He should be made aware that Teddy Roosevelt was born and spent his childhood on the south side of Gramercy Park, well east of Chelsea (its easternmost border is Sixth Avenue), and that his house is a faithful replica. The original was destroyed.
1
I would love to see the Times do a whole series on people such as Mr. Mulaney which I categorize as "so-called 'comedians' who have never, ever said one thing that's funny". Next week: Ellen Degeneres, followed by Amy Shumer. The possibilities are literally endless.
5
John Mulaney is hilarious. His bit alone on marrying the cow, is funnier than anything most of us will ever say.
11
I’m with you on Schumer, but Mulaney is hilarious.
1
Mr. Mulaney needs to study up on his historic sites. That townhouse in New York, where he says Teddy Roosevelt grew up and that he especially loves, probably looks "pretty well preserved" because it wasn't built until four years after TR's death.
The actual house where he grew up was demolished in 1916. The reproduction which currently stands on the same site as the original wasn't built until 1923.
Sorry about your regrets: “I kind a wish the elections went the other way”? Is this a way of kind of admitting that you voted for tump? Sure sounds like it.!
3
John should realize what a great time for comedy this is! Our last President, Obama, was off limits to comedians. So now you've got Trump - and a bully pulpit. But it's a crummy time for audiences who aren't part of the brainwashed - or is it - brainless left. Just saying "Trump is doo-doo," 100 times is just plain stupid. And boring. Haven't watched SNL in ages.
6
Teddy Roosevelt obviously did not grow up in townhouse in "Chelsea." What else is he saying that's incorrect?
3
You're a professor of pedantry? Not too many people know the Flatiron District. So he's an avenue off. Close enough for a tourist...and a comedian.
6
No, he's a century off. The house where TR grew up was demolished in 1916. What's there now is recreation that wasn't built until four years after TR died.
comedy ain't for the birds anymore!
Sorry, but Mulaney has never "taken the gloves off." He tends to do easy jokes for easy laughs. This is a personal opinion, of course, but he's in many ways the opposite of what a comedian should be. I tend to think comics should be irreverent, cynical, jaded, but Mulaney seems to just want everyone to like him (Fallon-ish). I watch Mulaney's stand-up and think: this guy definitely tattled his way through elementary school.
6
Mulaney's 'Switcharoo" bit on SNL was brilliant, not only because of Mulaney but thanks to Cecily Strong's performance.
1
John Mulaney is one of the sharpest comedians working today.
5
Sweet Rosalie, she’s workin at the Five and Dime, train back to Hackensack with rosemary wine......doing Steely better than Steely. New special is terrific, especially for those of us raised Catholic and forced to endure school assemblies about the dangers of drugs. L’chaim!
1
Just watched his Netflix special last night. His bit about Trump being like a horse loose in a hospital is pure gold.
16
John Mulaney is the voice of stand-up comedy for this generation. He strikes the right balance for the times, never an easy thing to accomplish.
4
Speaking as an outsider, I’m still waiting for trump to come close to repeating GWB’s trick of starting a war what will kill hundreds of thousands. Hillary would *never* have scared China into jerking NK into line.
You don’t need to be a good person to be a good president. I never knew that before.
4
Very clever guy, this Mulvaney character! We watched his Netflix special and laughed almost the whole way through. It's clear that he's very bright and it's interesting to read about how the SNL writers were careful not to poke fun at Romney's kids (too harshly.) but he's spot on about tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Love him!
5
The real challenge about being a political comedian these days is that what's happening in our nation is terrifying. There is nothing funny about it. Nuclear war with North Korea? Not a thigh-slapper. Tens of millions lose health insurance? Hahahaha.
You can see the problem here. It's impossible to make fun of a president who is cruel and replete with evil intentions. Ineptitude can be funny. Wanton cruelty and chaos are not.
6
most of his stuff is deserving of merely a good chuckle, but as a fellow Catholic, his jokes about anything about his faith are just hilarious. he can do it respectfully
1
If anyone thinks this is funny ???? George Carlin comes immediately to mind. He was funny once and then ...
