New John Mulaney Netflix Special: “Baby J”

I can't stand him

A world-class GRIFTER

IT IS DAAAAAAARK.

Saw him live. It was hilarious

Hi comedy is so bitchy/ gay.

Why hasn’t he come out again?

I don’t understand the puce suit. Gives him a child molester vibe.

No thank you.

I have sufficient.

I’ve almost watched all of it. I found it less funny, but the overall style is the same. Every now and then he lets an intense sneer creep into his voice that I find off-putting even if it’s not surprising. (In his last stand up you could hear it a bit when he talked about his wife having no clue about the painting of Jesus and the last supper.) So, yeah, he is letting the charming likable persona go a bit, but it’s the same rhythm and style, just darker and more honest. I was kind of hoping he’d talk about Olivia, though what he could say about her that would be funny? Plus, they’re still together.

Is this the filmed version of the "From Scratch" live show that many of us caught in 2021? I found that show hilarious but also, yes, far less formal and stylized. Way more raw.

This is the From Scratch tour, but he changed the name because he used that while he was working out the material.

Reviews have complained that he cracked jokes about his problems without exploring WHY he has drug problems. Would that be comedy, though?

I think he struck a pretty good balance. Acknowledged his problems but still kept it funny.

Whether that’s good for his sobriety— who knows. He’s still adopting a persona.

I just finished it and loved it. I thought it hit all the rights notes and was really funny. He painted a picture without slicing open a vein and just allowing all of his personal life and private demons to spill on stage. A good special, I would like to see it get some awards love.

Love him

Very funny, big dick, sexy nerd

He is still very angry about the intervention 21/2 years later.

And despite the fact there is no doubt he would be dead if his friends hadn’t intervened.

This isn’t an “I drink a bottle of wine every night but I function fine” situation. He. Would. Be. Dead. If he hadn’t gone to rehab.

So it’s interesting he’s so angry about it— still.

Bitchy hipster creep.

Plan to watch it tonight to see the Netflix-finalized version of the From Scratch material. Curious what makes the cut regarding Anna Marie and the divorce (if anything)

He didn't say anything about the divorce.

It was often amusing but not funny. Smiles, not laughs.

Does he know everyone judged him? Does he feel judged?

Shameless namedropper.

Mulaney is funny enough but doesn’t have the raw genius (or innate charm) of a Bill Hader.

So it’s interesting that Mulaney feels so sneeringly superior to everyone, including his own Dr. Feelgood who presumably was smart enough to go to med school. Even if you are a terrible doctor, getting into medical school is pretty fucking difficult.

Superiority complexes are usually the province of insecure people, but one gets the feeling Mulaney truly believes he is superior.

Thanks to his parents, he lucked into a university (Georgetown) that serves as a pipeline for young comedians. He’s no doubt worked hard but—again— lacks raw genius.

So I wonder why he feels so superior.

As for the root of his troubles, he had by all accounts truly neglectful parents. He’s given multiple clues in his routines over the years that he may have been molested as a child.

Whatever happened, it fucked him up good.

My husband, who has mild cognitive impairment, said, when it ended, “So, were we supposed to find that funny?” Good question, even with impairment.

Quite the contrary, R23. He feels inferior. He feels like a complete loser at life. And he is FULLY aware of these feelings, and he projects the snooty superiority vibe CONSCIOUSLY knowing how big of a piece of shit he feels inside. It is, quite literally, an inside joke. Between himself and himself.

Yes, r25, that is usually how it works. But something else seems to be going on with Mulaney.

The thing with Dr. Michael was fascinating. That is a story that most people would never tell. But the fact that Mulaney not only went along with taking his shirt off to get drugs, and then relates the story to us is pretty remarkable. People usually keep stuff like that hidden, let alone a celebrity.

It's a traditional standup routine. Mulaney is likeable but his self-effacing, submissive humor is not exactly breaking new ground. It feels very familiar.

Amusing - not as funny as his last stand up special, but darker.

And not as good as “Sack Lunch Bunch” - which I think has been the best thing he’s done so far.

R27, a man taking his shirt off has to be the tamest thing any druggie has ever done. If he had gotten naked and probed that would have been interesting.

R24, so you hate John Mulaney but watched a John Mulaney set? Okay

I hate watch shows all the time.

The funniest bits for me, truth be told, were when he riffed on the 11 year old being in the audience. I guess I prefer the lighter type of comedy even if it’s superficial.

No thanks.

The funniest parts for me:

“Get in here, you addicts!”

“Ask your mom if SHE thinks your dad’s mom did a good job and deserves to live.”

“Is this some kind of white Harvard thing?”

Taking his shirt off is all he admitted he did.

I squirmed a little with the 'weren't they dumb' Motown singers joke. But I don't think there was anyone Black in the audience, and it was Boston.

Whatever happened to Baby J?

I don’t remember the Motown joke. What did he say?

The Motown joke was from “New Kid in Town.”

R40 Then he repeated it in Baby J.

R39 He says, first calling them 'young, shiny and dumb':

I'm like (in a Motown/black accent): “aww man, you're gonna give me a whole hundred dollas for all of my songs? Where do I sign Mr. Berry Gordy?

That joke wasn’t in “Baby J.”

The Doctor Michael bit was …very sanitized.

I bet Mulaney did a lot more than take his shirt off.

He’s funny but I find him repellent.

He’s packing.

“New in Town” is his funniest special. But it has a few bits that would get him canceled these days.

I wonder when he started using again.