Skip to content
Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Lobby Baby
Cover image credit:

Source

Lobby Baby

Seth Meyers

Netflix · 2019 · 61 min

Seth Meyers trades his late-night desk for marriage and baby jokes.

Watch on Netflix(opens in a new tab)

The defining gimmick of Seth Meyers’s first Netflix stand-up special is a literal button. Drawing inspiration from interactive television, the Late Night host offers streaming viewers a “Skip Politics” option during his brief segment on Donald Trump. It is a clever metacomedy stunt that ends with a trap: anyone who actually presses the button jumps straight to Meyers pretending he has spent the last eight minutes praising the president, joking that he hopes they agree with his glowing assessment.

Meyers taped the hour at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, stepping out from behind his late-night desk and trading his usual suit for casual wear. Directed by Neal Brennan, the special catches the comic five years into his talk-show tenure, making a conscious effort to establish a stage presence outside of his desk-bound “Weekend Update” persona.

While the political button got the headlines, the strongest writing focuses on his domestic life. Meyers spins detailed yarns about family, including a disastrous trip to Paris, his grandfather’s Jewish heritage (and the “false advertising” of having his name and face while only being one-quarter Jewish), and the frantic delivery of his second son in his apartment building’s lobby. It is conversational, polished, and relies heavily on Meyers’s self-deprecating perspective, particularly when he adopts his wife’s persona to roast his own uselessness during childbirth.

The set list

5 bits

  1. The birth of his second son in the lobby of their apartment building.

    Positions his wife as the central heroic figure while casting himself as an inept bystander cracking wise.

  2. A 'Skip Politics' button for his routine on Donald Trump.

    Offers viewers an on-screen Netflix button to skip roughly seven minutes of political jokes, which skips directly to a tag making fun of those who bypassed it.

  3. Why you should never take your girlfriend to Paris for her birthday.

    Advises against taking a woman who expects an engagement ring to a romantic destination when you are not yet proposing.

  4. His father's scheme to get a tree stump removed.

    Highlights his father's mischievous nature and reflects on storytelling genetics and paternal role models.

  5. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Performing a stand-up set in character as his wife Alexi Ashe. closer

    Adopts his wife's persona for the finale to roast himself and list his shortcomings as a husband out of fairness.

How it plays

Tone
Sweet, endearing, charming, witty, and self-effacing.
On stage
Self-deprecating 'Wife Guy' who casts himself as a mildly useless sidekick in his own domestic life while celebrating his wife's competence.
Pace
Tight, snappy, well-paced delivery reminiscent of late-night monologues, punctuated with deer-in-the-headlights stares.
About
family, fatherhood, marriage, politics in the Trump era

What the critics said

Generally favorable, with critics noting his polished, snappy delivery, charm, and endearing Wife Guy domestic storytelling, even when touching upon familiar tropes.

In the room: Warm and receptive Minneapolis crowd giving multiple applause breaks, including cheering a joke that Meyers claimed repeatedly bombed in other cities.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, vulture.com, rottentomatoes.com, decider.com, nytimes.com.

Backstory

Personal life milestones including marriage and the birth of his second son in an apartment lobby, alongside the cultural climate of comedy in the Trump era.

Details

Released
Taped
Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis
Runtime
61 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Neal Brennan
Honors
Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
Topics
After
Dad Man Walking (2024)

More from Seth Meyers

If you liked this