Yesterday, I sat down to start on homework. Typically, I use music to accompany my thoughts as I work through homework, but as of lately, I’ve been branching out into the realm of comedy instead. I can’t say it’s for everyone, but it definitely brings more joy to doing homework. However, stopping to press play continuously takes away the point of ‘hands-off listening.’ That’s when I remembered an hour-long comedy show my friend had suggested on Netflix: Kid Gorgeous by John Mulaney. I sat back, and let it play.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert in comedy, but I have listened to a bunch of it and qualify a “good joke” as something that makes my tired body laugh out loud, rather than just inside my head. And I have to say, despite being preoccupied with homework and with a worn out brain, Mulaney’s comedy still managed to part my lips into a smile and ferment a laugh.

Mulaney’s show focuses around his childhood and his experiences being a kid in his family. He used jokes that people can often relate to, but also ones that are so outrageous that if he were to be telling them around the table at dinner, he would win the ‘craziest story’ competition no one knew they were having.

Mulaney launched off his show commenting on his younger years in school with its assemblies and all that they “taught him.” He touched on things such as stranger danger (and how ironic it is,) and what they taught him and his classmates to do if they were ever mugged (which, if you couldn’t guess, wasn’t the greatest suggestion, either). Jokes like these make his show something that both people in high school and college can relate to, despite the humor being a bit cynical.

The movie on Netflix was released on the first of May this year but is already received raving reviews from critics such as The New Yorker and Sioux City Journal.

Mulaney is known for his work on Saturday Night Live accompanying his already full resume of writer, actor, and producer.

Mulaney performed at the Radio City Music Hall, which is a stark contrast to where he started out years before. The Music Hall is known as somewhat of the peak of a cemedic career when, and if, they are to arrive there. In addition to the honor of performing at the Music Hall, he was also compared to Jerry Seinfeld by The New Yorker.

Overall, Mulaney delivered a laugh out loud performance with troubling, yet relatable, retelling of his childhood and college years. Even if you don’t have an hour to sit down and watch him, listening to him is just enough to still pull out a smile. And what’s better than a laugh to help de-stress and unwind at the end of a school day?