Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool

Mike Birbiglia and Neal Brennan have transcended standup. Both of their latest specials on Netflix have left me with more than just laughter. Both of these phenomenal specials left me with deep thought but without the weight of it all. It's mature comedy in the sense it's for people who've lived some life. Life is hard, and we need to laugh. We MUST laugh.

As a lifelong standup fan, I'm at the age where the one-liners aren't doing it for me anymore. I want stories. I want to relate. I want connection. And Mike Birbiglia's "The Old Man & The Pool" and Neal Brennan's "Blocks" do exactly that through immersive, humorous storytelling.

I am not sure why but I just don't enjoy Mike Birbiglia's stand up routine. He is a bright enough guy. His stories make me smile sometime but I think he is, essentially, not that funny. This is not just this stand up special, but all of his. That is the reason I hesitated to watch this one; however, it came up on my recommended specials so I watched it. The special is filled with personal stories. I really dislike his delivery the most. Not sure why- but it gets on my nerves. If you like Mike this might be an enjoyable experience for you. I did like the venue. I think his outfit is from a clown closet.

But please bear in mind that, of course it's just my opinion and it's SO subjective, this comedy thing but... I personally strongly disliked it and I LOVE 'Birbigs', like all time faves loved :( - I think in part it's due to the, now commonplace occurrence in comedians of a certain age, trend of mortality and experiences with increasing frequency of doctors appointments, that's so off-putting - but I don't come to a stand up show to grow my anxiety and overall shpilkis ya know? I don't know, maybe something is wrong with me and I'm not appreciating and enjoying comedy as I used to but this seemed exceedingly lacking - maybe just stay home with Oona (Una?) from now on, instead of talking four years to bring us stress and lackluster -in short, this is something I'd expect from Niel Brennan, except he treats his time like a therapy session.

Was an interesting comedy. I recall that Mike danced around some pretty serious topics such as health, and even how that affected him and his perspective throughout life. But he seemed to find a gentle way to bring it back to the comedy and get laughter out of what might be considered topics most comedians would just avoid haha. Definitely a different comedic approach but can understand how Mike finds success among more of the shock style comedy that can exist today. It is good for the scene to have that balance and I think Birbiglia captured it well in this release. Would recommend for anyone looking for recent stand up.

Okay - I've had a lot of death in my life this month (happy holidays) - and when The Old Man and The Pool popped up, I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose.

I have not laughed and smiled so much in ages! His description of talking to professionals is the way that I wish I could do it! (So I sent them all messages to watch this Netflix special.)

Birbiglia's routine is absolutely clean!! My vocabulary is not, but I certainly enjoyed being able to recommend his Lincoln Center (LINCOLN FRICKING CENTER!) show to friends and family who prefer the scatological language be at a minimum. And there was none - that I heard.

This is a great hour of humor and comedy if you need to just escape from the real world for a while and join him in his.

It's a fun ride.