Matt Rife‘s still-young career is a roller coaster of ups and downs.
After absolutely rocketing to fame between 2021 and 2023, Rife’s career hit a massive snag when the 28-year-old comedian decided to switch up his fanbase. Still eyeing the beginning of his career, and after riding to the top on the good will of a largely female viewership, Rife made the baffling decision to open his first-ever Netflix special with a joke about domestic violence. That hugely outdated riff went over like a glass of sour milk with the same fans who made Rife successful in the first place, and his popularity has taken a major hit in the wake of its viral rise.
Even as his fanbase falls off, however, the fruits of their labor continue to roll out. The huge surge in popularity those same fans harkened in allowed Rife to sign onto several projects, long before he shot himself in the foot, and those projects will be coming out for several months — if not years — yet. Trailers for one such upcoming project — 2023’s Don’t Suck — are splitting opinions online, as Rife’s former fans turn up their noses at the oddball release.
The story in Don’t Suck
The title of Rife’s incoming flick is more than just much-needed advice the comedian is stubbornly ignoring. It’s also a coy play on words, leaning into both the comedic nature of the film (I mean that literally — the film follows comedians) and its odd supernatural tie-ins. See, the flick follows floundering comedian Pete, played by Jamie Kennedy, as he hangs his future on the back of a gimmicky comic (Rife) who also so happens to be a vampire.
It’s giving Renfield mixed with a lukewarm comedy special, but you never know — maybe Don’t Suck won’t suck. We’re not going to get our hopes up — if all else fails, Rife’s acting skills do not impress in the trailer — but audiences can make their minds up for themselves when the film arrives in theaters on Dec. 1, 2023.