| Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive | |
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| Directed by |
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| Written by | Aziz Ansari |
| Produced by | Jay Chapman |
| Starring | Aziz Ansari |
| Cinematography | Martin Ahlgren |
| Edited by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive is a 2013 Americanstand-up comedyconcert film written by and starringAziz Ansari and directed byDylan Southern and Will Lovelace, with cinematography byMartin Ahlgren. Shot at theMerriam Theater inPhiladelphia during Ansari's Buried Alive Tour on April 13, 2013, it was released on November 1 of that year and became Netflix's firstexclusive comedy special.
Topics include Ansari's views on the institution of marriage, parenting, and love. The set has the theme of a wedding, with Ansari wearing a formal suit with a whiteboutonnière. When discussingBuried Alive in comparison to his first two specials,Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening (2010) andDangerously Delicious (2012), Ansari said:
This special is much, much different than my previous two. As I hit 30, my material got very personal as I grappled with the gravity of the adult world—love, marriage, babies, and more. Do I really have to deal with all that now? Are my ding dong friends really getting married and having their own children? I couldn't imagine having a kid right now. After I type this sentence, I'm gonna drink an apple juice and watchJurassic Park—if that's a guy that's supposed to be ready to be a father, I'm very concerned. That's whatBuried Alive is about.[1]
The film was taped during Ansari's Buried Alive Tour across 75 cities around the world, where he performed at sold-out venues including New York'sCarnegie Hall, London'sHammersmith Apollo, and Sydney'sOpera House.[1] The footage in the Netflix release was filmed during his performance atPhiladelphia'sMerriam Theater on April 13, 2013.[2]
Buried Alive was Ansari's firstNetflix special and debuted on November 1, 2013. It was released across all Netflix markets simultaneously.[1] At the time of its release, it was Netflix's firstexclusive comedy special.[3]
Buried Alive was well received by critics. Erik Adams ofThe A.V. Club gave it an A− and called it "a spectacularly entertaining hour-plus of stand-up, but it’s also an intriguing bit of cultural anthropology. Throughout the special, Ansari asks questions—as a character within his routines and to the members of his audience—and what he turns up is just as frequently funny as it is heartfelt and penetrating."[4]Rolling Stone noted that it showed a more mature side of Ansari, but his material was still appealing to his younger fan base. "It feels more like social commentary rather than commentary on what it's like to be social. But old Aziz fans shouldn't fret – he still manages to slip in jokes about his younger self being molested and the notion ofXzibit raising a busload of babies."[5]
Patrick Smith ofThe Daily Telegraph, who reviewed Ansari's sold-out tour stop at London's Apollo Hammersmith theatre, took notice of the comedian's outfit, writing, "Ansari's 70-minute set was none the less much like his attire: smart, sharp and slickly carried off...Buried Alive bristled with topicality and wit."[6]
At the 2014American Comedy Awards,Buried Alive was nominated for Comedy Special of the Year, but lost toLouis C.K.'sOh My God.[7]
