Film

Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds

Pete Holmes bounces around a stage with infectious energy, riffing on happiness, nightmares, language quirks, and the minor absurdities of everyday life. It's a comedy special that feels like a friend's best rambling dinner-table stories—loose, silly, genuinely delighted with itself. For people who like comedians who find wonder in small things.

TMDb rating3.3

If you liked this

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City2018

Mulaney shares Holmes's gift for finding comedy in ordinary observations and social confusion. Tightly constructed but never losing that sense of discovery, like he's figuring out the jokes alongside you.

But If you find his particular cadence—that sing-song delivery—grating, 60 minutes of it will test your patience.

John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City poster

Kyle Kinane: Trampoline In A Ditch2022

Another riffing comedian who finds genuine weirdness in how language works and how we live. Kinane's similarly high-spirited and willing to follow a tangent into the dark corners of happiness.

But His comedy gets more cynical and less buoyant than Holmes's. It's a different mood, and the tonal shift won't work for everyone.

Kyle Kinane: Trampoline In A Ditch poster

Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace2012

Buress mines absurdity from everyday life with the same playful precision. Sharp observations wrapped in a casual, almost stream-of-consciousness delivery that rewards close listening.

But Buress's humor is dryer and less theatrical. If you're drawn to Holmes's physical energy and enthusiasm, this will feel more muted.

Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas2020

Both comedians refuse to be small or guarded on stage; both find that vulnerability and weirdness are the same thing, and both are genuinely thrilled to be alive and telling you about it.

A defiantly joyful special about love, art, and being happy in public. Like Holmes, Gadsby finds wonder in small moments and refuses cynicism, but the emotional texture is completely different—more tender, more politically charged.

But It's about 80 minutes and philosophically dense. If you want pure silliness, this gets serious about what silliness means.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas poster
More like this (5)

Bo Burnham: Inside2021

A visually inventive special that plays with form while exploring identity and joy. Burnham's similarly interested in the gap between how we perform ourselves and who we are.

But It's genuinely dark in a way Holmes isn't. The special ends up in some bleak places. Depressing.

Bo Burnham: Inside poster

Jim Gaffigan: Cinco2017

Gaffigan's self-deprecating and finds comedy in contradiction—his love of food versus his guilt about it. Warm-hearted, physical, never mean.

But His setup-punchline structure is more traditional. If you like Holmes's rambling, wandering approach, this will feel more conventional.

Jim Gaffigan: Cinco poster

Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American2021

Bargatze's got that same gift for making mountains out of mundane moments. His special feels genuinely improvised and full of surprises, with a Southern warmth that carries the whole thing.

But Less visual and energetic than Holmes. It's quieter, which some will find more sophisticated and others will find slower.

Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American poster

Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male2013

Both comics are interested in how we perform happiness and authenticity; both use their whole bodies to communicate; both seem genuinely baffled by how the world works in ways that are endearing rather than alienating.

An hourlong special about anxiety, identity, and romantic vulnerability told by a comedian who's as willing to be physically absurd and intellectually open as Holmes. Funny and oddly touching.

But It's his early special before he became a movie star. The production values are sparse and the comedy is less polished, which some prefer and others find rough.

Kumail Nanjiani: Beta Male poster

Enemy of the State1998

Holmes's approach to stand-up—riffing, playing with sounds, finding magic in mundane observations—echoes The State's commitment to finding wonder in the act of performing itself rather than always aiming for the punchline.

A sketch troupe who thought comedy was about absurdity and joy and never letting sincerity become the enemy of silliness. Weird, inventive, genuinely experimental comedy from people who loved it.

But It's 90s comedy television and it looks like it—low budget, the references are dated, the rhythm is not what modern audiences are conditioned to expect.

Enemy of the State poster

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