Tuesday, December 29, 2015

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid and New In Town

The other night I watched BOTH the John Mulaney comedy shows available on Netflix: New In Town, and The Comeback Kid.

He has an interesting dorky but engaging delivery and a wonderfully amiable way of making fun of himself. His standup weaves stories of his life as a child in a Catholic household in the 80s, with observations about contemporary life in New York City and his relationship with  a Jewish woman. His boyish open face is one of his greatest assets and his timing is wonderful. For instance, he tells an amusing story about an old guy who walks into the office from a rainstorm and says something odd about feeling like a duck. The story is totally funny; very short -- a few lines of dialogue. But then Mulaney says he wants to break it down. And he goes back over the story from start to finish. I first thought this would be tedious, but he really pulls the hilarity out of the anecdote in a great way. I also particularly loved the story of him meeting Bill Clinton when he was a kid.

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