"I am aware what a scrapyard is."

December 18, 2019 8:36 AM

Comedian John Mulaney's latest Netflix special is his take on the children's celebrity variety specials from his youth, co-starring (among others) David Byrne, Natasha Lyonne, André De Shields, and Jake Gyllenhaal, and the titular kids in John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (trailer). New York Magazine sent a 10 year old Mulaney superfan to interview him and the results are something special.
posted by MCMikeNamara (19 comments total)

This is pretty amazing. I hate musical comedy, but I am making an exception this one time and absolutely watching this.
posted by Mogur at 8:56 AM on December 18, 2019

This looks delightful and I hadn't heard of it, thank you so much for making this post!
posted by an octopus IRL at 9:11 AM on December 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Welp, now I know what I'm watching Christmas Eve!
posted by magstheaxe at 9:45 AM on December 18, 2019

I have had this on my calendar for Christmas Eve since Mulaney mentioned it on Colbert.
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 9:52 AM on December 18, 2019

That was a great interview. Kudos to the interviewer and Mulaney's willingness to take the process seriously.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:54 AM on December 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

A.B.: Do you know if he [RIchard Kind] got along with the girls in the “Girl Talk” segment?

J.M.: Yes. I can’t tell you how much [good stuff] we had to cut out. That was a pretty much improvised conversation.

This thing doesn't release for six days, and I'm already demanding the Director's Cut.
posted by magstheaxe at 10:02 AM on December 18, 2019 [7 favorites]

Definitely looking forward to this.

I feel like every line in that interview could be a “MetaFilter:” joke.

MetaFilter: We Need to Talk About Richard Kind
MetaFilter: You Said This to Rudin?
posted by MrBadExample at 10:33 AM on December 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

This thing doesn't release for six days, and I'm already demanding the Director's Cut.

#ReleaseTheKindCut
posted by cottoncandybeard at 10:33 AM on December 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Our teachers are allowed to put on music while we work. This happened a lot during second grade, and for some reason they think second-graders are interested in jazz.

I love this child already. What a burn.
posted by yasaman at 10:38 AM on December 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

The initial teaser is a lovely homage to the beginning of “All That Jazz”. All that’s missing is the Vivaldi and the Dexedrine.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 11:20 AM on December 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Before I read the interview, I assumed the post title was something Mulaney said because it sounds EXACTLY like a Mulaney line. Now seeing that it was the ten year old superfan fills me with such glee.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 11:33 AM on December 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

MetaFilter: He/She Gave Me A Look

On my list - definitely something which might give the whole family humor on Christmas Eve.
posted by mrzz at 12:10 PM on December 18, 2019

"I think my persona will make a lot more sense when I’m 80" is like pure distilled essence of Mulaney.
posted by nonasuch at 12:42 PM on December 18, 2019 [5 favorites]

MetaFilter: Street Smarts! Girl Talk.
posted by explosion at 1:23 PM on December 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm sure everyone or almost everyone has already seen it, but his turn as the Grown Man of Rookie's "Ask A Grown Man" is still the sweetest five minutes in the world. the advice is fine but the delivery is the really good part, it's just so nice and sincere and respectful. few people talk to kids that way but even fewer people talk to teen/tween girls that way, like equals.

anyway he is about the only person I'd watch talk to kids for any amount of time.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:21 PM on December 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

He is such a tall child... And he looks terrible...

Excited.
posted by Windopaene at 7:49 PM on December 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

his turn as the Grown Man of Rookie's "Ask A Grown Man"


John Mulaney telling teens to see Casablanca as part of a Bogart/Bergman metaphor is something I didn't know I desperately needed. Thank you.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:08 AM on December 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

I hate musical anything that isn't just music, and I will still watch this. I adore John Mulaney, he gets a lot of airtime at our house. He remains the only comic whose work nearly made me get into a car accident because I was laughing so hard at one of his Law & Order bits I was crying and couldn't see.

Also, a tot is an angel who hasn't died yet.
posted by biscotti at 4:46 AM on December 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Fanfare thread added
posted by oh yeah! at 6:54 AM on December 25, 2019 [1 favorite]