Genius, Folks.
It's been a couple weeks since I shot my special. It didn’t take long for me to get back up on stage. It was literally a few days. It’s what I do. It’s kind of like eating or working out. I go up on stage.
Some part of me thinks I should give it a rest. Turn down the burners. Take life in. Settle into my brain. Assess.
The medication I’ve been on seems to be working subtly. I believe there is a baseline of anxiety that percolates beneath the frequency of my brain just moving through life. It’s own vibration. It’s always been there. If I notice anything about the effect of the medicine it's that the baseline seems to be a mild humming as opposed to crackling ember.
It’s a relief. A subtle relief. It seems to be winding down the fear engine.
I’m trying to let new things into my head. I’m watching a lot of stuff on the television. I don’t do YouTube. I’m old school. I mean, streamers are television, right?
I’m very reluctant to be too celebratory of other people’s work who are in the same business as me sometimes. I think it's primarily because I am a somewhat insecure, resentful, envious person. Some of that has faded with age and I believe some of it is maintained by the anxiety engine which is muted by medicine.
That said, I can’t seem to shut up about the new season of Nathan Fielder’s ‘The Rehearsal.’ I’ve always been a bit judgmental of him. He annoys me. Also, he doesn’t ever come on the show. I don’t love a lot of the stuff he’s produced but not because it’s bad, I just never quite locked in with it. Until the last episode of ‘The Curse.’ Which kind of blew my mind and I realized that he was possessed with some kind of alien creativity that comes from a unique, rare mixture of commitment to personal vision and true weird inspiration.
I had watched the first season of ‘The Rehearsal’ which I thought was totally unique and wild. It didn’t stay with me. This new season is sticking in my brain both for the conceit of the show, the theme of the season, but mostly because of the pure comedy of the tension it creates on so many levels. I’m not sure I can explain it without writing some kind of thesis paper but I believe it is a true work of comedic genius. Which is very, very rare.
On a similar note, I saw 'Friendship.’ Tim Robinson is another truly inspired comedic force. I think I was expecting it to be so funny. Like beyond funny. People were talking about it like it was the funniest thing ever. The Buffoon that Tim has created and inhabits is incredibly hilarious. The movie was funny enough. I think his genius is in the sketches on ‘I Think You Should Leave.’ Where it’s all about him and the way the world has to reckon with him. The movie worked pretty well. I just wanted more funny.
I guess this is my movie and TV review update.
Today I talk to Nick Kroll again. He’s truly one of the funniest people I know. On Thursday screenwriter Scott Frank and I talk movies and TV and his new series ‘Department Q.’ Great talks.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
