Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool

I am not sure why but I just don't enjoy Mike Birbiglia's stand up routine. He is a bright enough guy. His stories make me smile sometime but I think he is, essentially, not that funny. This is not just this stand up special, but all of his. That is the reason I hesitated to watch this one; however, it came up on my recommended specials so I watched it. The special is filled with personal stories. I really dislike his delivery the most. Not sure why- but it gets on my nerves. If you like Mike this might be an enjoyable experience for you. I did like the venue. I think his outfit is from a clown closet.

Mike Birbiglia's The Old Man and the Pool is a stand-up special that feels perhaps a tad long, as it goes for almost 80 minutes and lost me a little at about the one-hour mark. Before then, I was really enjoying it, though, and maybe that's on me feeling tired for not being able to push through and watch it all with full attention (yet last night I watched the nearly three-hour Heat with all the focus in the world, so I don't know what's going on).

I think the best thing about the special is that Mike Birbiglia does a very good job at balancing the humorous stuff (to be expected) and the surprisingly bleak moments (it gets very real at times). I always feel hesitant when stand-up comedians decide to do stand-up dramedy instead of stand-up comedy, but he got the balance right here. The audience was kind of stupid at one point, though. He said something I thought sounded sad, and he looked sad when he said it, and the audience laughed. I think he was playing that part for a sad pay-off to something he said earlier, but they interpreted it as a delayed punchline to a "joke" he set up before.

There are many not-very-good stand-up specials on Netflix, but this is thankfully not one of them. It's largely very good, quite funny in parts, and I appreciated how honest it was about things like health, family, and death. It was a good watch/listen all around.

Was an interesting comedy. I recall that Mike danced around some pretty serious topics such as health, and even how that affected him and his perspective throughout life. But he seemed to find a gentle way to bring it back to the comedy and get laughter out of what might be considered topics most comedians would just avoid haha. Definitely a different comedic approach but can understand how Mike finds success among more of the shock style comedy that can exist today. It is good for the scene to have that balance and I think Birbiglia captured it well in this release. Would recommend for anyone looking for recent stand up.

On November 21, 2024, I had the hilarious pleasure of witnessing him in Detroit, MI, and oh, I was utterly smitten! His live performance outshone his latest special, which left me a tad underwhelmed. The new special on Netflix just didn't tickle my funny bone as much as The New One did, and the timing seemed off, almost as if it was recorded last year. The material felt disconnected from his live act, which was a riot. I think he missed a beat by not exploring his dad's stroke and his own fatherhood more deeply, as those bits were both poignant and hilarious. Seeing him live was a treat, especially the parts about his dad and daughter - it was comedy gold. I'm a huge fan, but this latest special just didn't make me laugh as much as I hoped.

Mike Birbiglia and Neal Brennan have transcended standup. Both of their latest specials on Netflix have left me with more than just laughter. Both of these phenomenal specials left me with deep thought but without the weight of it all. It's mature comedy in the sense it's for people who've lived some life. Life is hard, and we need to laugh. We MUST laugh.

As a lifelong standup fan, I'm at the age where the one-liners aren't doing it for me anymore. I want stories. I want to relate. I want connection. And Mike Birbiglia's "The Old Man & The Pool" and Neal Brennan's "Blocks" do exactly that through immersive, humorous storytelling.