John Mulaney: Baby J

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⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I can't say I have loved Mulaney's previous specials, something about his energy is just weird to me (although I love the previous bit about computers checking on us to see if we are human, so funny). He was a head writer at SNL during the last time it was great, so I have been following his career with some interest, and this stand up special is almost entirely about his recovery from cocaine addiction!

There are plenty of good jokes in here, as he basically walks us through from his intervention to rehab and then re-entering the world. Its funny, but the whole time I felt so sad for him. I couldn't help but think of all his famous friends who watched him go through these really dark times, and its tough to imagine someone, yes even someone so rich, go through this. It feels like it would have been impossible for his friends not to notice, and I would hope that if I had a friend struggling with addiction I would be able to intervene sooner, but its sad to think that I probably wouldn't notice, and the guilt that would come from that was what I couldn't shake.

I think the fact that this special is more human and serious at times makes it more effective than his previous work. He still has his trademark delivery, its the content that made me connect more with this. I was thinking of Jerrod Carmichael's special Rothaniel while watching this, or even Bo Burnham's Inside. There is something moving about watching people genuinely share their struggles, and cutting it with humour makes it all the more effective.

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