Mike Birbiglia: The New One

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

I found this special hilarious but heartwarming - I felt every part of his emotional roller coaster and by the end, in his words, felt very full.

I don't have children (and never plan to - I'm being very clear!), and this was hilarious. So glad to see Mike still doing his thing and as funny as ever.

The first half is a wonderful journey through the perilous anxieties one has before deciding whether or not to have kids, and is very deep and introspective. Mike lays out all the reasons you shouldn't have kids, and they're all right.

But then he's countered with "but you'd be a good dad," and that's that, he has a kid.

This is where the disconnect happened for me, and is where I just felt disappointment. It's as if Mike spends the rest of the bit ignoring what he just talked about, and goes into how miserable of a parent he is without any self-reflection as to maybe he shouldn't have had kids.

It's not just Mike, we all need to consider that maybe we shouldn't have kids until we sort ourselves out: climate change, concentration of wealth, and all the existential threats coming down the pipe are all reasons why you should not have your own kids. You should adopt or foster. Sorry you miss out on what could've been, but such is life.

I'll be curious to revisit Mike years later to see if he's still miserable. Good luck. You have my empathy, but not my endorsement.

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.