Get er done comedian12/29/2023 Early on in the special, Birbiglia declares that all jokes are offensive to someone. One theme in particular that shows up throughout is an appreciation for jokes as an artform. There’s a delightful optimism that Birbiglia exudes in his work that’s on full display in Thank God For Jokes. Had he decided to tell it at the very beginning, it might not have the same impact. Even if you’re familiar with the story of what happened, it still works great because of everything that leads up to it. It’s one of the high points of the special. I won’t spoil the whole thing, but it involves Birbiglia reciting a transcript from the now infamous expletive-filled rant from David O. Toward the end, he finally reveals what happened at the 2012 Gotham Awards. There’s a seamlessness to the way each story flows into one another, and even though you know the material’s been prepared, his easy-going nature makes it feel less stilted and rehearsed. He always seems to be in sync with his audiences, too. He provides just the right amount of context so that the specific becomes universal. He tells stories in a way that invites the audience into a specific experience it doesn’t matter if you’ve never had the same thing happen to you. His conversational style almost makes you forget how smart his jokes are. But I also know at some point this week, you told someone where you were going tonight, and that person said, ‘Who?’”īirbiglia’s a natural-born storyteller-he’s an indie filmmaker and his comedy has been featured on This American Life. “I’m not being falsely modest,” he says, “like I get that we’re all here right now. He labels himself as “niche,” and immediately engenders some respect from the audience by showing humility with his level of fame. He even has a solidly funny audience interaction at one point with a guy who can’t seem to get over the one time he was arrested by, to use his words, “a woman cop.” On stage, Birbiglia is confident, but not arrogant casual, but not aloof. He talks about religion, accidentally cursing on The Muppets, and the time he got arrested for having a suspended driver’s license. Throughout the following hour-and-ten-minutes, Birbiglia teases out the events of that night, slowly building up to what happened.īirbiglia uses the majority of Thank God For Jokes to tell a series of separate but semi-connected stories. Subsequently, he leaves the Gotham Awards story a mystery for the time being and makes it a focal point for the rest of the special. He explains that the footage is from the 2012 Gotham Awards, and says that what took place that night was one of the craziest experiences he’d ever had. After the clip, Birbiglia walks out and officially opens the special. Instead, a video recording of Jimmy Kimmel starts playing, addressing a crowd of celebrities that we can’t see. It might be a little jarring that the first voice you hear in Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix special, Thank God For Jokes, isn’t Mike Birbiglia.
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