This week we’re having a Birbigliathon! Buckle up for some nerdy stand-up.
Mike Birbiglia, whom you might know from many a minor role in movies, or maybe even from the movies he wrote and directed, Don’t Think Twice (2016) or Sleepwalk With Me (2012), is also an everyman’s comedian. So here goes:
Mike Birbiglia: What I Should Have Said Was Nothing (2008): In his first stand-up special, Mike does a kind of tour of the landscape of the time, from accepting his “growing” status in the entertainment world, to the odd George Bush jab that was so popular back in 2008. While I felt it lacks the red string that ties his later shows together, the strong sense of personal experience those are imbued with, there’s still a great level of consistency to the material and the performance. And I write that after having watched all the five shows (which are the theme of the week) so if you like one, you are bound to like the others as well. This is probably the least sharp one, because the identity isn’t all there yet, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. 7
Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (2013): In what is really just a series of personal stories about dating, love and marriage, Mike manages to build up the funny in such a manner that it doesn’t take away from the *serious stuff*. His oh-shucks charm of a self-declared six makes him easy to root for, because it often doesn’t matter what’s in the mirror, but rather how we feel about it. And some of the best moments of love and connection bear this “six-esque” uncertainty. With maybe one or two exceptions, the jokes land well and there’s a warmth that comes off Mike’s story that’s a bit intoxicating, making you crave for a self-fulfilling uncertainty of your own (if you don’t have one yet). Also, MGB stands out as the foundation for his future shows in a way, which is why I think it’s the most important one of his shows. Funniest? Hard to say, I was equally amused throughout all. 8
Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes (2017): This show is plucked from the middle of his standup timeline and focuses on the importance of humor not only in his life, but in the world in general. The Charlie Hebdo attack had happened just a couple of years prior, so how and if you can be funny without insulting someone was on people’s minds. The obvious answer is: not really. But you don’t want to be a jerk about it. TGfJ is a well connected show that doesn’t drag, but doesn’t completely enrapture, either as one casually expects of a seventy minute long gig. 6
Mike Birbiglia: The New One (2019): The thing about Mike’s shows, the life’s story they’re telling, is that they feel like they share universal truths. Sure, that might be the case with many stand-up shows, but because of the familiarity created over the years (or even just within the shows themselves), there’s something even more relatable to them. In this one, Mike describes the (inevitable) advent of parenthood, another thing that had been on the “no-go” list, just like marriage, and just like marriage, it fell of the list because, well, I guess lists go out the window when you share moments of your souls colliding with someone else. Ultimately we all know where this is going, but it’s warm and fuzzy nonetheless. 7
Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool (2023): Time is passing and not even Mike is spared. Centered around the health effects of aging, the joys of parenthood and the joys of public pools, the show is very effective in its structure and simple visuals. It treads a somewhat awkward line between humor and somber introspection, a most certainly intended awkwardness that didn’t consistently strike me as successful. Still, if you’ve hit your late thirties (queue sad violin music), it’s hard not to relate in some way to the existential thoughts relating to our impending doom. 7
tributary stu 