Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out

Mike Epps delivered a standup routine like a time warp from the 1990's. It's just him lazily standing around complaining about things. I learned a few things from his routine though: He's racist. He's sexist. He's anti-LGBTQ without even trying to be. Standup routines where some hack stands around and brags about his own bad habits is just a painful thing to watch in 2024. I can't remember a single joke from this because I'm not sure what even qualified as a joke or humor to begin with. Did you know Mike Epps does cocaine? Ha. Ha. The worst part of this show though was hearing Mike complain about the gig itself, that he only even does this anymore because he needs money. Netflix should've paid 10 young hungry comics each 1/10th what they paid Mike for this and I guarantee you what they would've created would've been much better quality wise.

Outdated jokes with no humour at all. Nothing is written smartly or no edgy humour that makes you laugh or surprise you. Very predictable jokes, with impressions of different racial groups. After 15 minutes I was like okay just watch more maybe it will get better. Boy it didn't get better at all. I don't know how this can make it to be a Netflix special next for an entire hour. Maybe run your jokes in comedy clubs and strengthen the jokes. It seems like most of jokes were made for the first time and Mike is looking at the reaction after each punchline. Stereotypical jokes are no longer funny today, comedy developed to something more than that.

Mike Epps was never funny to me; I'm not surprised that this show was any different than his other shows. Just kept waiting for the humor to come and it never did. He should seriously consider another profession. His goofy routines are just boring, outdated, and just completely a waste of time. If he's writing his own material he better give that up too. Then again, he could hire the best comedy writer in the nation, if he can't deliver the lines in a comedic way, then all his jokes will fall flat like the ones in this show. Stand-up comedy is definitely no easy task, but if you find that you're bombing out at just about all your comedy shows then maybe it's time to hang it up and try something else.

Mike Epps is finally establishing himself as the best heavy weight in the stand-up world right now . Tracing his professional journey way back from Day-Day of Next Friday to having a prime time TV show The Upshaws we can clearly see how seasoned he is now and effortlessly gets his audience immersed in the free flow of his current of wits. Finally there Mike! What else can i say? People better ready up for what's up next for Mr Epps because it's only going to be on the up and up from here on now! Yizzir he is hands down Thee best stand-up comedian alive right now Mike Epps you done did it. The rest of the world will soon catch up on what they're missing out on.

A lot of stand-up specials always seem so generic, like some "now you see it, now you don't" cash grab. 2024's Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out, well it clocks in at 61 minutes with little intro, a small Phoenix, Arizona venue for shooting, and mostly marginal laughs. "I know you guys see me in the movies, but the money's gone". Like I said, cash grab. But hey, I'm not saying Mike Epps (the comedian featured) isn't funny cause he can be, just not in "Sell Out". Take for instance his 2005 outing titled Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior. That was hilarious as Epps waxed profusely on Michael Jackson, the TV show Cops, Montel Williams, and Judge Joe Brown. With "Sell Out" he regresses, talking about the effects of cocaine, getting smacked around by your girlfriend, the Will Smith "slap", and straight up infidelity. The material here feels stale and attenuated, only viable for maybe half the film's running time (the other half appears like filler). "You all know darn well I don't come here". Really Mike, I wouldn't have guessed it. Gift of gab regression and goofy talk show hosts aside, Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out is filmed in the standard way by director Royale Watkins. You know, how every comedy special is ever filmed, every time. A close-up here, a long shot there, a lateral everywhere, all while Epps does his usual shtick of prowling the stage. To say Mike Epps is off his A game this time is like saying snow is frozen water. It's just a fact as he's on and off the screen faster than a speeding bullet. Maybe if the vehicle was formed like 1987's Eddie Murphy Raw it could be something of value. Like add a skit at the beginning with real actors or add some interviews later on from actual audience members. That way Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out would do more than just be you know, "selling out". Natch.