Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Frankie Quinones: Superhomies’ On HBO Max, A Sketchy Showcase For And About L.A. Natives

HBO Latino’s Entre Nos series enters a new phase by allowing one of its previous stand-ups to record a special that includes two of his characters in multiple sketches. Does that make Frankie Quinones the Superhomie himself?

FRANKIE QUINONES: SUPERHOMIES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Frankie Quinones, a Mexican-American comedian from Los Angeles, previously performed on the second-ever Entre Nos showcase for HBO Latino back in 2017. By then, Quinones already had broken through online with viral sketches of his CholoFit character on Más Mejor, which was Broadway Video’s online entry into Latino comedy, reaching millions of viewers on YouTube. He’s also provided voices for the Cartoon Network series, Victor and Valentino.
In between then and now, Quinones joined The Dress Up Gang, an LA-based sketch group that won a series order from TBS. That series never aired on TV, although TBS put all of the episodes online during the pandemic (for whatever reason, they’re not yet also available on HBO Max?!). But Quinones, his characters and his comedy partners all get a chance to shine in Entre Nos Presents: Frankie Quinones: Superhomies.
The opening shot features Quinones driving his two alter-egos, Creeper and “JC” Juanita Carmelita, to the special’s taping. They (and members of The Dress Up Gang) feature prominently throughout the half-hour.
What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: In a promo clip, Quinones says he grew up watching Paul Rodriguez’s specials. That’s a good start. If you’re familiar already with The Dress Up Gang’s online videos, then you’ll feel right at home here.
Memorable Jokes: The opening sketch establishes that you won’t be seeing a traditional stand-up special. Then Quinones establishes his bona fides with an opening joke about Los Angeles culture, responding to anyone who thinks it’s rare to meet an L.A. native. “It ain’t that rare, homie,” he replies. “Next time my tio has a barbecue, I’ll take you, see about 37 motherf—rs all born in LA just chilling right there in their natural habitat like nothing, you know, drinking Modelos.”

He jokes about himself, his family and his culture, but really, it’s all set up for the sketches.
One sketch finds his “JC” and her mate (played by Donny Divanian) visiting the doctor to diagnose a suspicious bump on his penis. Another finds “Creeper” trying to win over his cruising friends, despite his basic ride.
And there’s a recurring bit bringing the Cholofit world into the half-hour, with Creeper and his clients working out in the driveway.

Our Take: Quinones has obvious charm and talent. Aside from his characterizations, which win you over more with subtlety than by overpowering the scene, he also shows off his ability to sing and beatbox during the stand-up portions of the performance.
That he’s singing about a woman’s “wolf coochie,” or that his “JC” character is similarly obsessed with her sex life, hits a little too below the belt, so to speak. But it’s a start.
Our Call: STREAM IT. I remain intrigued by HBO’s “Entre Nos” strategy to bridge the language and cultural gap by programming English-language comedians on its HBO Latino channel, and then giving them wider exposure via HBO Max. It’ll be interesting to see where both Quinones and The Dress Up Gang go from here.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.

Watch Frankie Quinones: Superhomies on HBO Max