John Mulaney: Baby J 2023 Movie Review
Kudos on whoever came up with that kind of production design and immediate opener for a standup special. It had really become boring to hear an announcer and witness the dude get on stage under applause. Both on technical and creative efforts, the visual aspects of this production are winners. The standup stands out thanks to how the “man talking on stage” is packaged.
And about the content: Yeah, enough of a differentiator to have a drug addict’s rehab story told from such a perspective. Mulaney’s reactions to he interview he gave to GQ was a highlight. And there was other good stuff, like the exchange between him and the 5th grader among the audience. (Not sure if that was planned/real, or improvised, though).
Still, there was something a bit off-putting, maybe even scary about the whole experience.
Mulaney thanks the intervention 12 for saving his life. But does he really register how dark a place he was in?
Certain remarks suggested he DID understand he was going to die of an overdose or of other physical outcomes of substance use. And it is totally understandable that, as a performer, he might intentionally avoid sharing on stage the darker memories and concerns he had had during the period. Also, no mention of his ex-wife looked like a marker on a personal level just to steer away from whatever caused his downfall.
Yes, that was a downfall. Not as an entertainer, but as an organism. Regardless of how audiences may be lead to perceive substance use, it is a health scare for good reason. People die on that. And in huge numbers.
As he told his story, I got the feeling that he was not distanced enough from his addicted self enough to make me say “this dude is off the hook for good”.
Not that I was expecting a direct delivery of the moral of the story, but I thought there should be more than that soft advice of “Don’t do it” to that 5th grader, something addressing the similarly troubled adults in the audience.
I just hope John Mulaney will not be in need of further interventions, and that the humor he found under the conditions can be replaced with healthier sources of inspirations in the future, regardless of the public enjoying such material or not.