Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia is a Netflix Original Standup Comedy Special hosted by Michelle Buteau. She’s been in several films and TV shows, including Isn’t It Romantic, Work It and the 2021 Marry Me with Jennifer Lopez (that is mentioned on the show). Additionally, she’s been in the comedy scene for 17 years.
In Welcome to Buteaupia, Michelle Buteau talks about a variety of topics including Jennifer Lopez, parenthood, cultural differences with her husband, and, well, penises.
Buteau’s journey is nothing short of inspiring and it reflects on her special. She’s extremely relatable, and her relatability makes her funny. She stares blankly and rolls her eyes in disbelief of the world, especially with Dutch pronunciations. One time in a Dutch museum, the host told her how to pronounce Van Gogh’s name, and she promptly replies with, “No wonder that motherf**ker cut off his ears.” It’s one joke after another of similar magnitude, and there’s not a moment where you feel bored.
As she says in the beginning, Welcome to Buteaupia is about Michelle Buteau’s pet peeves. And some hilarious pet peeves at that. At one point, she talks about how, when you’re above 40, you think about how you’re going to fall. And this one time, when she actually was falling, she was having an internal conversation as to whether she should fall on her hands – however, that could break her wrists and she wouldn’t be able to wipe herself clean.
Additionally, she refuses to ask her husband to do it, because she doesn’t even fart in front of her husband. She follows that up with, “Would you eat in a restaurant that’s dirty?” There are jokes that talk about how there’s a verb in Dutch which means “hitting your penis on something, often repeatedly.” And it’s actually a thing (I Googled, I promise)! It’s a crazy ride from start to finish.
Buteau’s larger-than-life projection of her life and surrounding, whether it be her babies’ poop or performing oral, are hilarious and make for a very entertaining 58 minutes. Welcome to Buteaupia is shot dazzlingly and the set is beautiful and totally goes with her vibe. Her no-nonsense sass resonates with her general disdain for people around her, and it’s probably something all of us have felt sometime or the other.
At the end of the show Michelle Buteau tells the audience to be kind of each other and believe in themselves. The show was shot in March, just before anyone really wrapped their heads around the full scope of the pandemic. And as Netflix airs it in September, these words probably ring truer than ever. She also includes patriarchy and the broken education system in small ways in her set that will definitely strike a chord with you, no matter where you live.
Summing up: Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia
Michelle Butea’s standup special, Welcome to Buteaupia, is a fun, refreshing and very valid comedy show that makes you relate to it so hard. From talking about unsolicited parental advice, her struggle with her husband’s language and (just so many) penis jokes, it makes for a light-hearted watch that gives you a good time. Her stage presence is great, and you realise that she’s been doing this for a long time from how captivating her general aura is.
At one point she says, “My whole body is shaped like a drumstick emoji!” and if that doesn’t crack you up, then I don’t know what will. The special is filled with such jokes and Buteau’s body language and her long stares into nothing when she’s in disbelief add layers to her jokes and give it meaning. Welcome to Buteaupia is, thus, an entertaining and fun watch.
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia is streaming on Netflix.
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