Ken Jeong: “You Complete Me, Ho.”
Show is exclusively on Netflix.
When most Americans hear the name Ken Jeong, they think of “The Hangover” trilogy. A story of four best friends who hold a bachelor party in Los Vegas only to wake up the next day hungover, missing a friend, and in a world of trouble.
What many people don’t know is that before getting his big break in “The Hangover”, Jeong (who plays Leslie Chow) was a licensed physician at Kiser Permanente Hospital in California. More recently, Jeong released his first-ever stand-up special on Netflix entitled “You Complete Me, Ho.” (Titled after his wife, Tran Ho.)
While Jeong delivers the crude and raunchy humor we would expect from him after playing a character like Chow, he also gives the audience a glimpse into his own life and personal struggles while remaining hilarious and light-hearted throughout.
Many comedians attempt to tackle serious issues while on stage, but few can successfully do it while remaining funny. This is where, I believe, one can see how intelligent and truly funny Jeong is when compared to other comedians who attempt similar types of comedy.
Throughout the special, Jeong constantly refers to and praises his wife Tran, who is still a doctor at Kiser Permanente. It isn’t until later in the special that we are told about Tran’s battle with stage 3 breast cancer and how she nearly lost her life before making a miraculous recovery.
Jeong takes it upon himself to educate the audience in what to look for and how women can get checked for breast cancer—while somehow making everyone laugh and honoring his wife’s bravery.
This is an amazing stand-up special because it will do more than make you laugh. It will teach you something. Whether you connect with his unconditional love for his wife, his abnormal career path, or his advocacy positions—he has a story that will, at the very least, make you re-examine what’s important in life.
Jeong’s passion made me want to use my platform, however small, to further spread awareness about this issue and bring to light just how devastating breast cancer is on our society.
The American Cancer Association reports that in 2019 around 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women and about 62,930 new cases of carcinoma in Situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer). What’s even worse- the A.C.A. also reports that about 41,760 women will die from breast cancer in 2019.
Breast cancer awareness is worth advocating for and this stand-up is a great way to draw attention to it because it personalizes the disease. It shows that cancer doesn’t discriminate by race or economic status and that to beat this disease we must take it seriously before a diagnosis is made. That means getting regular check-ups, and for women, having regular mammograms.
If a doctor says you don’t qualify for a mammogram, do what Jeong says: “Go find another [expletive] doctor.”