Bothering Jesus

Kathleen Madigan plays the role of the blunt, wine-drinking aunt who has been everywhere, observed everything, and decided it is all slightly ridiculous. She treats her stand-up like a conversation over a kitchen table, spinning yarn after yarn about her large family, her aging parents, and her bizarre home state of Missouri. There are no high-concept theater tricks here, just a veteran road comic holding court on whatever caught her eye while touring.

Filmed at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 2016 release captures Madigan at a point in her career where she was already established as one of the most dependable road comics in the business. Rather than chasing Hollywood trends, she stayed on tour, building an hour out of regional eccentricities and personal observations. The special’s title refers to her Catholic-school upbringing, where the nuns taught her that Jesus was basically a corporate CEO and that praying to him for minor daily problems was a waste of his time.

Notable bits in the hour find her ridiculing the Missouri state senate’s two-week debate over the legality of noodling, which is catching catfish with your bare hands, and questioning the belief that the Garden of Eden is located just north of Kansas City. She turns her eye to modern technology, explaining how she cheats her Fitbit by swinging her arm while drinking wine. Madigan also tackles the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, using her mother’s somewhat insensitive but logical reaction to highlight the chaotic nature of her family.