Film

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City

Name: John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City
Genre: Comedy, TV Movie
Released: 2018
Cast: John Mulaney

Comedy

Kid Gorgeous at Radio City is Mulaney at his most architecturally precise: an hour of immaculately constructed bits about a horse loose in a hospital, his own reckless twenties, and why college is basically a con job sold to teenagers. It's less confessional than controlled — a sharp-suited man performing total command while describing his own chaos. For fans of quotable, tightly written stand-up over raw vulnerability.

TMDb rating

4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love observational stand-up built on precise, self-deprecating storytelling, where a bit about childhood or Saturday Night Live turns into a run of escalating, well-crafted jokes.

Skip it if you come for raw, confrontational stand-up or a fast pace, since this is a warm, lyrical hour that lingers on memories and rarely hurries.

What it asks of you: Roughly an hour of unbroken attention on one man and a microphone, with long digressions and callbacks that reward listening closely rather than skimming.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Bo Burnham: Make Happy2016

Burnham applies the same architect's precision to comedy, building elaborate bits and full musical numbers into a single hour that turns inward on what performing even does to a person.

But It gets genuinely uncomfortable and self-loathing by the end — less crowd-pleasing than Mulaney, more existential crisis.

Mike Birbiglia: The New One2019

Same instinct for a perfectly engineered story arc, but Birbiglia turns his onto fatherhood and marriage with a slower, more theatrical build that pays off in a gut-punch of an ending.

But It's staged more like a slow, deliberate one-man play than a rapid-fire special, and it asks for real patience before the payoff arrives.

Ali Wong: Baby Cobra2016

Wong brings the same rapid, specific joke construction but detonates it with a filthiness and physical fearlessness Mulaney never touches, all while eight months pregnant on stage.

But Considerably more explicit and raunchy — not for anyone who liked Mulaney's cleaner, PG-ish sensibility.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Big Mouth2017

Same writer, same obsession with the humiliations of growing up, but swapped from polished solo performance into an animated ensemble comedy with nothing off-limits.

Mulaney co-created this filthy, surreal animated series about puberty, and it's stuffed with the same rhythm of hyper-specific, structured bits — just filtered through cartoon hormone monsters instead of a Radio City stage.

But It's raunchy, gross, and emotionally messier than anything in his stand-up — a real tonal left turn.

Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe2012

Gaffigan works the same clean, family-safe register, wringing enormous laughs out of food and fatherhood using the same disciplined, callback-heavy structure that Mulaney favors, joke after tightly built joke.

But Lower energy and more observational than narrative — you may miss Mulaney's manic physical performance.

Trevor Noah: Afraid of the Dark2017

Noah's globe-trotting, character-voiced storytelling shares Mulaney's love of a long, digressive anecdote that somehow lands exactly where it needs to, after a dozen detours you didn't see coming.

But Political and international in focus — a different flavor of specificity than Mulaney's very American, very personal bits.

Chris Rock: Bring the Pain1996

One of the specials that set the modern template Mulaney still works within — a masterclass in structure, escalation, and total command of a room that's completely his own.

But Dated references and a much angrier, more confrontational tone than Mulaney's genial, aw-shucks persona might take some adjusting to.

Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly2000

An earlier era of stand-up filmmaking, but the same commitment to a story told in full, with a comic's control over pacing and a killer closer.

But Grittier and more topical than Mulaney's material — expect a rawer, less polished stage presence.

Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly poster

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette2018

Same year, same format, and the same obsessive control over structure — but Gadsby turns that control toward systematically dismantling what stand-up comedy is even supposed to do.

But This is not a comfort watch; it deliberately breaks the comedy contract and gets deadly serious.

The King of Comedy1982

Mulaney's whole act is built on the tension between the confident performer and the person underneath; this film is what happens when that gap becomes pathological instead of charming.

Scorsese and De Niro turn the stand-up dream inside out, following a delusional wannabe comic whose hunger for the stage curdles into something genuinely frightening.

But It's a slow, uncomfortable character study, not a laugh-a-minute watch — closer to a thriller than a comedy.

People

Production

Joellen RedlingshaferAssociate Producer
Alex TimbersExecutive Producer
Cara MaslineExecutive Producer
David MinerExecutive Producer
John MulaneyExecutive Producer
Tony HernandezExecutive Producer
John SkidmoreProducer

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City

Where to watch

NetflixSubscription

Checked 18 October 2026.

Age rating

15in United Kingdom (not rated in United States)

Ratings come from the people who assign them in each country, and they do not mean the same thing in any two. We show the one given where you are.

Released: 2018
Genre: Comedy, TV Movie
Status: Released
Runtime: 65 min