At the very least, John Mulaney’s latest Netflix special is partly responsible for bringing us the greatest SNL sketch in ages: A lobster-themed Les Miserables. The former writer at 30 Rock revived that idea when he hosted SNL back in April to promote Kid Gorgeous, helping round out one of the top episodes of the season. Now Mulaney also has one of the best stand-up specials of the year too, owning Radio City Music Hall with his self-deprecating humor.
If some of his material seems like a rehash, it’s because it is. His SNL monologue is made up of random asides from the special, and he’s teased a few more punchlines on the late night circuit (just as any comedian does). While Kid Gorgeous isn’t revolutionary, it is a proper evolution of Mulaney, filling in gaps from his past shows and for better or worse, finally gets political on stage.
He’s fully grown into his style, poking fun at himself and in the process, points out the absurdities of life that have led him to the stage. In the past, he’s spent time speaking largely of his awkward high school years leading into college, and occasionally his childhood influences. Kid Gorgeous doesn’t really amend that formula, but he still finds deeper cuts and appropriately clues the audience in on not just his childhood but all of ours.
In the moment, it appears Mulaney has a photographic memory. When riffing about school assemblies, he remembers every detail from walking to the auditorium to the exact instructions a policeman with a cowboy had gives kids in case they’re ever mugged. Either I have an awful memory and should remember more details like this, or Mulaney took copious notes knowing he’d one day make a living talking about the minutiae of elementary school. Now that I think about it, the ideal situation is he was inspired by Se7en and has a room full of notebooks filled with details of his dad’s sex talk or how to win arguments comparing people to Nazis.
Regardless, he has a phenomenal talent suspending belief, waxing poetic about seemingly inconsequential yet formative moments of life. Whenever a segment completes, there’s a strong likelihood he circles back to it. Just as he seems to never forget a detail, he doesn’t forget a joke or punchline. There’s always more.
Similarly, there’s more to his comedy than in his previous specials if only because he wades the political waters beyond the religious. He has become incredibly adept at religious humor and continues his astute yet harmless cracks at his Catholic upbringing. Now married to a Jewish woman, he has even more in his arsenal. It’s like Tim Whatley come to life from Seinfeld. But more than religious cracks at fanaticism and the outdated customs, he makes reference to today’s political climate.
He won’t be making any friends with supporters of President Trump. He’s nowhere close to the vulgarity Michelle Wolfe at the White House Correspondents Dinner, but comparing Trump to a horse loose in a hospital puts him at odds with those unwilling to listen to followup observations. Everything’s going to be okay, but no one — especially not him — knows what’s going to happen next. But allowing a horse to roam free in a hospital certainly isn’t the right response to fix the hospital administration. Might as well see what the hippo with nuclear weapons has to say then too. As seen in New in Town, horses do not make good dog-sitters.
If there’s one fault, though, it all seems a bit too polished. That’s not a dig at Mulaney’s pinned-up style. His three-piece suit and tie is his thing. Put him in the 50s and he’s opening for Sinatra. But it seems that the direction taken to make sure Radio City didn’t shrink the material which Mulaney himself deems unworthy of the legendary stage, the crew decided a fast-moving camera was the best option to liven up the stage. It sometimes matches Mulaney’s new found physicality, but otherwise seems an odd choice.
Comedy at Radio City is a daunting challenge, but there have been a few recent acts like Brian Regan’s live Comedy Central special in 2016 that have worked, shrinking the stage instead of keeping it wide. Mulaney’s approach on the expansive stage is still impressive if only for the sheer audacity to be the only share the stage with a glass of water.
But otherwise, more often than not, the constant angle change distracts from the material. It’s a real shame because just listening to him doesn’t properly serve the act like some of his previous specials. The high-waisted, tall child has truly grown into his body now and the work is better for it.
Overall Grade: 8 out of 10
