George Lopez Takes Aim at Politics and Then Himself in Hilarious Cultural Roast ‘We’ll Do It for Half’

Alci Rengifo

George Lopez hates Trump and his wall, but he gets just as annoyed with how some Latino men refuse to get a prostate exam. These and other pearls of wisdom grace his rowdy new Netflix comedy special “We’ll Do It for Half.” The title itself captures how Lopez has not lost his hilarious touch in poking fun at stereotypes with a wicked self-awareness. 

Filmed last December at the The Warfield Theater in San Francisco, Lopez obviously had no idea how much the world would change in just a few months. But his humor relies little on current events. As far as he’s concerned, “Latinos” (Lopez does not subscribe to the term “Latinx”) will always be the same because it’s the very attitude of their culture that keeps them going. But before getting into his trademark humor taken straight from the living rooms and family trips of many a Latino family, Lopez opens the special firing shots at the Trump White House. There’s little joking around when Lopez furiously slams the deportation of Latino veterans. “That’s bullshit. Anyone who’s willing to die for this country should live in this country,” says the Chicano comic. “If you take care of people’s kids and you spend more time with their fucking kids than your own, you should be allowed to live in this country,” he adds. Those who complain about “anchor babies” won’t appreciate it when Lopez also says cheerfully, “You wanna talk about a pathway to citizenship, we already have it, it’s called the ‘panocha’ (pussy). If you’re born here you fucking stay here.” The audience is also clearly on Lopez’s side, shouting “putos” (bitches) when Lopez mentions ICE. Lopez does hint that you could use the situation to your favor and get rid of the aunt you just don’t like, however. 

Before long Lopez even in the political segments transitions into his more familiar brand of humor which mostly consists of fun, raunchy cultural self-roasting. Among Latino artists he is the master of the self-mocking art of tongue and cheek. All is game from within his community. Per him when ICE stops your car it’s now common to try and pull of a little English, even if it’s just a “yes.” Latinos were certainly not hired to build Trump’s absurd wall, because they would have it done in no time, while making sure it isn’t too heavy on the underground tunnels. If Latinos had been hired to build Rome it would indeed have been done in one day (“we finished the Colosseum, que mas?”). For the comic all of Latin America is welcome, describing Mexico as the big relative with other cousins like El Salvador that also want to follow them into the United States.

Lopez can’t help himself and also takes subtle jabs at classic Latin misogyny or machismo, telling about an uncle who was hit by a female driver and when asked by the police for a description said, “yeah, I mean, I’d fuck her.” This kind of attitude, mostly from old timers as Lopez is quick to point out, comes with its particular dangers with old age. Per Lopez Latino men would rather ignore any prostate issues than go get a full exam because they don’t want someone sticking their hand up there. Then when the wife drags you to an exam and you test positive for cancer, the automatic response is to blame the visit to the doctor. Latino cuisine will get you there soon enough as well. Lopez admits to pouring salt on a meal before even tasting any of it. 

The secret charm to many of Lopez’s jokes is that they are very much veiled critiques with a “that’s just how we are attitude.” Notice how he winks after the particularly vicious commentary, as when he goes into body shaming in the Latino community which becomes a wicked dance of over-feeding your kid greasy food and then criticizing them for being overweight. There is no need for baby monitors in a Latino home, just let the kid walk back into a hot stove so they can learn not to do it again. Lopez’s brand of humor is particularly in tune with the Latino working class. Halloween for Lopez is a time to not only trick or treat as a middle-aged man, but to look into a wealthier person’s home and gasp at all the lamps. He gleefully mocks white hipster culture, imagining a Mexican restaurant owner who explains to dining hipsters that the chicken he is serving was humanely put down, because he petted it before killing it. Family dynamics are also different, and Lopez captures the way white concepts of independence look alien to many Latinos, “if you’re a white lady and you give your child a life alert they just say ‘hey mom, we’ve officially abandoned you so when you fall no one’s gonna fucking be there to pick you up.” This is no excuse for other behavior however. Lopez makes no bones about poking fun at Latino penchant for drama. Aunts who suffered spousal abuse will then shout and weep at their husband’s funeral. Yet Lopez feels nothing but solidarity for his culture, warning, “I love Latino people all over the world. We don’t know each other, but we follow this simple rule: You fuck with one bean, you fuck with the whole burrito.” 

“We’ll Do It for Half” will feel very homely for any Latino viewer who has already lived through these moments and laughed with a shaking head at such scenarios. But universally the treat of a George Lopez is that he celebrates the joy of making fun of oneself while making blunt observations. Everyone is as they are and if a Latino comic can make fun of himself and his home, everyone else can do the same with the quirks in their own roots. 

“George Lopez: We’ll Do It for Half” begins streaming June 30 on Netflix.