Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats review: The celebrity comedian turns introspective in this Netflix special

Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats marks the popular comedian and podcast host’s third appearance on a Netflix special, but this one is different: it is his first live comedy special for the streaming platform.

The special aired on August 3, 2024, with Rogan addressing a responsive audience at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas. Just over an hour long, Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats adequately represents Rogan’s worldviews and personality as he returns to Netflix with a special after six years.

Rogan’s latest special is a mixed bag of fresh and tried humor, with some jokes landing hilarious while others not so much. However, in this performance, he showcases a humble side, owning up to some of his controversial deeds and takes and extracting as many jokes as possible from the process.

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Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats shows how not to take oneself too seriously

Joe Rogan’s special exhibits his understanding of his audience. He opens the show with several alien conspiracy jokes that particularly resonate with the people of Texas. After getting a few laughs, he goes in other directions.

Over the years, Rogan has been no stranger to controversies. From being accused of allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID vaccines, using the N-word, and making homophobic and transphobic comments, Rogan has seldom been far from the headlines.

However, in Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats, the comedian issues no arrogant defense in his favor. Rather, he appears willing to admit to his faults and slippages. However, he also manages to make it funny.

Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats is a lesson in self-deprecatory humor. While he makes fun of the allegedly woke people, impersonates Joe Biden, and comments on various nationalities, he does not spare himself either.

Essentially owning up to the charge of spreading misinformation during Covid about the vaccines, he jokes:

“The funniest way for me to die is if I die from Covid. When I got Covid the first thought I had was like “O God, you better now die” because I talked so much s**t!”

As the audience roars with laughter, he adds:

“If I died from Covid, the memes would never end.”

At another point in the special, Rogan concedes that he should have trusted the science. However, he also has a joke to deliver by way of an explanation:

“Here’s my take on that, sincerely: If you’re getting your vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? That’s not my job, kids.”

He continues:

“I’m a professional s**t-talker. Some of the things I say make sense. A lot of them don’t. It’s up to you to figure out what’s what. That’s the fun part.”

This is one of the several segments where Rogan uses self-criticism in a jocular but effective way. Elsewhere, he mocks himself by saying that if he is the “voice of reason” in a show, it is a “f**ked up” show. He also describes his interactions with Elon Musk as the intellectual equivalent of a dog interacting with its master.

Through such self-effacing humor, Rogan conveys that he does not take himself too seriously. Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats presents a controversial comedian who has reflected on his past actions and is not afraid of being called wrong.

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Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats shines thanks to the comedian’s build-ups

Many of the jokes in Rogan's Netflix special might seem repetitive to those who regularly follow other comedians’ specials on Netflix. Topics like trans people, gay men, and lesbian women have often featured in the specials of comedians like Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle.

However, Rogan’s forte in this special is not the uniqueness of the jokes but the presentation. He deliberately puts up an act, gradually draws the audience in, and then hilariously pulls the rug from under their feet.

For instance, at one point in Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats, he starts a lengthy and sympathetic monologue on how the young generation rightly feels the need to be woke. But Rogan’s intention, after all, is not to showcase his ideological inclinations but to make the audience laugh. This is how he does it:

“I get why the young people want to be woke. I really do. The old people have f**ked up the world. Let’s try communism. I get it.”

Then he delivers the punchline:

“What does your team believe? ‘We believe that healthcare is a basic human right.’ I agree. ‘We think that education should be free.’ Me too. ‘And men can get pregnant.’ F**k! How did that one slip through?”

The subject matter of this joke, like most others in the special, may not be new. But Rogan’s storytelling manages to get good laughs from the audience.

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Rogan does not just tell his jokes, he performs his act

Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats is a lesson in physical comedy. Rogan uses the length and breadth of the stage to deliver a powerhouse performance, pacing across it while delivering his lines and enacting certain bits of the jokes. He somehow does not run out of stamina by the end.

Some of the jokes in the special require Rogan to impersonate others, while others demand intense physical gestures. He does both with ease, maintaining good contact with the crowd throughout.

The segment on alien conspiracies especially highlights Rogan’s talent for physical comedy. Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats hardly has one moment when the performer is standing still in one spot.

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Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats is a must-watch for the fans of the comedian. It could also amuse the others who are interested in his public persona. It is currently streaming on Netflix.