By Matisse Sanchez, Mar. 8, 2022
Coming back from performing comedy hit specials, “Hard Knock Wife” and “Baby Cobra,” to co-writing her very own movie “Always be my Baby,” Ali Wong hit the Netflix billboards with her third new special “Dong Wong” harder than ever. I applaud Wong for being so vulnerable with the audience. The number of times that made me believe that something should not have been said made me realize that Wong is unafraid of any opinions made about her.
Wong brings us the realities of what it’s like to be a woman of money, power and success while navigating marriage.Unlike her past comedy hits, Wong isn’t pregnant but is still largely recognizable as she comes onto the stage with her large red glasses and signature cheetah print dress.
Being a Vietnamese Chinese Asian American woman TV and movie writer, Wong stands in a corner where not a lot of women, and especially ones of her culture, flourish in comedy. In 2016, at seven months pregnant, Wong was barely able to fill up and sell out seating for her shows until “Baby Cobra,” caught the attention of Netflix.
Wong’s shows consist of her brutal honesty on family, marriage and the reality of what it would be like to be single again and never having to take care of someone that “needs to bring a giant bag with little Ziploc baggies of Goldfish” anytime they go out.
At the end of the day, it is the job of a comedian to make her own sense and style of humor to make the audience laugh. According to Wong, her 10-year marriage has not been impacted by the fame she has developed over the years. It is amazing to see Wong reach such high measures in comedy and see how she has paved her own way to the top. As an avid follower, it is inspiring to see such healthy marriages in a society where not many seem to have respect for each other.
“So, my husband, he’s all of these wonderful things, right?” Wong says. “But most importantly, he gives me permission to be myself.”
For Justin Hakuta, being a husband and father is admiring, and supporting his wife at shows and helping her sell out is something that I admire about the way their relationship works. It is reassuring to see husbands who are willing to help their wives rise to the top while still supporting their career.
Coming back from watching “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife,” Wong does a phenomenal job of keeping up her unusual behavior, such as her stance, facial expressions and quirky demeanor, and she is unafraid to tell people what kinds of things her body used to do when she was once young and in her prime time.
She is an artist, and she excels at doing what she does best, telling dirty jokes and shelling it out at the audience for some laughter. Although her brand of comedy is crude for some audiences, Wong is not embarrassed to be her true self on stage and that is what I liked about the show.
Wong has an alluring sense of humor that matches perfectly with her personality. It has made her the comedian that she is today, and although at first this persona of hers didn’t sell out anything, now she sells out within minutes.
It is very rare to see women comedians succeed, and an Asian American woman making big moves in a very male-dominated career is something that puts her at the top of her game. Wong delivers every punch line with so much fervor and attitude that it receives the laughter that she deserves.
To watch her stand-up specials, and see what Ali Wong all is about, stream her shows on Netflix.
Feature image courtesy of Israel Palacio
