Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go

I remember seeing Hannah on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert a few years ago and immediately realized that I was watching an amazing new comedic talent, and this one hour HBO special just proves it. She combines some serious acting chops along with well thought out stagecraft to tell her extraordinarily funny takes on her life and the crazy messed up world that we live in. A while back my daughter told me I should watch "Hacks" -actually, it was more like an edict - so i binged watched the first two seasons and and continued with the third. While the entire cast is wonderful Hannah really stands out. I am sure that she will continue to make us laugh along with having a great career as an actress. Watch this special, you won't regret it!

The negative reviews here are from people who have no concept of comedy and subjectivity.

They think that if they didn't find it funny, then it isn't funny and its the performers fault for writing something terrible.

If you don't understand that comedy is ABSOLUTELY subjective then you shouldn't be posting reviews for them. You're not qualified because you don't even understand the thing your reviewing.

You need to understand a topic before you start sharing your thoughts on that topic.

Otherwise you're basically posting the same reviews of those people who leave reviews for movies they haven't watched or books they haven't read.

Just oozes creativity, performance skills, and funny in the brain. Hannah's acting chops and writing chops meet in a carefully produced, exquisite theatre performance. Her material is surprising and hilarious. This is not the relaxed, let's-see-what-happens style of stand-up with the predictable "let's say the stuff we're not supposed to say" yuck-yuck jokes. No, this is exciting, thoughtful, exhilarating stuff that kept me on the edge for the whole almost hour. And Hannah's delivery is in a class of its own, among comics. She's an actual actor, and every line is delivered in character. Sometimes the character is Hannah, but just as often some other imaginary persona. You have to stay on your toes just to keep up with her, but if you can stay in the flow, it's fantastic.

Hannah Einbinder has comedy in her DNA, being the daughter of original SNL cast member Larraine Newman. And she has built a solid body of work in "Hacks" with Jean Smart. But as a stand-up, she needs to do more work.

This special - her first - is not so much a stand-up comedy as it is a carefully rehearsed scripted monologue, complete with audio and lighting cues. It comes off as "too rehearsed" if that makes sense. There is no spontaneity, no apparent improv, and occasionally zero audience response. Einbinder is a good writer, but she doesn't yet know how to perform in front of a live audience. Hopefully, that will come with time. There was too much mugging to the camera, as if to say "yeah, I know I'm cool". No, Hannah, you're not (at least not yet). And if you were cool, this isn't the way to telegraph it.

A day after watching the special, I was hard-pressed to remember a signature bit or line from her performance. I think that was due in part to her scripted delivery, which left little room for connection with the audience.

Einbinder's career is still young, so there's room to grow. She's done well as a writer and actor on "Hacks" and that should continue at least through the show's fifth season (not unusual for a streamer to end a show after 5 years). For her to take the next step, her delivery and material needs to also grow and mature.

I initially approached it like some belly laugh standup and when that wasn't happening in the first 15 minutes, I almost stopped. So glad that I kept going.

Hannah is a brilliant mind and has some hilarious observations but they are subtle and you need to pay attention. It doesn't feel like a highly crafted standup where every line is delivered to perfect timing.

It's more like hanging out all night with the funniest, most thoughtful person at the party. Her observations are so clever, and ring true. I highly recommend going into it with those expectations and by the end you will feel that it was a good use of your time.