Welcome to the world of “Weird Stand-Up Comedy Hannah Likes”. It’s a magical place to be. These technically aren’t TV shows, but they are “What I’m Watching” and it’s my blog, so it’s probably okay, right? (Please don’t yell at me.)
First up, we have New in Town, a stand up comedy special by John Mulaney. This is a great hour, every single story is absolutely hilarious. I always forget that the funny story I’m thinking of is also from New in Town, it just keeps going and keeps being hilarious. The way Mulaney tells the stories draws you in, and his inflection and phrasing are absolutely perfect. When I read quotes from New in Town I hear Mulaney’s voice in my head, and the very distinct way in which he delivers all the jokes. His humor is self-deprecating, which I love, and all the stories are somewhat believable. I hate when comedians tell stories so outrageous that even my advanced suspension of disbelief can’t take it. Mulaney’s stories about his life, growing up and today, are great and hilarious to listen to. His stories are not too vulgar either, which means I have made every member of my family watch this. Even the little brother I was technically not supposed to show it to (sorry Dad!). The stories are funny and realistic without being gross.
John Mulaney has been a writer for multiple TV shows, however I think he is best known for writing for Saturday Night Live. Mulaney is the mind behind “Stefon”, a “Weekend Update” character he developed with Bill Hader. At the last minute, Mulaney would change the jokes on the cue cards and tell Hader just before he went on stage, leading to Stefon’s signature move to hide his laugh. Mulaney also has his own show on FOX right now called Mulaney. I love John Mulaney, and I love his humor, but this show is straight awful. If any of you like this show please enlighten me because I want to like it so bad and I just can’t.
what. by Bo Burnham is another of my favorite stand up comedies. what. is admittedly super weird and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to those unfamiliar with Bo Burnham. Burnham’s earlier stand up hour, Words, Words, Words is also really funny, and I think a more approachable and easy introduction to his humor. In the past, both have been on Netflix, so I would force my unsuspecting friends to sit through one after the other. Sadly, now only what. is on Netflix, and I feel kind of bad just throwing people into that. The humor in what. is much darker and self-deprecating than in Words, Words, Words, and is a lot less traditional. what. is honestly really, really weird, and kind of hard to understand without knowing about Burnham before hand.
Bo Burnham’s humor is mostly song-based, meaning he sits at a piano and sings funny songs. My favorites include “My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay” and “Sad”. I really enjoy that after watching something by Bo Burnham, I walk around with a song stuck in my head all day, usually “Love Is”. Just a warning, these including cursing and some very dark humor. Burnham makes fun of himself, life, and things that many people think should not be joked about. There is a lot of cursing and jokes about religion, abortion, and God in both Words, Words, Words and what. Burnham is not for kids; please don’t show this any children, you will scare them. Burnham also often sings about how he doesn’t deserve to be famous and he may have wasted his life doing comedy, such as in the song “Art is Dead”. Just really uplifting stuff. More of this dark humor is present in what. than in Words, Words, Words. “Left Brain, Right Brain”, a bit in what., is a more artistic song about people in Burnham’s life and how they treat him because of his fame. Burnham became famous very young, at 16, when his videos went viral on Youtube. He has been doing stand-up comedy ever since; he put off college to tour, and discusses that decision often in his humor.
I highly recommend you watch New in Town on Netflix, I personally cannot stop watching it. I’m like someone with a problem, like when somebody eats too much chocolate cake. Ice-T gets it. If you have seen Words, Words, Words but not what. then you really should watch it. It is weird at times, but also very funny, and still very representative of Bo Burnham’s humor. Burnham also has a poetry book called Egghead that I hear is very good. He reads some of his poems in his standup and I have enjoyed those that I have heard. Do you have a favorite stand up comedy or comic? Have you seen Mulaney or Burnham’s comedy before? Does this count as “What I’m Watching”?
Even though I yelled at you for blogging about stand up comedy, which by the way, is NOT a T.V show, I still found this post amusing. The pictures and GIFs you posted were so funny and maybe I’ll check them out!
These comics are amazing. If I was going to recommend any comics for you, they’d be Patton Oswalt and Kyle Kinane. Patton Oswalt’s specials are all on YouTube/Netflix, but Kyle Kinane’s you gotta look for. It’s worth it though, because he might be one of the funniest comedians out there. Him, and Dan Cummins, whose entire stand-up persona is him just being crazy. So there’s three 10/10 comics for you. Just don’t get obsessed. Like when you bet too much on the ponies. Or you buy too many scratch-off lottery tickets.