Summary
Lizzy Hoo: Hoo Cares!? is far from perfect, but Lizzy does a great job of bringing enough laughs to make it enjoyable.
If you are like me, I am unfamiliar with Lizzy Hoo. She broke into the comedy scene in 2017 and has quickly risen to the top of the Australian comedy scene, where she performed at the Just For Laughs Festival at the Sydney Opera House. All of this success has led to her first special on Prime Video, Lizzy Hoo: Hoo Cares!?.
This stand-up features Lizzy telling jokes about her former office life, her brother, and a father/daughter trip to Malaysia.
Lizzy comes to the stage with a very simplistic opening of getting announced to the stage. She opens the show with a funny bit about the pandemic and how COVID-19 was a man. She followed this by telling the story of her telling her mom she quit her day job to pursue stand-up comedy and her mom not understanding why she couldn’t have a normal job.
It was a perfect little mood setter for the special.
One of the things I’ve noticed in comedy specials lately is the trend of returning to telling jokes about the comedian’s families. I genuinely love this because you get to know the comedian. In an interview, I heard Pete Davidson talk about how he loves it when comedians do this because you can follow along through their specials and feel like you know them.
Each special presents something different. It’s like what Kevin Hart has done with each of his specials with his kids growing up, and it gives him new material, and we get to hear more about him. It makes them relatable, and with this being my (and so many others) introduction to Lizzy Hoo, it was perfect for her to do.
Within the special, you can see someone who is still getting their feet wet in the comedy scene. You can still see and hear the nerves in her voice while on the stage, which will only go away with more time. That said, I believe she is just scratching the surface of her potential. Her next special will only be better, and the next, etc.
My favorite bit from the special was the deconstruction of her office work life. It was brilliantly done with the perfect delivery that anyone who works this type of job will be in stitches at. I rewatched this entire bit twice to watch again; that’s how good it was.
It’s not the perfect special, but it’s easy to throw on and enjoy even in the background. Lizzy has some hilarious stories about her mother and father that are very much relatable. Overall, this being my introduction to Lizzy Hoo, I loved what she brought to the table.
Her storytelling is fantastic; she knows how to drive a joke home without overstaying its welcome. Once she garners more stage time and matches the confidence in her jokes with her confidence on the stage, look out. I can’t wait for the next special.
