives the biggest payoff/laughs. I felt that the joke that Carolla ended with did not have the biggest pay off especially for how long it took to set it up. I found it to be more sweet rather than hilarious. Once again, not too big of a problem just more of a nitpick.
Speaking of sweet, I really enjoyed hearing how Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel met and how meeting Kimmel changed Adam’s life. It’s great to hear that the two have remained friends for so many years and it’s also good to hear Carolla make fun of Jimmy. It brought back some Man Show memories.
If you enjoy comedy, you definitely need to watch Not Taco Bell Material. Do not expect any PG or PC jokes with this one and if you do not get easily offended (which I hope you aren’t one of those people) then get prepared to laugh because I guarantee that you will.
Adam Carolla: Not Taco Bell Material (2019) Directed by Nate Adams. Written by Adam Carolla. Starring Adam Carolla.
9 out of 10
