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With more than 3 million followers on Instagram and closing in on 10 million followers on TikTok, Trevor Wallace’s comedy characters have taken social media by storm. But how will that translate to the stage and stand-up for a live audience? Does it?
The Gist: Wallace ’s comedy journey began on Vine (remember Vine?!?) making videos while studying at San Jose State University. His character videos for YouTube really began serving notice, racking up millions of views in 2019 (he now has 4.4 million subscribers on YT) for guys who drink Monster Energy or White Claw. But it was the pandemic, when live stages shut down and all comedy went online, that his star began to shine. A finalist for “Best In Comedy” at the 2020 Shorty Awards, Wallace has since made the live touring rounds, hitting up major comedy festivals, and now his debut stand-up special.
You’ll see a few of his characters, but only briefly and backstage, while onstage Wallace jokes about experiencing what makes Texas weird (such as Buc-ee’s), his misadventures not exactly doing drugs, and what not to do on a date.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: Trying to compare Wallace’s stand-up to other Internet character comedians isn’t going to work, though, because that’s not what he’s even really aiming for here. Unless you consider his crowd work.
Memorable Jokes: Wallace may enjoy playing characters, but when it comes to himself, he believes that despite what women may slip into his DMs about being turned on by the prominence of his nose, he’s not buying it. “You don’t want Nigel Thornberry!”
Feedback, both online and in real life, plays a large role in his stand-up.
Catching flak for posting photos of the Amish on his Instagram Stories amuses Wallace, because the Amish famously don’t use technology. “But again, they’re not going to see this special, anyways,” he jokes. Having a cell phone now, or perhaps not, poses a real conundrum. It sounds like a nice idea to him in theory, but in practice: “When your phone is dead, that’s the real you right there.”
Alone with the Internet in the pandemic, he jokes he spent so much time on both Pornhub and Zillow that the worlds collided in his head.
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Out in the real world on dates, he jokes about having an ex with a stutter, about a woman who pronounces the “l” in salmon, and about how men know about the “three-date rule” for waiting to sleep with someone and yet continuing to react as if they’re dogs watching a woman holding a tennis ball. He imagines what it might be like if men finally could take birth control pills, and later shouts out his father in the audience to set up the story about his dad delivering an awkward metaphor for his birds-and-the-bees lecture to a young Trevor.
But it could be worse. Wallace said you could be taking dating advice from that one friend of yours who has remained single for 14 years and has “most likely to vape a funeral” energy.
Our Take: There’s something somehow refreshing these days about seeing a comedian in a filmed special do that old-school stand-up gambit by opening with a bunch of jokes about the city they’re visiting. Wallace rips into Austin and Texas for a few minutes, specifically one guy he saw wearing both a mask and a mullet, comparing downtown Austin’s 6th Street to “a live Grand Theft Auto,” and soon thereafter earning a collective whoop from the crowd for mentioning his first visit to a Buc-ee’s convenience store and gas station. “That whole place smells like Mountain Dew and neglect,” he jokes.
Viewers hoping to see Wallace’s characters might be pleased and/or dismayed to know they only show up as bookends to his debut hour. An opening sketch backstage casts comedian Nick Swardson as the stage manager barking time updates to Wallace and his buddy, Chad Lebaron. Meanwhile, Buddy, Blader and Topher are mocking Wallace in his moment of pre-show panic. “You’re having a special? Just like your outfit, a special, from what? Nordstrom Rack. You should take that Nordstrom back.”
During the show onstage, the most memorable moments come from his interactions with the audience. Which feels like both a blessing and a curse. Crowd work clips have conquered social media algorithms. When Wallace pauses to point out a woman with a “Minnie Mouse laugh,” only for her to reply that it’s not a laugh, but rather a tic, he’s quick to respond: “You’ve got the tics, I bring the Toks.”
Don’t be surprised to see that on TikTok soon enough.
Our Call: In a closing sketch, Wallace gets grief from his buddies (real and imagined) reminding him he’s no Trevor Noah nor Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Wallace may not come off quite as memorably as himself, but he does seem like a fun night out for comedy fans looking for something to do and see. For that alone, it’s a STREAM IT.
Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.
