Yvonne Orji: Momma, I Made It!
Tonight was the very first comedy special from one of our faves Yvonne Orji. Orji is most known for her role as Molly Carter on HBO’s “Insecure.”
We witnessed the actress shine on her own in a way that many of us may not be used to. On “Insecure” Natasha Rothwell’s Kelli, is the character noted more for comedic relief, however tonight proved that the cast of “Insecure” is full of funny, witty and intelligent Black women.
Let me start off by saying, Yvonne is hilarious!
I laughed through majority of her special. She truly did not disappoint. Throughout the program we jumped between Yvonne’s visit to Nigeria to her show in D.C. which I greatly enjoyed. The live show kicked off perfectly. Yvonne came out with so much energy and engaged the audience perfectly.
She immediately jumped into talking about Nigerian scammers — considering the stereotype is Nigerians are notorious for scamming. According to Yvonne, Nigerians also cannot give directions which was proven by clips from her trip to Nigeria where she is asking people how to get to a certain city and no one, I mean not a single person, could give her directions.
I yelled!
Yvonne discussed the hardship of growing up in a Nigerian household where the expectations are high. Yvonne’s mom and dad are shown talking about what they wanted for their children and being a medical doctor was one of those things. Yvonne recalled a time her mother told her that she opted to be a jester instead of a doctor — hilarious.
Yvonne’s Nigerian accent is golden. It elevated the jokes to great levels. She enjoys doing things for her parents including purchasing her mom a Louis Vuitton bag, although her mom would not let her forget she did not remember to purchase the lettuce, another hilarious moment.
She discussed her Uncle that at first told her to use one of her degrees but now that she has made it he tells everyone that “Molly” is his niece. She talked about the honesty of older, southern Black men after her experience with one that was her Uber driver. He told Yvonne she looked familiar like the girl from the show “Insecurities.” He told her the show is about two Black girls making bad decisions, that the one girl “Isis” cheated like most Black girls and that “Molly with the Body” was dumb.
Yvonne was completely hitting every one of these jokes.
Relationships and marriage were also a topic being as though Yvonne’s parents are beyond ready for her to be married. She discussed using men for food, because yes all of us have done it. She discussed her date with Hunter Walker, which may very well be a dream date for many women but the question of Hunter being single or not was the deal breaker. Yvonne references that as the hardest question to ask a Black man.
From discussing playing Taboo with her cousins and her hood friends on up to the fake reach for the check on a first date, Yvonne nailed joke after joke throughout her special.
We want to see more of this Yvonne.
I know her character Molly, on ‘Insecure’ is sealed as she is but we need Yvonne in more comedic roles. Her special was honest, personal and funny at the same time which is really the perfect combination for any stand-up special. I’m sure people weren’t sure if Yvonne could successfully pull off a special but sis is funny and I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for us.
At the very end of the special, Yvonne emotionally discusses why she titled the special “Momma, I Made It.” She talked about her very first comedy show in New York when she was flat broke and praying for success and now that she is there, she wanted to finally shout “Momma, I MADE IT!” I so appreciated that segment.
Excellent way to end an excellent special.
