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What I Should Have Said Was Nothing

Mike Birbiglia

Comedy Central · 2008 · 56 min

The awkward journal entries that turned a comedian into a storyteller.

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Mike Birbiglia frames his transition from traditional stand-up to narrative monologist as a medical directive. Instructed by his therapist to keep a journal of his awkward moments, Birbiglia took the assignment a step further, emailing the entries to his fans and testing them out on stage. The result is a conversational hour built around embarrassment, leaning away from standard setups and into the cringeworthy details of his own existence as an “Olive Garden Italian”.

Filmed at New York University and released in 2008, the set catches the comic right before his career shifted toward theatrical one-man shows. The hour features stories about his childhood in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, the struggle to do a George W. Bush impression without sounding like Kenny G, and his frustration over being a mildly recognizable unknown. He closes the performance with an acoustic guitar song that recounts everything he just talked about.

The set list

7 bits

  1. Jumping into Old Mill Pond

    Recounts childhood peer pressure to leap into a pond and feeling like the victim of a back-alley colonoscopy.

  2. Parents' computer porn virus

    Details family dynamics and the embarrassment of his parents discovering their computer was infected with a porn virus.

  3. Performing at Guantanamo Bay

    Reflects on performing standup and signing autographs for personnel who had been away from America so long they didn't realize he wasn't famous.

  4. Charity golf tournament performance

    Mines awkwardness from having to follow an emotional speech given by a young leukemia patient.

  5. George W. Bush impression

    Impersonates the president while ruminating on his foreign policy and framing as a Christian candidate.

  6. What I Should Have Said Was Nothing

    Explores excruciating moments of humiliation and poor verbal responses that provided the title for the show.

  7. Acoustic guitar summary song

    Plays an acoustic guitar number that sheepishly recaps the jokes and foibles covered throughout the hour.

How it plays

Tone
Sincere, self-deprecating, mildly political, and awkward.
On stage
Painfully dorky, awkward, and self-doubting American everyman delivering deeply embarrassing personal stories.
Pace
Deliberate, patient, and conversational, abandoning a standing microphone in favor of a clip-on mic to foster direct, conversational intimacy.
About
Awkwardness and self-doubt, Childhood in Massachusetts, Family embarrassments, Humiliating gigs on the road, Politics

What the critics said

Praised for his engaging, sincere storytelling and endearing awkward charm, marking an effective evolution in style despite some dated political impressions.

In the room: Sincere, attentive, and unforced laughter mingled with commiserating vocal reactions like groans and 'aww's.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: letterboxd.com, imdb.com, moviefone.com, rottentomatoes.com, laist.com, exclaim.ca, thecomicscomic.com, en.wikipedia.org, dead-frog.com, birbigs.com.

Backstory

Material developed from his 'Secret Public Journal' blog, which originated after a therapist suggested keeping a journal of crazy events in his life to keep things in perspective.

Details

Released
Runtime
56 min
Where
Comedy Central
Director
Cisco Henson
Topics
Before
Comedy Central Presents (2006)
After
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2013)

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