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Look at You

Taylor Tomlinson

Netflix · 2022 · 61 min

A polished hour on therapy, grief, and mental health.

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Taylor Tomlinson uses her second Netflix hour to speak frankly about her mental health, a topic she approaches with the timing of a seasoned theater comic rather than a confessional oversharer. The hook of the performance is her revelation that she has bipolar disorder, a diagnosis she says she reverse-engineered by googling her prescriptions. To explain life on medication, she introduces an analogy comparing psychotropic drugs to arm floaties, arguing that while they might look silly, they stop you from jumping into the deep end of the public pool and making your inability to swim everyone else’s problem.

Filmed at the historic Wilbur Theatre in Boston, the special caught Tomlinson at a pivotal career moment. Her 2020 debut, “Quarter-Life Crisis,” had turned her into a major pandemic-era breakout, and this follow-up solidified her reputation as one of her generation’s most polished writers. Where her previous hour relied on the frantic energy of a young comic trying to prove herself, this show features deliberate, dramatic pauses that allow her darker punches to register with maximum weight.

Beyond medication, Tomlinson discusses self-sabotage, which she illustrates by explaining how she ghosted her therapist, and the lingering grief of losing her mother to cancer at age eight. The set is bookended by a bit about getting panic bangs during a depressive episode, a desperate bid for attention that she compares to doing mushrooms for the first time. Her ability to control a room while detailing her worst panic attacks cemented her status as a major touring headliner.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Comparing the Old Testament God to Taylor Swift

    Acts out God reacting like Swift ('You don't believe in me?') before cursing humanity with snakes, capped with Swiftian choreography to 'Look What You Made Me Do.'

  2. Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and adjusting to medication

    Explores shifting perspective on her mental health, balancing reduced sex drive against newfound self-confidence.

  3. A set of 'dead mom jokes' about her mother's passing

    Prepares the audience for a multi-minute sequence about losing her mother to cancer at age eight as a child with a lisp, balancing grief with sharp punchlines.

  4. Panic attacks in high school and her conservative father's response

    Recounts how her well-meaning religious father reacted to her teenage panic attacks by treating her like a werewolf.

  5. An awkward bedroom encounter inspiring the title 'Look at You'

    Uses a specific sex joke and punchline to reflect inward on self-examination and personal accountability.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, witty, intimate, and dark yet upbeat and accessible.
On stage
Buoyant, candid, and self-assured with an aggressively casual look (ponytail and leather jacket), alternating between an upbeat facade, expressive act-outs, sly grins, and arch vulnerability.
Pace
Starts deliberately and accelerates in momentum, marked by tight cadence, Catskills-style precision, and highly practiced comedic momentum.
About
mental health and bipolar disorder, grief and losing a parent to cancer, dating and relationships, therapy and medication, religion and conservative upbringing, sexuality

What the critics said

Widely praised by critics for exceptional joke-writing discipline, tight act-outs, and the skill to tackle heavy topics like bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, and bereavement while retaining commercial, accessible showmanship.

In the room: Engaged and receptive to challenging subjects, carried through dark themes by Tomlinson's upbeat pacing and comfortable stage presence.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: broadwayworld.com, imdb.com, nytimes.com, vulture.com, latimes.com, vaguevisages.com, en.wikipedia.org, distractify.com.

Backstory

Follows major life developments and personal challenges after her debut hour, including dealing with grief over her mother's death from cancer at age eight, navigating therapy, receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis, and experiences with dating and medication.

Details

Released
Taped
2021, Wilbur Theatre, Boston
Runtime
61 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Kristian Mercado
Topics
Before
Quarter Life Crisis (2020)
After
Have It All (2024)

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