Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids’ On Netflix, Where The ‘SNL’ Alum Is Stuck In The Middle

More than thirty years removed from his breakthrough on an HBO Young Comedians Special, Rob Schneider only now has his first Netflix comedy special, which he managed to film in Salt Lake City just days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down productions across the country. So why now? If not now, then when?

ROB SCHNEIDER: ASIAN MOMMA, MEXICAN KIDS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Dennis Miller hosted that HBO stand-up showcase which featured a young Schneider as well as David Spade, and Miller quickly brought them both straight back to Saturday Night Live with him.

Schneider broke through with a character who sat next to the office copy machine, jumped to the big screen as the comic relief for Sylvester Stallone in Judge Dredd, and even had a string of starring vehicles of his own, though none quite matched the success of his first, 1999’s Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. That also was the first film from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions, and Schneider found a wellspring of success working with his SNL buddy over the ensuing two decades.

So of course some of the first words you hear from Schneider in his first Netflix comedy special now are “You can do it!”

But much of this performance focuses on how Schneider still does it, now at age 56, on his third marriage and raising two young daughters, trying to please the women in his home, even if they believe they have all of the answers already. Which he has come to terms with, saying: “This is my third marriage. I don’t want to get divorced again, OK?”

It’s directed by Tyler Spindel, who also directed this year’s Netflix hit for David Spade and Lauren Lapkus, The Wrong Missy, which also featured an appearance by Schneider.

What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: The bulk of Schneider’s performance is middle-of-the-road relationship material straight from the playbooks that built many a sitcom and one-man show over the past few decades. Of course, he’s mining his own family stories for material, though, so if you’re enough of a fan to have watched or remembered his short-lived CBS sitcom of 2012, Rob, or his subsequent Netflix series, Real Rob, then you already know what you’re in for here.

Memorable Jokes: Schneider seemed ready to slow down even before the pandemic hit, joking about how dangerously comfortable he had become about wearing sweatpants.

Not so comfortable? Dealing with potty training.

There’s a 20-minute chunk, in which he invites pianist Takeru Saito to play soft accompaniment as Schneider offers his life lessons on love and marriage and relationships, as well as the “pig potential” that all men have (himself included), which he’s glad got exposed by the #MeToo movement.

But the most memorable moment of this 44-minute set isn’t even humorous, but rather sincere, as Schneider invites his daughter from his first marriage, the singer/songwriter Elle King (who scored a rocking hit with “Ex’s & Oh’s” in 2014), to perform a duet as the encore. He says lovingly, “I used to be Rob Schneider, and now I’m Elle King’s dad.” Turns out dad’s a crooner himself, as they sing Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” with Saito on piano joined also by a nine-piece string orchestra.

Our Take: I’m still not sure who was asking for a Rob Schneider comedy special in 2020 (other than his proud Asian mother, his third wife, and their “Mexican” kids, obviously). But 2020 has remained full of surprises, hasn’t it.

Perhaps Schneider, who has received criticism for his movie roles, wanted or needed to set the record straight. His mother’s side of the family is Filipino, and having an Asian mother meant growing up with big expectations. “So I’m Asian, but I’m not Asian enough where it can help me these days,” he jokes about diversity in Hollywood, but also in reflexive defensiveness toward those who’d tar him for his various Asian portrayals on film. Schneider’s not about to back down, though, employing a strong accent in describing his first job at a 76 station in San Francisco, and encounters in Chinese and Korean restaurants. At one point, he stops to note: “That’s not racist. That’s accurate.” The audience cheers him on. “You know how hard it is for you to speak Chinese? That’s how hard it is for Chinese people to speak English.”

Schneider also is quick to adapt a Mexican accent when describing his wife’s side of their domestic squabbles. After one such conversation, he demurs: “I can make you happier. I can’t make you happy.”

He might as well be speaking to all of us in that moment.

Our Call: SKIP IT. If you’re an SNL completist, of course you’ll watch. Whereas much of the stand-up is stuck in the middle-of-the-road material, the encore with Schneider and King, followed by an appearance by Schneider’s wife and younger daughters, will melt any heart. Seek that out, even if you don’t feel like watching the rest of the special.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Rob Schneider: Asian Momma, Mexican Kids on Netflix