Summary
Dusty Slay: Workin’ Man is a swing-and-miss as Slay struggles to keep the laughs going for his first full hour.
In 2021, Dusty Slay made his Netflix debut on The Standups, highlighting some of the freshest voices in the world of comedy. Fast forward to 2024, and Slay is presenting his own hour-long special titled Dusty Slay: Workin’ Man. After quitting a few years earlier, Slay returned to the comedy scene in 2008 and hasn’t looked back.
Dusty Slay: Workin’ Man sees Slay hit the stage to tell jokes about hipster coffee shops, country music, and the homespun humor of shirt-tucking.
Slay performs in an intimate theater crowd in his trucker hat, southern twang, and with his famous “we’re having a good time” bit. He talks about this being the best job he has had yet, but he would quit it if a better one came along. For an opening monologue, this is more on the weaker side, as I laughed but didn’t feel he did enough here to reel the viewing audience in.
Slay is one of the more grounded comedians in his style and stage approach. He isn’t outlandish or loud but more soft-spoken and packs more of a quiet punch to his homerun jokes. Of course, being from Nashville, Slay is about as redneck as it comes. He relies heavily on his background to tell his jokes, which often puts him in a box. Although it’s not bad, some of the jokes won’t land with a widespread audience.
When I was first introduced to Dusty Slay in Season 3 of Netflix’s The Standups, he had me laughing my ass off. But within Workin’ Man, you feel like an hour is too much for Slay to deliver. We are in the golden age of stand-up comedy with Netflix, Prime Video, and Max continuing to give comedians the stage and spotlight to raise their audiences. However, I’ve noticed that only some comedians they give a special to can deliver that whole hour.
Slay has several stagnant moments met with some silence, but of course, he brings you back in with his “we’re having a good time.” But that almost wears out its welcome. Before you yell at me and say it’s part of his bit, I get that, but there are moments where he uses it to get himself out of a jam instead of as a “bit.”
As a first Netflix special, this was on the weaker side, and it’s somewhat of a shock to me. As I mentioned, his appearance on the third season of Netflix’s The Standups was much better than Workin’ Man. Slay will continue to find his audience, which may love this special, but it wasn’t for me. I give it a slight recommendation, but temper your expectations unless you are a fan of Slay.
