Dangerously Delicious

Synopsis

The stand-up material included commentary such as Southern culture, racism, wasting time Googling obscure subjects (such as the box office numbers for Home Alone vs Home Alone 2 and Joe Pesci trivia) and online pornography. He also revisited subjects from his previous stand-up special, Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, including sharing stories about his young cousin Harris.

Release

Unlike his previous special, which aired on Comedy Central, Ansari released the special directly on his website for a $5 download. He wrote, "I wanted to release it online because I saw how many people viewed clips from my last special online on sites like YouTube. I also like releasing it myself because there are no commercials, bleeps, or any of that stuff." The download package also included bonus material such as photos, posters for the Dangerously Delicious Tour, a list of places he ate while on the road, and methods to create a unique own DVD cover.

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club commented: "It’s a testament to Ansari’s exploding popularity that, like Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan before him, he’s able to cut out once-powerful middlemen like Comedy Central and HBO and release his latest special directly to fans through his website."

Reception

Dangerously Delicious was well received by critics. Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post praised Ansari's energetic delivery, writing, "Though Ansari takes on common standup topics — travel, fame, women, etc. — there's a freshness and winning curiosity to his approach: He's honestly amused or annoyed by the things that he's talking about. He's never less than fully engaged by the goofy experiences he's describing, and that keeps the special humming with energy." A reviewer for the comedy website Laugh Button called the special "hilarious" and "another step in the right direction for the comedian as he continues to refine and improve the brand that is Aziz Ansari."

In his review for The A.V. Club, Rabin writes of Ansari's increasing prominence as the comedic voice of his generation:

"As a hip-hop loving, videogame-playing, technology- and fame-obsessed Indian-American foodie from South Carolina, Ansari comes to standup from a unique place, but his obsessions and insecurities ring surprisingly universal. In Dangerously Delicious, Ansari moves through worlds without quite being a part of them. He ultimately doesn’t have to resolve the divide between geek and baller, between rich-and-famous insider and wry outsider. He doesn't even have to acknowledge that there is a gulf between the seemingly disparate elements of his personality and larger-than-life persona. Ansari is a complicated man of contradictions as well as a funny motherfucker; that’s what makes him unique and Dangerously Delicious such a crackling delight."—Nathan Rabin