John Mulaney is the newest American comedian awkwardly sliding into the hearts of people everywhere. Mulaney was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 26, 1982 to two Yale Law School graduates, Ellen and Charles. Although raised in a conservative Catholic household, Mulaney chased creativity from an early age. When he was only seven years old, he had the chance to audition for the role of Kevin McCallister from the famous Home Alone movie. However, his parents denied him of this opportunity. He continued to show his intelligence and creativity for the remainder of his childhood. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep, a well known private high school in Chicago. From there he made it into Georgetown University where he majored in English. He often jokes that his major and time spent at university was useless. However, it was here that his comedic creativity began to truly blossom in his improvisation group with fellow students Nick Kroll and Mike Birbiglia. Both of these men are now famous comedians, actors, and producers like Mulaney.
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Although his professional career took about four years to take off, John soon found himself auditioning for Saturday Night Live, a popular late-night live television show. He earned a position on the writing team and was successful there for around six seasons. Since his comedic personality extended beyond the writing table, Mulaney appeared in some of the famous S.N.L. sketches. In Mihlay Csikszentmihalyi’s “The Creative Personality” he discusses the Ten Dimensions of Complexity and how there are many facets to what makes a person creative. Mulaney’s personality reminded me of this work because of how his creative character developed over his years in the limelight. After working S.N.L. Mulaney had several smaller stand-up comedy specials. There are three that stand out the most in his career. His first major special, appropriately titled New In Town released in 2012. This special was produced by Comedy Central and brought his name into the spotlight.
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| https://flixable.com/title/70298251/ |
His next major stand-up comedy special, The Comeback Kid, was released by Netflix in November of 2015. It was with this special that he received critical acclaim. Due to Netflix’s popularity in every household in America, Mulaney reached a wider audience than he had before. In 2016 he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special because of The Comeback Kid. His internet fame grew almost overnight. His most recent stand-up comedy special released in February of 2018. It is titled Kid Gorgeous and can also be found on Netflix. At this point, Mulaney’s career showed that it has fully blossomed. Kid Gorgeous was filmed at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He sold out his famous venue seven nights in a row. His comedic genius was now evident to all fans. He received an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for Kid Gorgeous.
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John Mulaney continues making America laugh through smaller projects and his Netflix specials. He has made me laugh when I needed it the most. I hope we are all a little creative like him so the world smiles more.
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| https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6524350/ |
Sources:
http://www.johnmulaney.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mulaney
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1825214/
John Mulaney has, I think reinvented comedy and paved the way for a new era, exemplified in himself and the sitcom The Good Place (NBC) by combining philosophy/politics with positive ends and genuine kindheartedness with more typical aspects of comedy. He's reminded us, after an era of put-down comedy like Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan, that to open yourself up to others can be funny, and to be negative and defensive is not inherent to comedy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting piece to read. I have been following Mulaney’s work for a few years now but have never known much about his past. I wonder if the experience of growing up in a conservative household may have pushed Mulaney to peruse comedy because it offered a means of self-expression.
ReplyDeleteI never really paid any attention to John Mulaney until I watched “Big Mouth”. That show has me literally rolling with laughter and it’s a great show to watch when you’re just kicking back with friends. I am happy to hear he has received so much acclaim and recognition for his work in stand-ups. I definitely need to check out his specials!
ReplyDeleteMulaney just screams "perennial child." I had no idea he came from such a highly educated household, but he does touch upon the Catholic upbringing often in his shows. I have a feeling he went to (and finished) college just to prove a point to his parents that he could, and that his parents may have helped him with his career in comedy lot more than any of them knew, considering he met his future colleagues there. I wonder if anyone can truly say college is a 'waste of time.'
ReplyDeleteMulaney is hands down my favorite comedian. He has a huge amount of internet fame, and I think it's well deserved. The way he pulls on religion and his own college experience makes his material extremely relatable, and I love the integration of politics alongside much less serious topics in his show. I had no idea he went to Georgetown, but I'm not surprised. All of his self deprecating humor aside, it's obvious from his tremendous success alone that Mulaney is incredibly intelligent.
ReplyDeleteBig Mouth is without a doubt the funniest show I have ever seen. I am in awe at how it ties in so many different themes and how it has created such a massive variety of characters. Mulaney is capable of creating this entire world by what seems like the mixing of several different types of realities. Really interesting to see the variety in his creativity.
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