Podcast host, actress, writer, and comedian Hannah Berner’s first Netflix comedy special, Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn, clocks in at about 50 minutes full of jokes on topics ranging from toxic Disney princes to vibrator nicknames. We Ride at Dawn has received positive reviews, holding an 88% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, and as her first Netflix special, it’s helped Berner break out as a comedian. She is primarily known for her podcasts, Giggly Squad and Berner Phone, and her work with Bravo.

Hannah Berner previously starred in Bravo’s Summer House, but quit after three seasons and branched out beyond the network. The comedy special was filmed at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The large, engaging crowd and the ease with which Berner got them laughing helps viewers do the same. It also allowed Berner to do crowd work, making We Ride at Dawn stand out among the many Netflix comedy specials.

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“We Look Like Pilgrims With Pails. Walking Around, It’s Like, ‘You Work From Home Stephanie, You’re Not Walking The Oregon Trail.’”

Occurs Around The 3 Minute, 30 Second Mark

Given that Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn is only 50 minutes long, the comedian doesn’t waste a beat. Berner connects with the crowd by sharing about her depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, which many in the audience found relatable. Berner shares that when she went to the doctor to find out what was wrong, he told her, “you haven’t drank water since 1994.” This set off a series of jokes about water, which she hates drinking, “emotional support water bottles,” and other drinks (her favorite being an espresso martini).

Berner pokes fun at the popular Stanley water bottle trend, saying girls these days would rather have a Stanley than a boyfriend. The comedian goes as far as to call the amount of water one’s supposed to drink in a day a “girl conspiracy theory,” unlike “boy” conspiracy theories, which include 9/11. With reusable water bottles more popular than ever, Berner took some time to make fun of how obsessed some people have become with them.

9

“That Was Really Good. You’ll See It On Netflix. That Was Funny.”

Occurs Around The 5 Minute, 45 Second Mark

As aforementioned, Berner does a lot of crowd work throughout We Ride at Dawn, interacting with all types of people in her audience, some briefly and some who she returns to. Berner’s first major crowd-based joke became one of her funniest. After a bit about the price of espresso martinis, Berner asked a young woman in the crowd what her name was. The look on the comedian’s face when the woman said Isis was hilarious in itself. She asked, “Isis? Is it spelled the way we are afraid it’s spelled?” referring to the terrorist group.

When the answer was yes, it opens more questions for Berner, who then says that it’s “embarrassing” that Isis “copied [her] brand.” Isis’ name continues to be the butt of the joke when her mom reveals her middle name was Persephone. This was even funnier because Berner, unfamiliar with Greek mythology, assumes it was “white trash sh*t.” To assure Isis they were laughing with her, not at her, Berner brings up her being part of the Netflix special. Though it may not be a traditional joke, it shows Berner’s confidence and great crowdwork skills.

8

“Zero Queef Representation In Movies.”

Occurs Around The 14 Minute, 15 Second Mark

Whether sex scenes belong in movies and TV shows has become a hot button topic that is often debated among movie lovers and even those who make movies. For example, Henry Cavill spoke out against sex scenes, saying he didn’t understand them and thought they were often unnecessary or overused. So, when Hannah Berner said she had a problem with sex scenes in movies, audiences may have assumed she’d be contributing to this debate. However, Berner’s problem is how “unrealistic” they are.

Sex scenes in movies and TV shows have been criticized in the past for not properly depicting sex and sometimes even romanticizing sexual violence. Yet, Berner’s main problem has to do with queefing. She shares what sex is typically like for her, which she describes in detail and is much less sexy than in movies and includes queefing. The similarities between the words “queer” and “queef” really help drive this joke home.

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“There Are Some Men In The Crowd, Which I Don’t Love … I’m Fine With Men Being In The Crowd As Long As They Have A Chaperone.”

Occurs Around The 20 Minute Mark

Part of what makes We Ride at Dawn so enjoyable is Berner balances her own planned jokes with the spontaneous crowd interactions well, never making anything seem forced or out of place. She knows who to talk to and about what to create a segue, and while most of her stand-up is done with a female audience in mind, she gets the men in the audience involved too. She welcomes and judges the men in the audience with this joke, making it a semi-safe space for them.

Like she did with Isis, Berner asks a male audience member his name when she asks if he has a chaperone. When he says Eric, she asks him the spelling, saying she would have kicked him out if his name was spelled with a “K.” This then brought her to Kevin (with a K), who she jokes looks like he’s in “Witness Protection” because of his beard, hat, glasses, and mustache. Like Berner does with Isis during a segment about online dating, she returns to Kevin to talk about wedding night sex.

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“I’m A Beast Apologist … The Beast Is 6’4”. Pulls Off Capris. Looks Like Travis Kelce. He’s A Homeowner With A Mansion And A Library … That’s My Literal Dream, To Never Leave A Mansion And Have Gay Utensils Getting Me Food The Entire Time.”

Occurs Around The 25 Minute Mark

One of the funniest parts of We Ride at Dawn is when Berner talks about how she has bad taste in men, but it’s not her fault or their fault, it’s Disney’s fault. To prove her point, Berner has the audience members shout out a Disney prince for her to explain why he’s “the worst.” Some are easier for her to explain than others. Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid wanted to “f**k a fish,” Hercules has “ED,” or erectile dysfunction, and “John Smith was a colonizer.”

