MTV has become a staple in American pop culture. Originally meant as an outlet to play music videos, today it is best known for its influence on millennials and the social media generation, catering to the woes and wonders of adulthood. Last Thursday night, UCR prepared for its own lesson in relationships, awkward social interaction and direct in-your-face comedy as we welcomed MTV onto campus through ASPB’s “Girl Code Guy Code.”
For those of you who don’t know, the stand-up comedy show was based on MTV’s popular comedy television series “Guy Code” and its even more popular spin-off series “Girl Code.” Both shows are a comedic take on the subconsciously developed “code of conduct” respected by both genders when interacting with the opposite sex. The event invited three of the show’s comedians — Tanisha Long, Jessimae Peluso and Jeff Dye — to come and each perform a stand-up comedy set followed by a Q-and-A segment.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a long line that wrapped around the second floor of the HUB. As crowds filed in a single row at a time, they were greeted by popular segments of the show playing on an overhead projector. Instantly, the night began with one of the series’ most popular members, Tanisha Long, bursting onto the stage. Given that college is a grounds for experimentation and finding oneself, it was all the more fitting that the first topic of discussion was sexual foreplay from a woman’s perspective. The idea of scaring off previous boyfriends by giving “terrible hand jobs” and not liking oral sex was the kicker, as was her discussion of the individuals on her “Hoes on Notice” list. Unfortunately, Long struggled as she began to abruptly compare previous boyfriends to … chicken fingers. Her performance suffered when she began to talk about not liking women whose mindset she deemed stereotypically “blacker than her,” and Long then lost the audience completely when she donned a nasally impression of her mother commenting on her racial preferences in dating. This effectively shut out most of the audience members in attendance, as they did not quite know how to respond.
However, the energy in the room was revived when audience favorite, Jeff Dye, walked on stage. Surprisingly, Dye instantly connected with the audience by incorporating the ASUCR elections into his routine. He joked that if he were running for office he would use scare tactics as a means to gain votes. Dye’s comedic performance was made all the funnier as he weaved in a string of jokes revolving around the “faux pas” of the production of the event, like the fact that the laptop connected to the projector constantly went on sleep mode. Dye ended with the topic of racist board games. He created a roar of laughter on such a sensitive topic by imitating the nervousness of young children upon pulling one of two black characters out of nearly 40 other characters in an intense game of “Guess Who?”
What followed was perhaps the best performance of the night as Jessimae Peluso took the stage. Her performance was a powerful combination of audience interaction and crazy antics. Perhaps one of Peluso’s most memorable moments was when she pointed out an older audience member in the crowd, baffled by his presence in an event targeted at young adults. She followed up with an over-the-top imitation of her version of a meth head, as she bent backward and felt up the microphone stand, groaning like a person who’s completely wasted.
Peluso ended with a bang, joking about a time she had the chance to meet Will Smith at an award ceremony. She overwhelmed the stage as she opened her legs and began to heave like an animal in heat, comparing her vagina to a steam blower. She pretended to cover it with her hand, joking about her fear of burning off the Fresh Prince’s eyebrows. She kept the flow by transitioning into an impersonation of a creeper dancing to the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song, inevitably ruining her chances by scaring off Will Smith.
The audience had a chance to ask cast members personal questions during the Q-and-A section of the event. Questions ranged from the cast members’ most drunken moments to what their racial preferences were in relationships. One student asked Dye to a sorority formal, while another inquired about the possibility of each of the cast members following her on Instagram. Comedians responded as you would expect comedians to react: with a joke. Dye shared a time when he stole a jersey from former NFL player, Mike Vanderjagt, while Long talked about looking like a hooker while taking a “walk of shame” out of a one-night-stand. This served to effectively lighten up the mood from all of the audience’s crazy requests.
As if ripped right from the show, the night was true to its roots, creating some of its own awkwardness as the cast members and audience embodied the ungraceful social interactions portrayed on stage — from talking about being on the delivering end of a scary hand job, to being asked if you have ever been twerked on by a black girl. “Girl Code Guy Code” showcased the reason why both shows are so popular amongst millennials, and the crude reality of it all is what really defined the event.
