Comedian, actor, writer and producer John Mulaney saw his fourth comedy special, “John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City,” hit Netflix on May 1.
Mulaney has been a rising star in recent years. His resume boasts years of writing for “Saturday Night Live,” multiple stand-up specials, a short-lived Fox sitcom bearing his name, a successful adult animated comedy and more. He has toured his newest show, “Kid Gorgeous,” in 2017 and 2018, and the live taping of it was recently released to Netflix for popular audiences.
In true Mulaney fashion, the special began in a bizarrely theatrical way, with Mulaney awkwardly following an old woman behind the scenes at the desolate and supposedly haunted Radio City Music Hall. He then takes the stage, met with thunderous applause, and begins what is potentially his best show yet.
Mulaney has a fairly particular sense of humor—one new and welcome in the world of comedy. He’s energetic, witty and self-deprecating in the best way, relying on physical and vocal comedy to supplement his clever punchlines and impeccable timing. His humor isn’t G-rated, but it refreshingly doesn’t come close to the crudeness of other comedians today.
“Kid Gorgeous” is everything a Mulaney fan could ask for, and then some. He shares wild stories from his past—such as one about a grade school guest speaker named Detective JJ Bittenbinder invited to teach “street smarts”—in ways that seem ridiculous and unfathomable but also incredibly relatable. He also comments on his time writing for SNL, on attending church in his youth and on his wife and their spoiled French bulldog named Petunia, who they frequently push around New York City in a stroller.
In a particularly smart bit, he criticizes colleges for asking recent graduates for donations and mocks himself for being an English major in college, essentially earning a certificate “for reading books that I didn’t read … strolling across a stage, the sun in my eyes, my family watching as I sweat vodka and ecstasy, to receive a four-year degree in a language that I already spoke.”
Although Mulaney has notoriously steered clear of political jokes and commentary in the past, he took a daring step in that direction in “Kid Gorgeous.” It was a potentially risky move, but the political bit was arguably the highlight of the show. Never once using the president’s name, he goes on about how in November of 2016, someone “let a horse loose in a hospital.”
“I think eventually everything’s going to be okay, but I have no idea what’s going to happen next. And neither do any of you, and neither do your parents, because there’s a horse loose in the hospital!”
The allegory continues, Mulaney astutely and rather ingeniously making fun of not just Trump, but of the nation as a whole and our unprecedented situation. He even goes one to say, “Then, 5,000 miles away, a hippo was like, ‘I have a nuclear bomb, and I’m gonna blow up the hospital!’” bringing North Korea into the joke. It’s a novel sort of political humor that will induce tears of laughter.
“Kid Gorgeous” is an absolute must-see. Binge Mulaney on Netflix, where you can watch “Kid Gorgeous,” “New in Town,” “The Comeback Kid,” “Oh, Hello: On Broadway” and “Big Mouth.” Mulaney’s sense of humor has something to offer everyone; he brings the sort of laugh-out-loud and non-stop comedy that we all need in 2018.
