Now More Than Ever

The core of John Early’s stage presence is the desperation of a person trying to project confidence they do not possess. His first HBO solo hour formalizes this anxiety into a concept he calls “vamping”. Backed by a live band, the Lemon Squares, he demonstrates the precise art of filling space with empty, stylized movement and confident-sounding noise to distract from the fact that he and his entire generation have no practical life skills. The hour functions as part stand-up set, part 1970s variety show, and part faux-rockumentary.\n\nFilmed at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, the show arrived shortly after the conclusion of his run on the satire Search Party and a collaborative Peacock special with long-time creative partner Kate Berlant. For years, Early has played characters defined by their desperate need for attention. Here, he turns that lens on himself, matching high-energy physical comedy with an unexpected earnestness.\n\nThe stage comedy itself targets the hollow nature of modern self-actualization. He compares Donald Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape to his own desperate attempts at locker room talk as a closeted gay teenager, and rails against the conformity of the modern “be yourself” mantra. His physical bits are equally sharp, whether he is gyrating across the stage or throwing a choreographed tantrum.\n\nBetween stand-up blocks, the special cuts to gritty, black-and-white backstage sketches directed by Emily Allan and Leah Hennessey. These mockumentary segments feature a fictionalized version of Early fighting with his bandmates and fainting from exhaustion.\n\nThe musical segments are surprisingly straight-faced. Early belts out covers of Britney Spears, Donna Summer, and Neil Young. The highlight is a 16-minute closing sequence where a melancholy piano accompaniment underscores a rant about millennial obsolescence before transitioning into Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush”.