Oh-thello!
February 12, 2019 5:13 AM   Subscribe

 
That was lovely, ta.
I'm seeing an uptick in Mulaney content lately - this thread about 2000s pop-punk bands as his quotes was going around a couple of weeks ago.
posted by AnhydrousLove at 6:12 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Absolutely beautiful. Have never giggled so much at Othello before.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:47 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


I love John Mulaney's whole vibe. I especially love him and Nick Kroll together. Here's some of my favorites.

Stephen Colbert and Mulaney bond over their time in the Catholic Church. Especially good starting at 1:50. I've used the phrase "freckle faced puffy little hungover monster" so many times. Also when they talk about why they chose their confirmation names, it's very sweet.

Nick Kroll & John Mulaney's Opening Monologue at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards. 2018.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [5 favorites]


I just love John Mulaney all the time.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:49 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


Mulaney is only funny to me in excerpts, but then he is really funny. X as John Mulaney quotes is a deep magical art. I don't even remember the story of Othello at all and I liked this.
posted by fleacircus at 6:54 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


Well, that certainly is a thing, all right.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:57 AM on February 12, 2019


Do believe I'll use it in a tenth grade English class next year when Othello enters the curriculum! Much obliged.
posted by foodbedgospel at 7:03 AM on February 12, 2019 [6 favorites]


John Mulaney is the best case scenario version of, like, 99% of the boys I had crushes on in high school, which makes watching him both a weirdly nostalgic pleasure and a mostly humiliating skip down memory lane.
posted by thivaia at 7:24 AM on February 12, 2019 [16 favorites]


I have many imaginary boyfriends, but John Mulaney is my only imaginary son-in-law.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:30 AM on February 12, 2019 [26 favorites]


John Mulaney's standup specials are ideal for smoothing over challenging visits with Catholic in-laws. I'll never forget my mother in law howling with laughter at his 'and also with you' bit. I'll be forever grateful to him for that.
posted by nerdfish at 7:49 AM on February 12, 2019 [5 favorites]


Considering the anti-Semitism in both Shakespeare and John Mulaney work, I guess it’s only fitting that they’d be brought together at last
posted by ShawnStruck at 8:15 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


the anti-Semitism in... John Mulaney work

Speaking as a Jewish fan of Mulaney, I'm gonna need an example here.
posted by explosion at 8:25 AM on February 12, 2019 [22 favorites]


Somebody should tell Nick Kroll too.
posted by whuppy at 8:29 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


I have to admit, I have almost no idea what the plot of Othello is, but I still found that hilarious. I wish I knew what the plot of Othello is, so I could find this even more hilarious.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:40 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Well, I know it ends badly for pretty much all concerned...
posted by Naberius at 8:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


OK, now someone do John Mulaney's "Salt and Pepper Diner" bit using only lines of dialogue from Shakespeare.
posted by duffell at 9:01 AM on February 12, 2019 [3 favorites]


Considering the anti-Semitism in both Shakespeare and John Mulaney work, I guess it’s only fitting that they’d be brought together at last

If these jokes are anti-semitic, then I'm the pope.

(I'm not)
posted by Pendragon at 9:39 AM on February 12, 2019


the anti-Semitism in... John Mulaney work

Speaking as a Jewish fan of Mulaney, I'm gonna need an example here.


I'm guessing John Mulaney's Jewish wife Anna might be interested, too.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 9:42 AM on February 12, 2019 [15 favorites]


““Now there’s new Nazis. I don’t care for these new Nazis and you may quote me on that. These new Nazis, “Jews are the worst, Jews ruin everything, and Jews try to take over your life.” It’s like, “You know what, motherfucker? My wife is Jewish. I know all that, how do you know all that?” - John Mulaney

It’s just a joke. Yeah and we can recognize when homophobic jokes are homophobic. “It’s okay that he calls his wife a Jewish bitch because she’s Jewish see”... like we don’t let that fly when talking about other isms.

We can talk about what people have contributed to the world artistically (like Shakespeare and Shylock too) while still acknowledging what bad things the put out into the world. Even if they’re a comedian everyone has decided is some sort of always inoffensive woke guy.
posted by ShawnStruck at 9:57 AM on February 12, 2019


I'm guessing John Mulaney's Jewish wife Anna might be interested, too.

Unconnected to any other statement here, this ain't a defense. I'm going to point to Strom Thurmond as an example of someone's ability to both sleep with and be racist towards a group of people.
posted by haileris23 at 10:16 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]


But... that's not an anti-Semitic joke..
posted by Pendragon at 10:34 AM on February 12, 2019 [10 favorites]


Yeah, okay, except it's playing on the "my wife is a bitch" trope and not the "Jews are like this" trope. And as far as the "nagging wife" trope is concerned, that's all a lead-in to just how much he adores his wife.

