Stream It Or Skip It?

The title for Josh Gondelman‘s new stand-up hour comes from a bit in which he reminds us he’s not the kind of guy who can deliver mean dirty talk in bed. Why should he, though? He’s happily married and at the time of his taping, had a lovable 16-year-old dog. Gondelman is the kind of guy who, when creating a newsletter, chose as his theme giving pep talks to people in the news and culture who could really use one right about now. And right now, that might apply to all of us?!?

The Gist: Gondelman had a leading role on the picket lines during the 2023 Writers Guild strike, but he’s perhaps still best known for his work offstage and behind the scenes, as the previous head writer and executive producer for Desus & Mero on Showtime, and before that, as a writer and producer for five years at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. This is his second solo stand-up special, following 2022’s People Pleaser.

Radio fans may also know his voice quite well as a regular panelist on the NPR news quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me. And fans of “old” “Twitter” may be delighted to know or recall that he co-created the Modern Seinfeld account there.

What Comedy Specials Will It Remind You Of?: There aren’t a lot of truly funny “nice” guys in stand-up comedy, but Gondelman shares company with the likes of Nate Bargatze and Ron Funches, even if his premises and philosophy may help prove why he wrote for so many years in late-night TV.

Memorable Jokes: Gondelman reveals that he’s at his most embarrassing when he drunkenly texts compliments to his friends. But that’s nowhere near as ridiculous as looking to corporate brands to speak out about politics or culture on social media. “Why do we think brands agree with us?” he asks. “What are we looking for? What’s the best case scenario?”

As a Jewish comedian, he makes a funny pivot from there straight into the current political weeds with regards to anti-semitism, prompting a collective nervous laugh from the Brooklyn crowd on this night of filming in 2024 when Joe Biden was still president. For his part, Gondelman argues that everyone seems to have a personal definition for what qualifies as anti-semitism. And for him? That means don’t come for Adam Sandler and his movies. “Zero to Teyve in one second. That’s what you do to me.” 

Coming up on his 40s, Gondelman also reflects on what it means to lose touch with your childhood friends. Does it seem like the ones who fade away first are the ones with the childish nicknames?

His Millennial status also means he has to come to grips with Gen Z and kids today referring to the ’90s as “the late 1900s.” Which might make sense linguistically, but makes zero sense when you consider how much happened over the course of that century.

But his comedy turns personal when he reveals that an ex he dated had recently transitioned, and how that not only made him look back on their relationship differently, but also gave him added perspective on the supposed debate over using different personal pronouns. For Gondelman, a guy from the Boston suburbs who still wears a Red Sox hat and roots for Boston sports teams despite living in New York City for a decade and a half, he finds an even easier way into making the case, joking about guys who balk at using they/them pronouns while constantly using we pronouns to describe sports teams they’re not ever playing for.

Our Take: He sums it all up nicely and neatly, suggesting: “You don’t get to choose whether progress happens. Progress happens and you can either rock with it or you can get left behind.”

Despite looking like he should be another Park Slope dad pushing a toddler daughter in a stroller, Gondelman may have dad jokes but no kids just yet. But he’s still got the great attitude and wisdom that made him a bona fide preschool teacher in his pre-comedy young adulthood.

No wonder, then, that even though he may be daring enough to pick Sisqo’s “Thong Song” at a karaoke event, you would never ever actually hear him sing all of the lyrics. Even if, as he jokingly recounts the incident, he claims he would’ve loved to go through it just to earn all of that money that the supposedly “cancelled” comedians get to earn for their transgressions.

But how? Why would anyone want to try to cancel Gondelman in the first place? He’s exactly the kind of comedian we all need to have in the room, in the office, or in our lives.

Our Call: STREAM IT. As he jokes of the backdrop onstage behind him for his taping: “I couldn’t decide between gum drops, sunrise and bisexual planetarium. That’s what I bring to this.” Sounds out of this world, doesn’t it? And yet, he remains quite humble and relatable.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.