Mike Birbiglia: The New One

Ye shall not round the corners of your heads. Leviticus 19:27

I became a huge Mike Birbiglia fan after watching his previous specials. He's got a gift for storytelling, and in particular the special-long story surrounding his auto accident and subsequent proposal to his wife was brilliantly done.

So I'm not sure what happened here. It's less storytelling and much more yelling at the top of his lungs for some reason. I hate to think he's going to become one of those comedians who believe that loud = funny. I enjoyed some of the material - his list of 7 reasons he didn't want to have kids, for example - but after awhile I found myself just wishing it was over because of the wild swinging between telling a story and then just yelling at me.

He's still one of the funniest comedians going today, and I think if you're not bothered by all the yelling then you would probably enjoy this. But I kind of wish he would go back to a more modulated way of getting his stories across. They're funny and poignant enough on their own without him ramming the punchlines down my throat.

I have missed him on Netflix! I loved his first three standup routines..especially the one that centered on Catholicism. I was very sad that he disappeared...but was thrilled that he finally had a new show.

He's obviously had some pretty serious health problems, which is why this delightful and charmingly funny man disappeared. He's come back with some bitterness and fear, and I get it. But this new standup is a little dark...

I liked the "Christ is born, Christ has risen, Christ will come at 10." silliness much better.

MB is not afraid to go out on a limb. In fact he does it a lot in this comic monolog about new fatherhood and related issues.

Mike has always had his own style of long-form storytelling standup. It builds and builds and always has big payoffs and crescendos. This is Mike at his very best. "I saved my best friend's life" \_(o£o)_/

I could vividly imagine every part of his stories along the way, he really bares it all in embarrassing detail but it's so great and creative. It also doesn't sugarcoat any of his experiences with bringing a child into this world, which are often offputting for me when any stand-up comedian does it. Great job Mike Birbiglia I hope this brings you much accolades and new exposure and thanks Netflix for being a great home to comedy.