Comedy is not commentary. Yes I want to be entertained, not be subjected to political/social views which resonate only in the rarefied realm of the "politically modern elite". If one wishes to change the conversation, then do so in THE COMMON LANGUAGE. Otherwise one is playing to one own" audience" and guess how effective that has been.
2
I'm no Phd, but he was great in Say Anything....
John Mulaney is a national treasure and a perfect pick for next year's White House correspondents dinner.
4
Hilarious, spot on, his timing and delivery crack me up. "Oh, Hello" and "Kid Gorgeous" are both genius.
2
John Mulaney is one of the funniest comedians on stage today.
This interview doesn't capture that.
Different questions should have been used with better editing.
7
"horse in a hospital" was indeed an original way to approach an absurd subject. I think about it often, and tell friends.
6
I find the number one qualification for most comedians today is that they read the paper. So when their time slot comes around they tell me in a slightly strident way exactly what I read online myself about ten times already. I can't remember for sure, but I think at one time comedy used to be more personal, more philosophical, more existential and as such maybe more unique. I don't find Trump funny. I tried to watch the cartoon President and found it eerily humanizing. So for me personally this is a dry time indeed for comedy if every show I go to starts with.... "Donald Trump walks into a bar..."
2
John Mulaney, to me, is one of the best comics of our time simply because he is so unabashedly funny - he's one of those comedians that feels so pure to watch, and it's so obvious he loves what he does. When he says it's a release, I know what he means. Some of my fondest memories of standup are of him; his take on life feels so relevant yet hysterical at the same time. That's comedy done right.
9
Can you repeat a joke of his that was unabashedly funny? I've never heard a single one.
1
In his standup acts he depicts a give and take between his father who is a lawyer, and himself, an elementary? school kid having an exchange over a fight or bullying that he did nothing to intervene to stop.....the entire audience found it hysterical, and this is in Philly, where if you're from, like say Boston, no one cares what you think.
Great interview. My husband and I thoroughly enjoy Mulaney's work; the one about "buying the cow" as a marriage metaphor had me laughing so hard I cried. In his latest set he hits on a point which hits painfully close to home for anyone who experiences anxiety: "do all my friends hate me, or do I just need sleep?"
3
In addition to being very funny and very likeable, John is a comedian who, like the greats of,yesterday, Benny, Hope, Gleason et al, you don’t have to send the kids out of the room when he’s performing. No obscenities. He’s clean. In my opinion, comics who feel compelled to resort to dirty words are not nearly as funny as those who don’t. Comics like Seinfeld and Mulaney, as two examples.
4
If you go on U-Tube , search for Mulaney's Salt & Pepper dinner bit. It's voice only. The 'dive' restaurant is located here in Chicago-in the De Paul area. It's all about Tom Jones's records playing on a jukebox. The ending is hysterical...He's wonderful and so glad he's made it from being an SNL writer to a well known successful comedian.
22
That might be the best standup routine in the history of comedy. "And when we went back..."
3
Hysterical! Thank you.
2
Mulaney’s “Horse in a Hospital” bit is one of the best comedic takes I’ve heard on the Trump administration.
It’s intersting that he has such a similiar background to Conan and Steven Colbert, raised wealthy and Catholic and elite schooled. And like Colbert suffered the loss of a sibling as a child. This doesn’t seem like a recipe for a great comedian, yet somehow it is.
43
That is interesting. 'The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling' went into depth on profound affected on Garry by the death of his brother in childhood.
1
I thought Mulaney was really funny on Saturday Night Live a couple weeks ago. I liked his monologue bit about robots; songs for those in their 30s and older; and Patrick Stewart with "Salt and PEPPER!" He was great on SNL as a sassy drag queen. I liked him on his short role on HBO's "Crashing" with Pete. I was less impressed by Mulaney's full-time tv show a couple years ago, however. That show was not so funny.
15