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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

The Standups

Rachel Feinstein

Netflix · 2018 · 30 min

A half-hour of character-heavy roasts and parental grievances.

Rachel Feinstein’s best comedy is always rooted in the voices she can pull out of her throat. In this brief, sharp set, she builds a detailed portrait of her parents, shifting effortlessly into her aggressively liberal, jewelry-loaded mother and her dry father. She bypasses generic family dinner gripes to construct a specific, theatrical dynamic, mimicking her mother’s grand, social-worker pronunciations with absolute precision.

The set was recorded at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the second season of Netflix’s anthology series, The Standups, released in March 2018. Feinstein was already a respected regular on the club circuit and a frequent face in Judd Apatow projects like Crashing and Trainwreck. Here, she is given just under thirty minutes, and she uses it to condense her signature character work. Beyond her parents, she mimics predatory street harassment and the weird social pressures of long-term intimacy.

Critics and audiences received the set as a highlight of the season. While some online commentators noted that she spent nearly the entire half-hour mocking her mother, her cartoonish physical and vocal mimicry kept the short format feeling energetic.

The set list

4 bits

  1. Parental embarrassment and an aggressively liberal mother

    Feinstein acts out voices from her head, highlighting her father's Facebook rants and her aggressively liberal mother's overeager attempts to bond with strangers and immigrant New York cab drivers.

  2. Encountering a heckler and counter-heckler at a gig in Alabama

    Revisiting the chaotic dynamic between audience members during a road show down south.

  3. An elderly Bengali woman on a bus offering breakup advice

    Feinstein mimics the voice and counsel of a stranger comforting her through a painful romantic split.

  4. A spin class instructor with overly inspirational commentary

    Mocking the hyper-earnest, dramatic motivational platitudes shouted by workout instructors.

How it plays

On stage
Brassy and unapologetic club-seasoned stand-up delivery
Pace
Paced delivery focusing on character mimicry without rushing
About
parental mortification, aggressively liberal parents, relationships and breakups, fitness classes, touring and hecklers

What the critics said

Praised as working squarely within the brassy, unapologetic vein of club-seasoned performers, though critics noted Kyle Kinane and Aparna Nancherla as the season's two primary breakout stars.

In the room: Energetic theater taping across two recorded sets at the Globe Theatre.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, netflix.com, thecomicscomic.com, decider.com, vulture.com, theringer.com.

Backstory

Part of Season 2 of Netflix's 'The Standups', a half-hour showcase series highlighting club-seasoned, established stand-up comics filmed in Los Angeles.

Details

Released
Taped
Globe Theatre, Los Angeles
Runtime
30 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Troy Miller
Topics
Before
Only Whores Wear Purple (2016)
After
Big Guy (2024)

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