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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

A Reasonable Hour

Gabriel Rutledge

YouTube · 2026 · 70 min

A Tacoma club set about marriage, kids, and early bedtimes.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Gabriel Rutledge's first special since Nectarine (2024). Released , on YouTube.

Most comics treat getting older like a slow-motion car crash, while Gabriel Rutledge treats going to bed early like he finally beat the house. On stage, the Olympia, Washington stand-up talks through marriage, kids, and everyday exhaustion like a man who gladly traded late nights for domestic peace.

Rutledge plays domestic routine as a win rather than a trap.

Filmed at Tacoma Comedy Club in Washington, the 70-minute special premiered on YouTube via BARK Comedy on May 15, 2026, before arriving on audio platforms that November. By then, Rutledge had logged more than 25 years on the road, won both the Seattle International Comedy Competition and Atlanta’s Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, and published the memoir Happiness Isn’t Funny.

Rather than waiting on a network deal, he kept putting full hours online, following 2025’s What Do I Do For a Living? and the crowd-work special Jolene with a release that cleared 390,000 YouTube views in five months. BARK Comedy also broke out individual bits from the taping, including “Let Me At ’Em” and “FAFO”.

Notable bits & set list

5 bits

  1. Starting events at a reasonable hour and getting older

    Explaining how leaving the house becomes an 'activity' as you age, needing melatonin by 10:30, and refusing to start a long movie on Netflix

  2. Internet commenters accusing him of dyeing his hair

    Insisting his hair is just 'Pantene and Jesus' while recounting how cruel online comments about his appearance damage his mental health

  3. Comparisons to Dave Grohl

    Expressing indignation at commenters calling him 'fat Dave Grohl' or 'Dave Grohl's dad,' noting Dave Grohl is 56 and already looks like his own dad

  4. Shaving his beard

    Describing his family's horrified reaction to his clean-shaven face, with his kids telling him he looks like grandma and demanding he grow it back

  5. Imagining attending an orgy with his wife

    Envisioning them relegated to a far corner having vanilla sex accompanied by a soundtrack of a tuba solo of fat notes

How it plays

Tone
Self-deprecating, frank, and humorous
On stage
Self-deprecating, casual, and entertainingly honest
About
aging and physical decline, internet comments and mental health, hair and physical appearance, marriage and family, orgies

What the critics said

Praised for an entertainingly honest, self-deprecating approach to aging, family life, and elaborate comedic premises

In the room: Enthusiastic and responsive club audience appreciative of the show starting at a reasonable hour

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: filmflow.tv, kinotrack.app, followthecredits.com, nola.com, standupd.com, clipzag.com, gabrielrutledge.com, imdb.com.

Backstory

Turning 51, grappling with middle age, marital longevity, and dealing with harsh physical critiques from internet commenters

Details

Released
Taped
Tacoma Comedy Club
Runtime
70 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Gabriel Rutledge
Topics
Before
Nectarine (2024)

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