I highly doubt that anyone in this class has watched the recently aired Netflix special, The Roast of Tom Brady. Hell, as of yesterday, I hadn’t even watched the recently aired Netflix special, The Roast of Tom Brady. But I was scrolling through different streaming services today trying to jog my brain because I couldn’t think of what to write about for this post and somehow this is where we ended up. Unfortunately.
I’m really not trying to be the fun police here but I must say this shit suuuuuuuucked. The roasts delivered by non-comedians were painful but even some of the professional funny people failed to impress. In large part because the material was so redundant. There are only so many things you can make fun of a man for, so it just felt like a competition to see who could make the edgiest joke about Tom Brady’s divorce.
And it went on for 3 hours. I only watched parts but I genuinely can not imagine sitting down for the full runtime just to watch a bunch of rich, famous people make fun of other rich, famous people and they’re all just laughing at each other because they’re so rich and famous that none of it matters. For 3. WHOLE. HOURS. This is what we’re platforming, this is what television looks like I guess. I suppose there’s potential catharsis in seeing said rich and famous people get torn apart- even if it’s just for show- but I just could not be bothered.
Apparently plenty of others could be, though, because 2 million people watched this the day that it aired! And who knows how many have watched it since. I’m not surprised, just disappointed. Again, I’m not trying to sound holier than thou here but given that we live in an online world where a lot of people would rather tell each other to go kill themselves than engage in productive discourse, I can see why this was a hit.
Celebrity roasts are supposed to be scathing (and I usually love me some edgy humor) but this felt like they were being provocative for provocation’s sake. As if The Roast of Tom Brady was designed to trend on Twitter. It worked, of course; all the news headlines about it are just reacting to this inflammatory joke or that extreme reaction.
There’s a place for this kind of content and I don’t begrudge anyone for enjoying it. It’s just a Netflix special. I’m also not saying this is the absolute state of post-network television and the internet, but it is a pretty grim snapshot if you ask me.
2 replies on “Please don’t let this be the state of television (The Roast of Tom Brady)”
Howdy Gabe,
I have not yet experienced the misfortune of suffering through the entirety Tom Brady’s roast, but my reaction to the bits and pieces I’ve seen was much the same as what you’ve described here. I thought some of the jokes, particularly those referencing Aaron Hernandez, were in poor taste. At the risk of sounding like the comedy police, it annoys me when comedians view “taboo” jokes as ends to themselves. I think your comment on the current state of online discourse was spot on, and the polarized/unproductive ways we communicate with each other are certainly reflected in the unapologetic spitefulness of the roast. Like you, I don’t want to rain on the parade of anybody who enjoys this stuff, but I can’t bring myself to find enjoyment in watching someone get verbally torn apart on screen–even if they are too rich for their own good with a weird habit of kissing their kids on the lips. Great piece!
-Theodore
Gabe! It’s Kate, replying to your post.
Like Theo commented above, I also haven’t seen the whole 3 painful hours but saw some clips online. It looked BORING to say the least. When watching old clips of Comedy Central roasts, the jokes that stand out to me are the ones where it seems like the comedian is actually putting themselves on the line to say something they mean. That may sound vague, and maybe it is, but I have an example!!!
There are some clips of a young Pete Davidson (pre-SNL, pre-Ariana Grande, pre-real fame) roasting Ann Coulter of Fox News notoriety. The jokes were funny and edgy because Davidson was genuinely putting future opportunities on the line to make fun of someone who has a hand in worsening society.
I don’t know if football fans would agree, but I find roasting Ann Coulter much more satisfying then Tom Brady. Other than his messy divorce, his inability to retire and his habit of kissing his son on the mouth (theo mentioned but it bears repeating), he has not really done anything too heinous.
Anyways, I appreciate your non-recommendation, I will not watch this.
-Kate <3