High Blood Italian

Renee Gauthier builds her debut comedy special around the sudden, deeply unglamorous realization that she has high blood pressure right before a planned trip to Disney World. Instead of leaning into dramatic lifestyle shifts, she details the quiet panic of searching the internet for quick fixes, buying overpriced celery juice, and trying to lower her numbers so she doesn’t drop dead at Epcot. It is a highly specific, slightly neurotic angle that anchors an hour otherwise dedicated to the chaotic realities of being single and living in Los Angeles while carrying the deep-seated attitude of a Chicago Italian.\n\nReleased in 2023 by production company Four by Three, the special arrived at a point when Gauthier was already a seasoned hand behind the camera, having written and produced for series like Lip Sync Battle and Chelsea Lately. On stage, she channels that sharp writing into dry, fast-paced stories about the exhausting social politics of her younger sister’s barn wedding in Galena, Illinois, where she served as the sole bridesmaid. She also tackles the stark differences between a raucous Italian family gathering and a quiet vegan party, the specific horrors of dating “hot goblins,” and the awkwardness of dodging questions about starting a family by claiming she has a tilted uterus.