I stumbled upon this 2023 stand-up comedy special whilst perusing through the Netflix archive of stand-up comedy. And as I had never even heard about Ralph Barbosa before, then of course I opted to sit down and watch this particular show. Perhaps I had been missing out on a comedy gem.

Turns out that I hadn't been missing out on anything at all. I found Ralph Barbosa to be anything but funny, and he failed to bring me to laughter with his comedy show.

Ralph Barbosa had no charisma or presence on the stage, sort of just looking like a puppet with strings milling about whilst delivering contents devoid of comedy.

"Ralph Barbosa: Cowabunga" turned out to be a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me. And without ever being brought to laughter once, then I am not going to venture out to watch any more of his shows, if there are any.

My rating of "Ralph Barbosa: Cowabunga" lands on a two out of ten stars.

This guy is a great comic. I loved the part about his dream girl. I laughed hardest at that bit because he nailed it. He talks about how women feel / talk to each other. An hour passed by pretty quickly. Generally I don't write reviews for any show but this one was really funny. He talks about his struggles but not in a victim mindset. He keeps it real which is refreshing. Really excited to watch more of his stuff. His special is a mix of personal stories and observations of society. It's not preachy at all. Just extremely hilarious, honest and a good watch. After I finished watching the show , I wanted to make sure that the ratings do justice to his work. Great job !

• Very well paced. Not too stimulating.

• The topics weren't too controversial (as a Canadian viewer) - mostly wholesome humour.

• Ralph Barbosa's down-to-earth and "don't take life too seriously" attitude is refreshing. Even when topics get political, Ralph doesn't express strong opinions or keeps the topic light with humour.

• I didn't feel like I was watching an hour long show - time flew by. It was easy to watch.

• I loved Ralph's anecdotes. His stories are humbling.

• I also enjoyed Ralph's use of sound effects and physical gestures - it kept the show more engaging.

• I highly recommend.