Regarding the Beast, or Prince Adam, in Beauty and the Beast, Berner had a different opinion, referring to herself as “a Beast apologist.” She recognizes his flaws, mimicking the audience members who may judge her, as the character is “super controlling” and never lets Belle leave the house. Berner’s delivery helps sell the joke’s punchline about that being her dream.

5

“I Think Bachelorettes Are Cults. And If You’re Quiet Right Now, You’re In One.”

Occurs Around The 28 Minute, 30 Second Mark

Bachelor and bachelorette party jokes can be found pretty commonly in comedy specials or just in film and television in general. Because of this, it can be difficult to make a good joke on the subject without it being considered overdone. Fortunately, Berner’s use of crowd participation makes hers one of the funniest in We Ride at Dawn. Berner talks about her recent marriage to Irish-American comedian Des Bishop as a segue into wedding planning, weddings, and marriage.

She uses the audience’s reaction to her provocative statement to build upon her joke, explaining her statement with a general rundown of bachelorette parties rather than a specific story. Her hypothetical bride was named Stephanie, bringing the audience back to one of her first jokes about water bottles. Whether one’s been in an intense bridesmaid situation like the one Berner describes, it’s relatable because everyone can recognize it from other stories, if not their own.

4

“I Need The Family Unplanning Aisle.”

Occurs Around 34 Minute, 30 Second Mark

Rather than focus on her wedding in We Ride at Dawn, Berner shares stories about her wedding night and the morning after. Many audience members were presumably there because they knew Berner from her podcasts or television shows. Berner’s best friend, Paige DeSorbo, is also her Giggly Squad co-host, though you don’t need to be familiar with Berner or DeSorbo to enjoy the story about how a drunken DeSorbo told the bride at the reception she was going to get pregnant on her wedding night.

Berner makes plenty of jokes about marrying an old man (her husband is 48, and she’s 32), and how she likes older men. Berner tells the crowd she had sex with her husband on their wedding night, but she hadn’t taken her birth control pills for a few weeks and had to get a Plan B pill in the morning. Berner details the awkward experience of getting Plan B, and the joke about “family unplanning” hits harder because of the political landscape she often brings up.

3

“Reels Is Like Juuling. TikToks Is Like Cigarettes. We’re All Gonna Die.”

Occurs Around The 40 Minute Mark

In addition to doing stand-up comedy shows, Berner shares her skills via social media, typically X (formerly known as Twitter) and TikTok. During one section of We Ride at Dawn, Berner addresses phone and social media addiction. She shares a relatable line about her dad telling her she’s on her phone too much, even though he’s on it constantly because he can’t type with more than one finger. Again, Berner turns to the audience, asking who doesn’t use TikTok.

Berner talks to a 38-year-old woman who uses Instagram, but not TikTok or Snapchat, which, according to Berner, is full of “22-year-old dongs.” She makes fun of Reels copying TikToks and being behind on news and trends, saying Reels users probably just found out Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson broke up. Regardless of the platform, Berner acknowledges the dangers of social media addiction. This includes a lesser-known issue where kids dancing on TikTok are actually performing violent movies and communicating with each other about their plan to take over the world.

2

“Is This An Andrew Tate Haiku?”

Occurs Around The 45 Minute, 30 Second Mark

We Ride at Dawn doesn’t shy away from being raunchy or explicit, with Berner being open about sex, her sex life, and her dos and don’ts. This includes shower sex, which Berner has multiple problems with. This includes the water temperature, as she says, women like their showers scalding because they’re “related to Satan” and men prefer lukewarm showers because they’re “confused.” Another issue is that men don’t always have conditioners in their showers, meaning women can’t wash their hair.

They sometimes have 3-in-1 bottles of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, which Berner says should be called “Zero” instead, as she always feels dirtier, not cleaner, after using them. Berner provides joke examples of the masculine names the bottles are usually branded with, such as “Rock Hard Mountain,” “Punch A Wall Pinewood,” and “Throbbing Thunder.” The bit was already funny, but the Andrew Tate one-liner brought it to another level by making it about much more than shower sex and 3-in-1 bottles.

1

“The Full Name Is Powerful Queen Cannon … That’s The Name Of My Vibrator.”

Occurs Around 49 Minute Mark

After a night full of laughter in We Ride at Dawn, there was some expectation as to how Berner would end things. In the last few minutes, Berner approached the topic of motherhood, saying she was getting mixed opinions from mothers on whether she should have children. She even says she’ll base her decision to have children on what the audience says. Though the closing section had funny moments, nothing truly stood out until her final joke, which brought everything full circle.

Berner asks the audience if they’ve heard about Nick Cannon having 12 children with 6 different mothers. She reassures the audience she isn’t judging Cannon, but one child’s name does make her feel a bit weird. One of Cannon’s daughters is named Powerful Queen Cannon, which Berner reveals is also the name of her vibrator. Berner had spoken about vibrators and their names earlier in Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn, and with that final joke, the special has a satisfying ending.

Source: Giggly Squad