Matt Rife’s newest stand up comedy special ‘Matt Rife: Natural Selection’ dropped on Netflix on November 15, recorded at DAR Construction Hall in Washington DC. This special marks the culmination of Rife’s 12 years of touring and his meteoric breakout to stardom after making a name for himself on TikTok where he has amassed over 16 million followers.
His first one-hour comedy special, ‘Only Fans,’ released on YouTube, attracted 9.8 million views. He followed this with another special, ‘Matthew Steven Rife,’ also self-released on YouTube, and a crowd work-focused special released in June. Now that his latest special ‘Matt Rife: Natural Selection’ has been released, let’s check out what reviewers have said.
‘Matt Rife: Natural Selection’ Reviews
Beginning with Decider, Sean L. McCarthy wrote that Rife’s latest special will remind viewers of Dane Cook.
“More than anything or anyone else, Rife seems like a second coming of Dane Cook, a youthful exuberance and slight puckishness combined with a mastery of the evolving technological shifts in social media, all in a package designed to appeal to young and predominantly female audiences,” wrote McCarthy. “Seriously, though, whether you want to watch Rife because you’re already a fan of his clips, because you think he’s hot, or you just want to know why he’s the hot topic of comedy debates these days, you should STREAM IT just so you know what all the fuss is about. You can draw your own conclusions,” he continued.
Read More: Netflix Releases Trailer for Upcoming Series ‘Verified Stand Up’
Matt Solomon from Cracked shared a different sentiment in his review titled ‘Matt Rife’s Blinding Handsomeness Didn’t Stop Me From Hating His New Special.’
Solomon noted that he disliked Rife’s material about his views on waitresses, women he knows who are into crystals and astrology, and the middle part that’s “devoted to sex, masturbation, and porn.” Though his least favorite part appears to be “the most off-putting segment… is its last bit, a long diatribe about a flight attendant who insisted Rife stow his bag under the seat… despite his distaste for Twitter and the like, he used the plane’s Wi-Fi to gripe about the airline rules. He couldn’t believe what happened next. An angry online mob gathered to tell him to suck it up and follow the rules like the rest of us do. The nerve!”
Unfortunately, we couldn’t tell you what Vulture said in their review as they hid it behind a paywall. Which is why we’re definitely just going to have to check out this special, especially after the mixed reviews we did read.
