Always Hungry

Nick Whitmer’s debut is anchored by a funny bit of class frustration directed at his own French Bulldog. Buying Jordans for a dog with structural spine issues leads to a realization about the sheer absurdity of the breed’s existence, painting them as a collection of expensive, sexually frustrated, and physically compromised creatures that require artificial insemination to exist. This exasperated, slightly exhausted energy defines the hour.\n\nThe rest of the special leans into the quiet, domestically defeated territory of a man who got married just before the pandemic and quickly became a father. Whitmer spent over a decade performing in New York City before self-releasing this debut in early 2023 through Four by Three on YouTube and Tubi. Recorded in front of a tight crowd at Greenwich Village’s intimate 50-seat venue, The Comedy Shop, the show has the comfortable, worn-in pacing of a club set.\n\nHis perspective is that of a guy trying to survive the mundane challenges of adulthood while looking back on a childhood spent under the roof of a doomsday prepper. The transition from prep-minded paranoia to the actual survival test of modern parenting gives the show a solid backbone, particularly when Whitmer admits the only time he feels like a good dad is when his newborn is unconscious in another room. He also turns an eye toward the weird expectations of modern relationships, from sharing locations with a spouse to the silent resentment traditional supermodels must feel toward the body positivity movement.