John Mulaney is the American stand-up comedian right now. He is an instantly recognizable comedian known for his many Netflix specials and his work as a writer on the popular comedy show Saturday Night Live. His most recent Netflix comedy special Kid Gorgeous at Radio City, filmed in February 2018 and released on Netflix for everyone else in May 2018, is just as spectacular as the last ones.
Similarly, to Mulaney’s previous show, The Comeback Kid, Kid Gorgeous is a stand-up routine with a major emphasis upon observational humor. The majority of jokes are centered upon Mulaney’s marriage, adolescence, celebrity, politics and anxieties associated with contemporary American life. Kid Gorgeous has received an overwhelmingly positive critical response, with critics praising Mulaney for his compassionate delivery, observational wit and, in particular, a prolonged analogy comparing U.S. President Donald Trump to a “horse loose in a hospital”. The special won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 2018.
What makes Mulaney so captivating to modern audiences can be narrowed down to quite a few reasons. Firstly, is his general presence and tone. Mulaney has mastered the art of sounding like a car salesman without sounding like he is trying to fool you into buying a run-down car. His tone is exaggerated and he makes you savor every single bit of comedy he displays. Also his movements are flamboyant and lively and really drive the action of his stories. There is lots of walking, jogging, and gestures and small little things that keep the audience captivated, rather than having him just sit in a chair or stand with a microphone and just talk at them.
And the way he tells stories and the way he displays his comedy is honestly invigorating. It feels like he is a good friend telling you a story, rather than someone trying to make you laugh- even if that is exactly what he is payed to do. He moves from one joke to another so smoothly I honestly had trouble knowing where each joke began and ended. Nothing feels staged even though every second, voice and mannerism absolutely is. His jokes are relatable and easy to follow, and by the end of it he almost feels more like a friend.
If you have never seen a John Mulaney act, I would greatly recommend this one as your first one. It has jokes that are relatable to everyone and can be easily understood without any prior knowledge. If you want to take a look at John Mulaney’s specific brand of quotable comedy, this is a fantastic way to start.
And of you are too lazy to watch an hour of something that is this amazing here, take these nifty time stamps. You see these time stamps? Go fetch!
List of Jokes in Kid Gorgeous
*These are not official names for his jokes, but names I created.
- Mother’s Ghost Story (2:34)
- Father’s analysis of the Bench and the Seesaw (4:20)
- Father’s Sex Talk (5:50)
- Going to the Zoo is the worst (7:20)
- School Assembly (7:48)
- Street Smarts (11:25)
- College is a Hooker (20:09)
- What is College? (23:11)
- English Major (24:20)
- Donate to Goodwill (26:26)
- Sleep Shirt (27:39)
- Jokes in Court (28:35)
- The age before old (30:23)
- SNL Writer (33:46)
- Technology and the Old Times (39:00)
- Telling Robots, we aren’t Robots (41:32)
- Civil War Gazeebo (43:00)
- Horse in the hospital (44:27)
- New Nazis (50:35)
- Make fun of Wife? (51:20)
- BestBuy Rewards Card (53:00)
- Petunia, the French Bulldog (55:13)
- The Last Supper (56:55)
- Catholicism (58:39)
