Meticulously Ridiculous
HBO · 2017 · 59 min
A chaotic, water-soaked hour of high-energy performance art.
T.J. Miller begins his first HBO hour by getting introduced as the star of Yogi Bear 3D and immediately soaking himself in water. For the next hour, he operates on a level of manic high energy that values the pursuit of a weird bit over structural stand-up conventions. He spends a significant amount of the show playing with the crowd, embracing the awkward silence of a failed punchline, and using post-production tricks like fleeting on-screen text and repeated edits to augment the live energy.\n\nFilmed at the Paramount Theatre in his hometown of Denver, Colorado, the special premiered in June 2017. The release coincided with Miller’s high-profile, highly publicized departure from his career-making role on the HBO series Silicon Valley. While on stage, he skips standard sitcom-star crowd-pleasing to instead talk about losing $73,000 playing carnival games, draft a bizarre tribute to the wife of George Washington Carver, and intentionally pivot to material on death and suicide when a joke goes wrong.\n\nThe special polarized both audiences and critics. Many viewers found the pacing choppy, arguing that the performance relied too heavily on shouting and facial contortions. However, some found the hour’s commitment to pure chaos a welcome departure from standard stand-up.
The set list
-
George Washington Carver and peanut butter
Imagines Carver realizing peanut butter was so valuable he kept it secret even from his wife, portraying the spread like a controlled substance.
-
The battle axe story
Brings an actual two-sided battle axe on stage to recount buying the weapon in Philadelphia, walking down the street shirtless with his wife while swinging it, and drawing police intervention, before smashing pumpkins with it.
-
The word 'smerd'
Riffs on a nonsensical coined word defined as smelling something a nerd heard.
-
Gleep Glarf Gobblesnarf suicide
Subverts a seemingly somber talk about someone committing suicide by telling a bizarre, Dr. Seuss-style story about a fictional mutant animal.
-
Things he doesn't give a fuck about / calling an audience member's mother
Lists petty things he dismisses, such as toilet seat covers, and invites an audience member up to call their mother on speakerphone.
-
Medical aftermath of brain surgery
Recounts a grounded, vulnerable real-life visit to a doctor following his life-threatening brain condition.
How it plays
- Tone
- Absurdist, silly, irreverent, and gonzo, mixed with bursts of intellectual erudition and vulnerable reflection on mortality.
- On stage
- A modern-day clown and merry prankster; rumpled suit, untucked shirt, bow tie, red clown-like sneakers, and intentionally soaking wet with water; wild, loopy, and a self-described 'handful'.
- Pace
- High-energy, manic, careening unpredictably between riffs, meandering stoner musings, and abrupt shifts into grounded storytelling.
- About
- absurdism and non sequiturs, death and mortality, marijuana vs. alcohol, inventions and history, physical ridiculousness and weapons, things he doesn't care about
What the critics said
Critical response was polarized; reviewers praised his sharp storytelling, genuine vulnerability, and intellectual wordplay, but questioned the disjointedness of his manic stage antics, water-splashing stunts, and uneven absurdist non sequiturs.
In the room: Supportive hometown crowd in Denver experiencing heavy direct crowd interaction and improvised banter.
Backstory
Filmed in Miller's hometown of Denver at the end of his 2016 Meticulously Ridiculous Tour; sets aside topical and political comedy in favor of personal reflection on his past life-threatening brain condition and surreal clowning.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- 2016, Paramount Theater, Denver
- Runtime
- 59 min
- Where
- HBO
- Director
- Jeff Tomsic
- Topics
- Before
- No Real Reason (2011)
More from T.J. Miller
-
No Real Reason
Comedy Central
If you liked this
-
Eric Andre Legalize Everything
Netflix
-
Cara Connors Straight for Pay
Apple TV