A fair amount of hay has been made about how much he refuses to lower himself to the whole "women, right?" that other comedians perform. He's no-sold Jerry Seinfeld on that shit.
posted by explosion at 10:37 AM on February 12, 2019 [13 favorites]


You know that every story told by a comedian isn't true and that every punchline they say doesn't reflect their beliefs. People are writing jokes and testing material and changing and modifying what they say explicitly based on the feedback they get from audiences, and explicitly how it sets up and flows with the rest of their act.

Comedians - all of them - say absolutely horrible and reprehensible things in pursuit of a laugh. If John Mulaney's act was 'Take my wife, please!' and only 'Take my wife, please!' - then yes. I think you might have a point that a Jewish wife joke was inappropriate. But, that isn't his act... That's an absurdist observation that men routinely disagree with their wives. Men joke about being bossed around in a trope which is the foundation of many a sitcom. He is a man. His wife is Jewish. The Neo-Nazis claim horrible things about the Jews and in an absolute ridiculous and absurdist manner that you get that punchline. Most importantly, he's taking the piss out of Neo-Nazis because fundamentally - they have no actual reason to hate a Jew. Ironically, he's married to one and... as such... has? a? reason? for at least the length of the applause following that joke.

Find me a wife that doesn't sometimes hate her husband. Find me a husband that doesn't sometimes hate their wife. To be fair, the laziest thing about his joke is the strawman Neo-Nazi - which he takes the piss out of with his punchline. This isn't All in the Family root for the racist/sexist/anti-semite comedy where every punchline is because Archie Bunker is a racist that is wrong or Archie Bunker is a racist that sees someone live up to the stereotype...

And, as for John Mulaney doing Othelo... that is a brilliant observation to see this out of his comedy.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:38 AM on February 12, 2019 [7 favorites]


I don't have time to pull the entire thing up now, but I'm 99% sure the entire bit is John Mulaney talking about how much he loves and admires his bossy Jewish bitch of a wife - as a specific response against 'take my wife' jokes, and representing the bit as 'oh no, John Mulaney called his wife a Jewish bitch' is misleading.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:12 AM on February 12, 2019 [15 favorites]


Can I just say how much I appreciate the title of this post.
posted by good in a vacuum at 12:42 PM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]


The Iago bits really kick in during Act Four.
posted by doctornemo at 2:02 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


Unconnected to any other statement here, this ain't a defense. I'm going to point to Strom Thurmond as an example of someone's ability to both sleep with and be racist towards a group of people.

It is a defense. You found a single counter-example. That's not data. Are you seriously suggesting that it's unreasonable to assume someone married to a Jew is very probably not anti-Semitic? In Mulaney's case it's obvious he isn't.
posted by axiom at 3:54 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm a Jewish (well, Jew-ish) woman, and his jokes about his Jewish wife are my favorite bits of routines, because of how much he fucking loves her and how in complete awe of her he is. Some men talk about how much their wives are a bitches*, and it's sexist because they actually hate their wives. Some men know their wives are bitches (in that they don't give a shit what anyone else thinks, which is the right kind of bitch to be) and they love them for it, and that's a really beautiful thing.

John Mulaney would almost make me un-cancel white men.

*I don't really love using the word "bitch" but it feels necessary in the context.
posted by lunasol at 4:53 PM on February 12, 2019 [14 favorites]


Also, this was great, and I don't understand how someone as milquetoast as John Mulaney can be so funny, but he's really so funny.
posted by lunasol at 4:56 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]


We were at that Radio City show and it was magical. I am using this bit to convince my teenage Mulaney super fan to read more Shakespeare.
posted by Biblio at 5:28 PM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't understand how someone as milquetoast as John Mulaney can be so funny

He understands how milquetoast he is and leans into it, that's a big part of it.

Also, his stand-up specials are just amazing for their speed and density and polish. That doesn't happen by accident, it takes a lot of work.
posted by nnethercote at 7:29 PM on February 12, 2019 [13 favorites]


The Best Part of John Mulaney's Stand-Up Is His Jewish Wife Jokes

The jokes aren't anti-semitic, their relationship is #goals, mulaney is hilarious, and I want to be friends with their dog.

Oh god that reminds me of the bit on the Pete Holmes show where he talks about his dog and the nicknames just kill me. GLASS MILK
posted by lazaruslong at 5:43 AM on February 13, 2019 [2 favorites]


There is a sequel:

john mulaney summarizes hamlet in 5 minutes or less
posted by rollick at 6:31 AM on March 8, 2019 [2 favorites]


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