Afonso Padilha: Classless is a Netflix stand-up comedy which is directed by Rudge Campos and Junior Carelli. The show follows the Brazilian comedian, who dishes out hilarious jokes in regard to his humble beginnings, and what it means to grow up poor.
Netflix has really been stepping up its game with regards to stand-up comedy shows. Afonso Padilha: Classless starts off with the comedian saying that although his ex has blocked him on all social media platforms, she won’t be able to ignore him on Netflix! What follows is one hour of hilarious stories with regard to his childhood, poverty, and how, once you are poor, you will always be poor at heart.
We get to know about Padilha’s mother and his brothers, how poor people react in various situations against their richer counterparts and how poverty has shaped his life. All his “fans” are apparently poor and thus whenever they come to “greet” him, they always have to manually roll down their car windows. Now, this might sound unfunny when you read it, the way Padilha acts out his jokes will make you laugh out loud.
He also talks about, among other things, how, when his brother was a year old, Padilha was asked to take care of him as his mother went to work. His description of how he took care of his brother, coupled with his mother’s reaction, is absolutely hilarious.
His jokes are also very relatable – according to him, the first thing poor people will do if they win the lottery is that they would never skimp on food. Also, regardless of how much money one accumulates, they’d never be able to ignore a hotel’s free breakfast. Doesn’t matter whether you’re hungry or not – your inner voice will tell you that breakfast time is almost up. Also, remember all those times when you wondered if an item of clothing is wet or just cold? Yep, that finds a mention here as well. His jokes are very relatable, engaging to watch and extremely funny.
Some very uncomfortably funny jokes also find a place in his skit, particularly about his mother. Whether it be his mother “pulling money out of her a**” or how his mother birthed them – they’re very cringeworthy, but still very funny.
However, it has to be mentioned here that Afonso Padilha: Classless that the skit is in Brazilian Portuguese. Now, incase you’re not familiar with the language or the culture, you will not understand one or two jokes. Case in point: Padilha talks about the fact that, in the old days, if you didn’t feature on SBT or Record, you wouldn’t be considered famous. Or well, no one on Record is famous. Unless, ofcourse you’re a demon or a pastor… or both like Pr. Valdomiro. Now, I’m sure that’s funny, but I didn’t get the joke simply because I am not familiar with these cultural aspects. However, that’s only a few jokes. Most of it is understandable and hilarious.
Summing up: Afonso Padilha: Classless
Afonso Padilha: Classless is a funny, goofy and energetic stand-up comedy show that makes you nostalgic with its relatability. There are so many things that Padilha talks about that I totally relate to. The way he delivers the jokes, along with his humour is pretty great. The jokes flow from one to another effortlessly, and never does it feel forced or unfunny. Thiago Ventura, another comedian who was featured on Netflix, finds a place in Padilha’s skits. Honestly, it’s a fun watch, and with a 1-hour runtime, it flows by without too much effort.
Afonso Padilha: Classless is streaming on Netflix.
Read our other reviews here.