My Review of "Mo Amer: The Vagabond

Mo Amer: The Vagabond had come out in 2018. I had heard of him before and I admittedly found some of his YouTube clips really funny. That's why I was shocked that I never got around to seeing this stand-up special. He's not a huge name in the comedy industry but he is a rising star right now. I can only see great things for him if he continues on his trajectory.

This special starts off with an introduction to Mo. He tells us that his name Mo is actually short for Mohammed. Obviously everyone gets the joke of why it's such a stigmatized name. Mo makes us remember that we ourselves still have prejudice and stereotypes for Arab individuals like himself. Sometimes we tend to forget how much stigma and oppression Arab people go through in the western world.

Mo is a very interesting person mostly because of the vastly different background that he had. He was born in Kuwait but raised in Houston Texas. As such he had first hand experience of the intricacies of growing up different in America. He really takes a lot of his actual experiences and translates them into jokes throughout the show.

I liked how he was able to blend into different cultures while he was growing up. He mentions that he could be misidentified as Mexican so he was able to hang out with some of them. Mo even went so far as learn Spanish to fit in. That's just goes to show you how diversely educated Mo is as a comedian. He's willing to learn all around him and absorb cultures and understandings. That's what a lot of the jokes come from. He sees a lot of the idiosyncrasies of American culture and is able to apply it to his sets.

A great joke was that he didn't quite fit with African Americans as well as Mexican Americans. However he was able to help them identify with him. On one side he looks like he's Mexican and he learned Spanish to belong to one side. Then he talks about how his name is Mohammed and another group was able to identify with him that way. It's funny how much Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali were able to influence the country.

Mo is pretty much a really fun and loving individual. There is no ill will toward anyone in his set. He merely talks about some of the misconceptions and even in those stories the situation never devolves. He somehow always dissolves the problem and live amicably with everyone. I think that's why a lot of people will be able to just enjoy this stand-up special.

There's actually very little offensive material in this set. He doesn't talk about sex or drugs. He may have some misinterpretations of drugs but ultimately the set is super clean. It doesn't hurt that his mother is in the audience. I'm sure that has some factor of what kind of material he would be providing us.

Still his own mother's story is a beautiful story about how how Mo's family had escaped Kuwait in order to live in Houston. It's a powerful story and a deep reminder of what refugees have to go through in order to come to western countries.

For a fifty minute set he sure puts in a lot of material and the flow of his work is very smooth. There is very good pacing between his stories that doesn't allow for any lulls in his set. It's very impressive and I'm sure he will continually get even better with more specials.

Overall, I really liked this stand-up special. I hope to hear from more Arab comics now after seeing Mo's set. He has such a different perspective of the world that we don't often get to see. There better be more coming from him. I have to give this stand up special an 8 out of 10. It's clean enough for the whole family so spread the word. Oh and make sure you watch the end credits. It'll show you how true his stories are.