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Promotional art for Vegan on His Way to the Complain Store
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Prime Video

Vegan on His Way to the Complain Store

Eugene Mirman

Netflix · 2015 · 64 min

An hour of bureaucratic pranks, fake resumes, and polite mischief.

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Eugene Mirman doesn’t just write jokes; he executes polite, bureaucratic pranks and brings the receipts. In Vegan on His Way to the Complain Store, the voice actor relies heavily on his signature show-and-tell style, sharing the results of his deliberate mischief. Whether he is trying to get his own art displayed at a supermarket, fabricating a ridiculous LinkedIn resume, or analyzing the grammatical misquotes of reporters, Mirman’s approach is highly conceptual. He delivers it all with casual enthusiasm.

Filmed in Tucson, Arizona, the 2015 hour captures him right in the middle of his run on Bob’s Burgers. The set includes his usual hallmarks. He features mid-show audience Q&A segments and highly specific anecdotes involving getting mugged by Mexican police alongside members of R.E.M. Reviewers at the time noted the release relies heavily on his established formula of weaponizing minor grievances, a tactic that works well as long as his genuine glee outshines his exasperation.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Trolling an 'Ask A Pastor' website with bizarre questions

    Submitting absurd moral and personal dilemmas to a clergyman to stockpile material, including asking how to get out of a marriage to someone met at a bus stop casino.

  2. Creating laminated signs for bathrooms

    Writing and placing surreal laminated signs instructing users to never use cellphones again or to walk out crying and ask for a lawyer.

  3. Protesting a 15-dollar parking ticket in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

    Taking out an expensive full-page ad in a local tourist guide to dramatically vent frustration and liken the town's parking enforcement to Iranian oppression.

  4. Getting shaken down by Mexican police with Michael Stipe

    Sharing a personal anecdote about being in Mexico with members of R.E.M. and getting mugged by police alongside the rock star.

  5. Officiating an impromptu onstage wedding

    Using his credential as an ordained minister to pull two audience members onstage and wed them live during the show.

  6. Misquoting 'comedy equals tragedy plus time'

    Mocking a reporter who substituted 'timing' for 'time', acting out delivering news of Lou Gehrig's disease with comic tempo.

How it plays

Tone
Absurdist, whimsical, droll, and prankish.
On stage
An affable mischief-maker and consummate goofball with a musically cartoonish delivery reminiscent of his Gene Belcher animated persona, balancing eccentric childish curiosity with arcane intellectual references.
Pace
Informal and confident, favoring conversational anecdotes shared like lunch with friends over rigid joke setups.
About
absurd customer service complaints, celebrity encounters, prank messages and letters, parking regulations, online dating, bathroom signage

What the critics said

Praised for Mirman's confident stage presence, distinct comedic craftsmanship, and delightful reliance on elaborate written stunts and whimsical storytelling, though critics noted diminishing returns and the absence of the sharp political edge found in his earlier work.

In the room: Riotous and engaged, actively participating in a question-and-answer segment and an onstage wedding ceremony.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, tv.apple.com, tvguide.com, pastemagazine.com, vulture.com, avclub.com, theseasonofplumandcobblestone.blogspot.com, primevideo.com, newsweek.com.

Backstory

Filmed as a free performance in Tucson, Arizona; Mirman had recently made headlines after taking out a full-page newspaper advertisement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire protesting a 15-dollar parking ticket.

Details

Released
Runtime
64 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Bobcat Goldthwait
Topics
Before
The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman (2004)
After
The Comedy Show Show (2016)

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