Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go

Having been a fan of Hannah Einbinder's work in "Hacks," I was eager to watch her stand-up special, "Everything Must Go." However, I must admit, I only managed to get through about 15 minutes of the show before deciding it wasn't for me.

Perhaps it's just a matter of personal taste, but I found myself struggling to connect with her comedic style. While her performance in "Hacks" is undeniably brilliant, this particular show, for me, simply fell flat. I was genuinely puzzled by the audience's uproarious laughter, as her set seemed to lack the comedic effort and punch I've come to expect from stand-up. It felt as though the jokes weren't landing, or perhaps, weren't even truly being attempted.

Ultimately, despite my admiration for her acting, "Everything Must Go" didn't resonate with me as a comedy special.

I initially approached it like some belly laugh standup and when that wasn't happening in the first 15 minutes, I almost stopped. So glad that I kept going.

Hannah is a brilliant mind and has some hilarious observations but they are subtle and you need to pay attention. It doesn't feel like a highly crafted standup where every line is delivered to perfect timing.

It's more like hanging out all night with the funniest, most thoughtful person at the party. Her observations are so clever, and ring true. I highly recommend going into it with those expectations and by the end you will feel that it was a good use of your time.

Hannah Einbinder has comedy in her DNA, being the daughter of original SNL cast member Larraine Newman. And she has built a solid body of work in "Hacks" with Jean Smart. But as a stand-up, she needs to do more work.

This special - her first - is not so much a stand-up comedy as it is a carefully rehearsed scripted monologue, complete with audio and lighting cues. It comes off as "too rehearsed" if that makes sense. There is no spontaneity, no apparent improv, and occasionally zero audience response. Einbinder is a good writer, but she doesn't yet know how to perform in front of a live audience. Hopefully, that will come with time. There was too much mugging to the camera, as if to say "yeah, I know I'm cool". No, Hannah, you're not (at least not yet). And if you were cool, this isn't the way to telegraph it.

A day after watching the special, I was hard-pressed to remember a signature bit or line from her performance. I think that was due in part to her scripted delivery, which left little room for connection with the audience.

Einbinder's career is still young, so there's room to grow. She's done well as a writer and actor on "Hacks" and that should continue at least through the show's fifth season (not unusual for a streamer to end a show after 5 years). For her to take the next step, her delivery and material needs to also grow and mature.

This isn't comedy.. it's performance art..

The roars from the crowd seemed REALLY odd to me. As if they were some cult following just there to cheer her on completely regardless of what she did or said. As if the audience was filled intentionally with her "tribe" who came to see and support "Hannah" and did not merely buy tickets anticipating a comedy show. There's no real laughter here.

I did not find anything she did, much less said, funny. It's performative art.. which okay.. I can accept, but it wasn't even GOOD performative art.

She's great in Hacks.. where there's a writing staff and a director to tell her what to do... but CLEARLY stand-up isn't her thing. Based upon the crowd reactions in this, she may be in a bubble.. surrounded by those wishing her well and supporting her, but lacking the ability to tell her when things need more work. This "special" REALLY needed much more work if it was supposed to be funny.

This is really just HBO saying "Hey Hannah, Hacks has been a success. Do you want to do a 1 hour comedy special? We think you've gained some notoriety and many would tune in." And she said yes, that was a mistake. Clearly when left to her own devices, absent a writing staff, she has no clue what comedy actually is.

The poor experience is foreshadowed pretty well by the pretentious opening French music... I mean a French song for your US comedy debut? Really?

Blech.

I remember seeing Hannah on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert a few years ago and immediately realized that I was watching an amazing new comedic talent, and this one hour HBO special just proves it. She combines some serious acting chops along with well thought out stagecraft to tell her extraordinarily funny takes on her life and the crazy messed up world that we live in. A while back my daughter told me I should watch "Hacks" -actually, it was more like an edict - so i binged watched the first two seasons and and continued with the third. While the entire cast is wonderful Hannah really stands out. I am sure that she will continue to make us laugh along with having a great career as an actress. Watch this special, you won't regret it!