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Promotional art for Life's a Bit
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

Life's a Bit

Nicole Blaine

Comedy Dynamics · 2020 · 46 min

A stand-up set about the unglamorous physical realities of parenting.

Nicole Blaine takes a deeply unromantic approach to parenting and childbirth. Recorded at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, California, the set blends traditional stand-up with sketch-like reenactments of her daily domestic challenges. To bring these moments to life, Blaine enlists her husband and children to play themselves in short cutaways, turning her actual family’s lack of acting experience into part of the joke.

The material leans heavily into the physical realities of motherhood. Blaine details the graphic mechanics of childbirth, fecal containment struggles, and the absurdity of modern sex education, refusing to coat her household experiences in a sentimental glaze. Other bits cover the chaotic logistics of crossing the street with young kids and the bizarre transaction of a child losing their first tooth.

Released by Comedy Dynamics in late March 2020, the special found an immediate audience among parents who were suddenly locked inside with their own children. Blaine frames the entire parenting endeavor not as a noble calling, but as a transaction where the payoff is the material.

The set list

1 bit
  1. Turning daily motherhood fails and domestic life into stand-up material.

    Combines stand-up with reenactments where she casts and bribes her real-life husband and children to act out the domestic scenes inspiring her jokes.

How it plays

Tone
Honest, crass, dark humor, and observational.
On stage
Described as an everyday mom with brains, beauty, dazzling charm, naturalness, and a rich comedic delivery who loves to make fun of her kids.
About
motherhood, parenting, family life, children, coming of age

What the critics said

Praised by L.A. Weekly as 'a remarkable performer with brains, beauty and rich comic delivery' and by Backstage West for showcasing 'humor, passion, dazzling charm and a naturalness that many performers, or even civilians, would kill for.'

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedydynamics.com, allmovie.com, nicoleblaine.com, rottentomatoes.com, tv.apple.com, littleknownfactspodcast.com.

Backstory

Blaine lives in Santa Monica with her husband and two children, mining daily parenting failures and home life for stand-up comedy material.

Details

Released
Runtime
46 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics
Director
Mickey Blaine
Topics

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