"My Girlfriend's Boyfriend"

I have never seen a special with more serious, dramatic moments than Mike Birbiglia's "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend." These moments, however, are almost always punctuated by Birbiglia's unique and hilarious punchlines. Birbiglia's newest special is an honest, heartbreaking, and hilarious journey through his personal relationships.

"My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" was released through Netflix Comedy, much like Marc Maron's special, 'Thinky Pain." The two specials actually have a lot in common. Both are intensely personal and feature long stories rather than short, punchy jokes. Both comedians display their insecurities by spilling their guts on stage. But Birbiglia's special is much more energetic and has a greater focus on the audience than Maron's.

Birbiglia has always been less of a traditional stand-up and more of long-form storyteller with a penchant for hilarious phrasing. His last special, "What I Should Have Said Was Nothing," was a hilarious collection of stories about Birbiglia's childhood and early stand-up career.

There are moments in this special where you are not going to be laughing. Some of Birbiglia's stories border on depressing, and there were times where I was shocked he was able to pull this off in a comedy special. I know that sounds weird, and you're probably wondering why you would ever want to watch this, but Birbiglia does pull it off and it's wonderful. He has a unique talent to punctuate dramatic, sometimes uncomfortably honest stories with a hilariously phrased, perfectly timed punchline.

This is much more like a one-man stage show than a comedy special. Birbiglia jumps back and forth between stories of his formative romantic experiences (first kiss, dating a "bad girl") and stories of his relationship with his wife, Jenny. Birbiglia always uses big transitional moments, sometimes dour and slowly delivered, sometimes funny and yelled out, to signal a shift between stories.

The comedic highlight of the special is Birbiglia's story about taking a girl on a carnival ride called The Scrambler. It's a pretty predictable bit (we all know what happens when you combine greasy carnival food with high-powered machinery) but Birbiglia tells it in an exciting, engaging way.

The great strength of this special is Birbiglia's use of the stage. He has a ton of energy, using the whole stage to act out his stories (and not in a hackish way like Dane Cook). He even leaves the stage at one point to draw attention to an audience member in his bare feet, which has to be one of the strangest audience interactions I have ever seen. Later, the lights dim as Birbiglia is spotlit during one of the special's most dramatic moments. He's not just performing on the stage- he's using it as another tool in his storytelling arsenal.

"My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" is more than a comedy special, but it is funny enough that I can recommend to fans of stand-up. Really though, I think Birbiglia's latest show has some important things to say about love and relationships that most people will enjoy.


Check out this preview of the special, which is available on Netflix or for pre-order here.