Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer review: Great energy but no new talking points

Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer is the storied comedian’s latest special where she talks about the pandemic, racism, and growing old in her life. The special is streaming on Netflix.

Story

Wanda Sykes is someone who has been around the block her fair share so when she lets her opinion be known, it deserves to be heard with genuine intrigue. Here, she talks about how things went for her and her very French wife during the pandemic.

She talks about the boiling points America that has plagued their streets and how it affects her differently than her wife and children. Wanda has to help her wife realize the concept of privilege by pointing it out in their everyday lives.

The comedian pokes fun at Congress and the polarized mood that America has been in over the last few years. Finally, she talks about how age is catching up to her and that pharmaceutical companies do not prioritize women’s issues as much as they do men’s.

Positives

Like the title of her special states, Wanda Sykes is an entertainer and she’s got great energy and command over the audience to perform at her best no matter what. It is certainly enjoyable at times to watch her do her thing.

Negatives

The special focuses on all the buzzwords that inhabit almost every comedian’s material these days. While this is a medium to raise awareness, Wanda’s jokes are a slightly different version of what the audience might have heard at another show.

Her efforts cannot be denied but much of her show involved running through the most controversial moments of the last few years and then chastizing the people at fault in humorous ways. It was all quite formulaic, even if Wanda added her own touch to it.

Verdict

Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer is a brisk one-hour special that covers many issues that are rampant in America as Wanda ties them to her life and then also holds nothing back as she talks about the politics and how things are different for her than they are for other people of a lighter complexion or of a particular gender. There are also bits about her sexuality and rising age to keep you entertained.

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