When on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, John Mulaney got his first honest moment to reflect on his show, Mulaney. Even with limited ratings and bad reviews and publicity, Mulaney kept his sense of humor and self-effacing honesty. Even when saying he was proud of the show, he kept the public's reservations in mind with good asides.
It's nice to see Mulaney is keeping his personality in check. I'm sure there will be a time down the road when he'll get some good stand-up out of his show, and maybe move on to bigger and better things. But the problem remains at hand: Mulaney, the show, is still just as tiresome, cliche and sluggish as ever. At this point, it is no longer about if the show will pick itself up, but if it can make any signs of success before its inevitable cancellation. It's a shame, seeing all these many talented people behind and in front of the camera forced to make such a mediocre show.
This week's episode, gearing up towards the half-way point of its now thirteen-episode season, feels more forced in its approach than any episode before. John, feeling guilty about his inability to serve his country, attempts to find way to give his services to the USO, to limited results. It's bad enough Louie already had a killer episode in season two on the troubles of performing in the USO, "Duckling," but this is easily the most predictable episode to date. All the gags feel so familiar and overly done; they lose their zest before they can even attempt to gain traction.
It's a sad state of affairs, especially when Mulaney is able to make some amusing moments off weird asides. For instance, a crack about Tom Bergeron is so random and out-of-left-field that it's hard not to laugh at it. Additionally, the show, during its final ten minutes, attempts to go for dark comedy with a subplot involving the characters debating whether or not they should cut a dog's leg off. The problem with this, though, is that the approach is so broad and goofy that it doesn't work. There's no friction between the underlying dark belly at the joke's core and the approach at hand.
This week's episode is not written by Mulaney, but rather by Justin Spitzer, a writer for the U.S. Office. Much like Mulaney, he clearly understands the sitcom writing structure, but seems either restricted by the channel's abilities or the formula in general. Jokes like the cutting-a-dog's-leg-off feel muted compared to what the showrunners really want to do. It embodies everything that is wrong with this show: it's too milquetoast to go for broke, but too pushy to be comfort watching.
At the very least, this episode is better at making John look like a noble, selfless person, at least until the last couple minutes or so. It's at least one sign of progression from a show hellbent on being as formulaic and generic as possible. As seen by the Kimmel clip, Mulaney is just as funny as usual, so there must be a reason why this show isn't work. Maybe the sitcom form isn't right for Mulaney—at least he has stand-up to fall back on.
Image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com
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