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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Noel Miller

Stop Crying

Noel Miller

YouTube · 2023 · 66 min

A dark, cynical stand-up debut from an internet creator.

Watch it free on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Noel Miller spent years building a massive online footprint through reaction videos and the Tiny Meat Gang podcast network, but his debut self-released hour operates on a much darker frequency. On stage, he drops the cozy internet persona to focus on bleak childhood memories, uncomfortable sexual dynamics, and his bleak worldview. The hour is anchored by a massive, highly specific chunk of material about the horrors of sharing a single family computer in the early internet era, alongside shorter riffs on 9/11 and the structural mechanics of an IUD.

Filmed in Los Angeles at the end of his global “Everything Is F#&ked” tour, the hour represents a deliberate statement of independence. Miller directed the special himself, collaborating with cinematographer Neema Sadeghi to give the stage a clean, shadow-heavy look that mirrors the grimness of his jokes. When he released the hour for free on YouTube in October 2023, the reaction was polarized. Casual fans accustomed to his sanitized YouTube clips found his live persona shockingly crass, while podcast purists celebrated a return to the unfiltered, cynical style that defined his earliest comedy.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Transition from abortion to 9/11

  2. Jerking off barefoot on linoleum

    Delivering grotesque word pairings

  3. Looking like a lesbian from behind

    Turning around on stage and making self-deprecating commentary

  4. Teasing his ethnicity

  5. Observing that it is many audience members' first time attending a stand-up comedy show

    Acknowledging it directly to make people comfortable

How it plays

Tone
Edgy, raunchy, observational
On stage
Described as stiff, staying in one spot, delivering grotesque word pairings with a 'fuckboy stance', chuckling after uncomfortable punchlines
Pace
Low movement, holding marks for comedic zooms, reciting jokes and pausing/waiting for cheers and applause
About
Audience seeing stand-up for the first time, Sex jokes, Abortion to 9/11 transition, Ethnicity tease

What the critics said

Viewer reactions noted weak or unpolished written material that felt like leftover YouTube bits, criticism of his stiff stage presence, though loyal TMG fans provided enthusiastic cheers and support.

In the room: Super supportive crowd with heavy cheering, felt like a meet-up for TMG fans

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: esquireme.com, letterboxd.com, en.kinorium.com, standupd.com, tubefilter.com, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Filmed during the final domestic stop of his internationally sold-out 'Everything is F#&ked' tour. Distributed for free on YouTube to give back to his core internet fanbase.

Details

Released
Runtime
66 min
Where
YouTube
Director
Noel Miller
Topics

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