Maybe, instead of “Growing,” Amy’s Schumer’s new Netflix comedy special should have been called “Showing.” The comedian’s jokes and stories certainly showed a side of people that many would probably wish had remained unseen. Schumer used some raunchy humor to describe not only her current pregnancy and the trying times she’s had while pregnant, but other somewhat gross situations and conditions.
Of course, Schumer began her show talking about her pregnancy. She made jokes about how there weren’t any of the usual rumors swirling before she announced that she was pregnant. The comedian joked that when the press heard that she was in her second trimester and asked if she was showing, they thought she looked like she’d just taken her Spanx off. Furthermore, Schumer described people’s obsession with “the bump” and talked about how pregnancy was distorting her belly button. Then, just five minutes into her show, Schumer lifted her dress to reveal the two band-aids covering her navel.
Schumer’s humor wasn’t that funny to me, mainly because I was grossed out by a lot of it. Throughout her special, Schumer touched on her hyperemesis (her severe vomiting during her pregnancy), menstrual periods and sex during pregnancy, all of which were gross topics. For example, Schumer described her hyperemesis as food poisoning every day for five months. Later in the show, she began to talk about internet porn. Schumer went on to say that if someone was searching for “gag porn,” they should have been living at her house for the last five months.
A lot of the comedian’s humor was directed towards women in the audience. Schumer had a bit about growing up with a mom who distrusted tampons and who taught her that she only needed to shave below the knee. The comedian then described and imitated what it was like to walk around with a pad on all day long. Similarly, she described her embarrassment at the community pool after shaving only below her knees.
Netflix describes Schumer’s special as “both raunchy and sincere,” but I disagree with the latter half of that characterization. Throughout almost the entire special, Schumer was in her comedic persona, showing no mercy to any topic. While Schumer tried to be sincere at times, it just came off as a poor transition between serious facts and her raunchy style of comedy.
For example, Schumer talked about men’s and women’s greatest fears. Women fear violence, Schumer stated, even citing statistics like how one in three women will be assaulted in their lifetimes. From this, she transitioned to saying how men’s greatest fear is ridicule, joking that it must be so hard for them to go through that. To me, it was just a weird transition from something very serious to a lighthearted joke.
Some of Schumer’s jokes throughout the show were funny, but most of the time I was just cringing. Overall, “Growing” grossed me out. Schumer’s outspoken, unrestrained type of humor just isn’t for me.
Rating: 2/5
Stephanie Santillo is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.santillo@uconn.edu.
