Tired of sifting through the same five lame comedy suggestions when you open Netflix? This review will help ease the pain of decision-making next time you’re in the mood for stand-up comedy.
There are about 50 stand-up comedy specials available on Netflix right now, but only some of them are must-sees.
The first on any list should be Bo Burnham’s newest release, Make Happy. Burnham made his start in comedy with online videos of pun-filled songs with extremely clever rhymes and risqué punch lines, but the 26-year-old comedian reached new levels of revolutionary with Make Happy.
The jokes in the show are constant. Burnham uses lights and music to create a spectacle unlike any other. Just as the audience catches their breath from a bought of gut-wrenching laughter, Burnham knocks them out again with even funnier commentary and sillier jokes. The cleverness Burnham fans anticipate is evident throughout, but the heart of the show makes this hour of comedy special. Most comedy dances near sad or existential topics to relate to an audience without ever pushing the viewers to think too deeply, but in Make Happy, Burnham’s brutal honesty functions as bold daggers of truth amidst pure comedy-induced joy. By the end, tears of joy mix in with tears drawn from raw human honesty.
A similar and note-worthy special available on Netflix right now, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, by Mike Birbiglia came out in 2013, but holds steady today. Birbiglia uses the hour-long special to tell hilarious stories about his life, keeping the audience on their toes as they attempt to anticipate the punch lines within Birbiglia’s charming and calm delivery.
My Boyfriend’s Girlfriend breaks all comedy rules about avoiding quiet moments. In fact, Birbiglia creates moments within the special that harness the comfort of the previous jokes to create a safe space for the audience to hear moving tales of Birbiglia’s failures, romances, and other vulnerabilities. Birbiglia’s message is hopeful and honest and hilarious all at once, proving that the cleverness and volume of conventional stand-up need not define the genre.
Other honorable mentions for quality stand-up on Netflix include John Mulaney’s The Comeback Kid and Chelsea Peretti’s One of the Greats. Mulaney and Peretti’s styles are distinct, but both bring invigoratingly fresh content in the sea of comedy available today.
For those sick of predictable and flat jokes stretched into an hour-long comedy special, any and all of the suggestions above should provide a fresh comedy experience full of heart and innovation.
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