Mike Birbiglia: The New One

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.

I became a huge Mike Birbiglia fan after watching his previous specials. He's got a gift for storytelling, and in particular the special-long story surrounding his auto accident and subsequent proposal to his wife was brilliantly done.

So I'm not sure what happened here. It's less storytelling and much more yelling at the top of his lungs for some reason. I hate to think he's going to become one of those comedians who believe that loud = funny. I enjoyed some of the material - his list of 7 reasons he didn't want to have kids, for example - but after awhile I found myself just wishing it was over because of the wild swinging between telling a story and then just yelling at me.

He's still one of the funniest comedians going today, and I think if you're not bothered by all the yelling then you would probably enjoy this. But I kind of wish he would go back to a more modulated way of getting his stories across. They're funny and poignant enough on their own without him ramming the punchlines down my throat.

MB is not afraid to go out on a limb. In fact he does it a lot in this comic monolog about new fatherhood and related issues.

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.

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